Assessing the impact of the food system on poverty, nutrition and health, and environmental sustainability in urban Ethiopia

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Food systems have enormous implications for human health and wellbeing and planetary health. They involve a complex set of factors from farm to table. A greater understanding of the effects of food systems on nutrition, health, poverty, and the environment is necessary to inform the development of optimal food systems that can improve human nutrition and health, promote sustainable environments, and support livelihoods. The intersection of these areas is particularly crucial in fragile states where food security plays an important role in poverty alleviation, social cohesion, and national security. Understanding how food systems can be optimized to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods may have important implications for transitioning countries and populations toward greater stability.We propose to conduct an assessment of a developing country food system and its effects on nutrition, health, and the environment, in the context of rapid urbanization and fragile governance structures. Food security, including both quantity and quality of diets, is an important determinant of poverty and economic development. While food security has been a priority for many developing countries, policies aimed at increasing crop yields have rarely been aligned with nutritional and health needs. Malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all child deaths. At the same time, obesity and noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, are increasing-often in the same communities where undernutrition remains prevalent. This double burden of malnutrition is increasing in much of sub-Saharan Africa and is exacerbated by rapid rates of urbanization.Food systems are both impacted by the natural environment and also a cause of its degradation. Agricultural production is placing increased pressure on the environment as it struggles to keep pace with population growth and shifts. Current trends of unsustainable resource consumption are harming our planetary health, threatening food security, and impacting our wellbeing.There is little evidence connecting food systems, poverty, human health, and the natural environment. The complexity of these issues has hindered research in this area and existing dietary data does not comprehensively capture relevant food system factors.The proposed study will look at production, access, and consumption of protein source foods, including both animal-source and plant-based sources. Protein is essential for human health, and different sources offer varying nutritional and health benefits. The production of these foods also has enormous impacts on the environment, such as greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.We propose mixed methods including a quantitative household survey and qualitative value chain analysis to assess the food system for protein source foods among an urban population in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Review (and updating where necessary) of systematic reviews and meta-analyses will be used to estimate etiological effect sizes on health and environmental outcomes. Results will be used to develop a conceptual model that will allow us to test interventions toward optimal planetary health. Ultimately, we will form recommendations for immediate action and future research that will be of relevance for a wide range of stakeholders in Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan African countries.The relationships between food systems, the environment, and health in sub-Saharan Africa are exceedingly complex and have not been studied in detail. A clear understanding of these dynamics will allow us to develop potentially groundbreaking, long term solutions. There is perhaps no issue more pressing for global populations than the establishment of resilient food systems that promote health, nutrition and sustainable environments.