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造成的非传染性疾病，威胁着非洲的粮食安全。“健康饮食4africa”项目的核心假设是，粮食系统的多样化有助于对抗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区域的八个非洲国家的饮食多样性，并制定针对特定目标群体的指标，以衡量粮食系统的多样性及其健康结果。该项目以生产为导向的一组将探讨环境上可持续的多样化粮食生产办法，具体解决为目标人口确定的营养需求。这包括开发新的和生物强化作物品种，利用具有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程度、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，将扩大通过多样化促进健康饮食同时促进环境健康的最佳解决方案。“健康饮食非洲”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外联和影响。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，帮助制定安全、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.