Poor diets are a primary cause of malnutrition and the leading cause of disease worldwide. Improving diets and addressing nutrition and health issues can improve people’s quality of life, increase their productivity, and save lives. It is estimated that improving poor quality diets can save one in five lives annually.

IFPRI’s Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH) research provides evidence on strategies to achieve healthy diets, good nutrition, and health. To accomplish this, the unit’s researchers examine the causes and constraints that lead to dietary, nutrition, and health issues. Working together with partners, they identify effective policies and programs for tackling these issues, including policies and programs centered around agriculture, health, education, and social protection. Identified solutions are assessed to determine their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness as well as to understand how the solutions worked to achieve impact and how they could be improved to deliver even greater impact for diets, nutrition, and health.

NDH’s activities focus on Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, with some additional work in Latin America and the Pacific.

Predecessor IFPRI Division page is available at :

• POVERTY, HEALTH, AND NUTRITION (PHND)