Combating Malnutrition in Africa Through Diversification of the Food System

各种形式的营养不良，包括饥饿、微量营养素缺乏和营养不平衡引起的非传染性疾病，威胁着非洲的粮食安全。HealthDiest4 Africa项目基于这样一个中心假设，即粮食系统的多样化有助于消除各种形式的营养不良，同时最大限度地减少其对环境的影响。为此，我们将监测代表不同地区的八个非洲国家的饮食多样性，并制定针对目标群体的衡量标准，以衡量食品系统及其健康结果的多样性。该项目的一个以生产为导向的专题组将探索环境上可持续的选择，以使粮食生产多样化，具体解决为目标人群确定的营养需求。这包括开发新的生物强化作物品种，利用高营养价值的孤儿作物，以及种植制度和食品加工技术的多样化。我们将把这些努力与一个以消费为导向的集群联系起来，探索消费者对饮食多样化选择的接受度、食品安全和营养健康影响。通过八个非洲国家的粮食系统利益攸关方网络，将在促进环境健康的同时通过多样化促进健康饮食的最佳解决方案得到推广。保健饮食4非洲还将制定沟通和政策战略，以最大限度地扩大多样化粮食系统的范围和影响。因此，该项目将通过采取多样化战略，同时减少粮食生产对环境的压力，帮助开发安全、健康和负担得起的饮食。

Various forms of malnutrition, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and non-communicable diseases caused by unbalanced nutrition, threaten food security in Africa. The project HealthyDiest4Africa is based on the central hypothesis that diversification of the food system helps to combat all forms of malnutrition while minimizing its environmental footprint. To this aim, we will monitor dietary diversity in eight African countries representing different regions, and develop target group-specific metrics to measure the diversity of the food system and its health outcomes. A production-oriented cluster of the project will explore environmentally sustainable options to diversity food production that specifically address the nutritional requirements identified for the target populations. This includes the development of novel and biofortified crop varieties, utilization of orphan crops with high nutritional value, and diversification of cropping systems and food processing technology. We will link these efforts with a consumption-oriented cluster exploring the consumer acceptance, food safety, and nutritional health effects of diet diversification options. The best solutions that contribute to healthy diets via diversification while also promoting environmental health will be up-scaled via a network of food system stakeholders in eight African countries. HealthyDiets4Africa will also devise communication and policy strategies to maximize outreach and impact of diversified food systems. Thereby the project will help to develop safe, healthy and affordable diets by adopting a diversification strategy that will simultaneously reduce the pressure of food production on the environment.