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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Eliot Jones-Garcia

Eliot Jones-Garcia is a Senior Research Analyst with the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit based in Washington, DC. His research focuses on human-AI interaction, user-centered design, and the ethical and responsible development of AI. Eliot is currently finalizing a PhD on the digitalization of agricultural advisory services at Wageningen University & Research.

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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

Aulo Gelli

Senior Research Fellow

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Bio

Aulo Gelli is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. His main interests and experience are in the intersection of food policy and nutrition, with a particular focus on evaluating the impact of child health and nutrition interventions.

Prior to working at IFPRI, Aulo worked as a Research Fellow at Imperial College, as a Policy Analyst at the UK Collaborative on Development Sciences, and as a Statistician at the World Food Programme. Aulo trained as a physicist at Imperial College London, and then earned an MS in Information Processing and Neural Networks at Kings College London working on semantic memory models. He later studied human perception and cognition at the Laboratory of Neurobiology at University College London. He transitioned his career toward food policy and earned an MA in Development Economics and Food Security at the University of Rome, and a DPhil from the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London.

Languages spoken: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

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Publications

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Working Paper

School meals in the 21st century: Key evidence gaps and future directions

2026
Gelli, Aulo; Bell, Winnie; Bliznashka, Lilia; Eustacchio-Colombo, Patricia; Heirman, Jonas; Jones, Eleanor; Katundu, Mangani; Khincha, Roshni; Lerva, Benedetta; Lombardini, Simone
…more Schultz, Linda; Scott, Samuel P.; Wineman, Ayala; School Meal Evidence Priorities Collaborators
Details

School meals in the 21st century: Key evidence gaps and future directions

School meal programs are a widely implemented safety net with documented impacts across social protection, education, health and nutrition and high estimated returns to investment (Alderman et al., 2024). Globally, in 2022, these programs reached over 400 million children for a total investment of $70 billion a year(Global Child Nutrition Foundation, 2024). The School Meals Coalition (SMC) created in 2021 and involving 106 member countries, has brought momentum and new opportunities for school meals. Collaborative research activities by development partners from the SMC have included evidence generation, review and synthesis, and the identification of key research gaps on school meal programs. This article provides the basis for a common research agenda to support evidence generation aimed at improving action on sustainable school meal programs. These evidence gaps were generated through a series of activities including evidence reviews, expert consultations and stakeholder workshops undertaken by SMC partners.

Year published

2026

Authors

Gelli, Aulo; Bell, Winnie; Bliznashka, Lilia; Eustacchio-Colombo, Patricia; Heirman, Jonas; Jones, Eleanor; Katundu, Mangani; Khincha, Roshni; Lerva, Benedetta; Lombardini, Simone; Schultz, Linda; Scott, Samuel P.; Wineman, Ayala; School Meal Evidence Priorities Collaborators

Citation

Gelli, Aulo; Bell, Winnie; Bliznashka, Lilia; Eustacchio-Colombo, Patricia; Heirman, Jonas; et al. 2026. School meals in the 21st century: Key evidence gaps and future directions. IFPRI Working Paper. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179539

Keywords

School Feeding; Investment; Sustainability; Cost Analysis; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review

2026Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; Olney, Deanna K.
Details

Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review

Suboptimal diets contribute to the risk of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases across the life course. Globally, intakes of fruit and vegetables (F&V) fall below recommendations, including in the Philippines. To promote F&V intakes, understanding the extent of inadequate intakes across population groups and key drivers of dietary patterns is needed. This narrative scoping review was conducted to map the diet, F&V intakes and nutritional status in the Philippines. PubMed was searched using keywords specific to diet, F&V intake, and nutritional status, with 50, 24 and 22 articles meeting the inclusion criteria for diet, F&V intake, and nutritional status, respectively. Available evidence indicates that across all population and sociodemographic groups, diets lacked diversity, with high intakes of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, such as refined rice and sugar-based foods and beverages, contributing to inadequate micronutrient intakes. Intakes of F&V were especially low across all population groups. Stunting/short height, wasting and underweight were prevalent among children and adolescents, and micronutrient deficiencies (iron, zinc, vitamin A) were common among children < 5 years of age. More than one-quarter of adults were overweight or obese and demonstrated poor cardiometabolic health. A lack of published evidence identified through this search reported on pregnant and lactating women and women of reproductive age. Published evaluations assessing the impact of interventions or programmes to improve diets or F&V intake were limited. Additional research to fill these gaps will help design interventions and target entry points to improve diet diversity and F&V intakes across all population groups.

Year published

2026

Authors

Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; Olney, Deanna K.

Citation

Smith, Taryn J.; Angeles-Agdeppa, Imelda; Goyena, Eva; Gelli, Aulo; and Olney, Deanna K. Diets, fruit and vegetable intake and nutritional status among children, adolescents and adults in the Philippines: A scoping review. Maternal and Child Nutrition. Supplement Article in press. First published online December 13, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13786

Country/Region

Philippines

Keywords

Asia; South-eastern Asia; Oceania; Adolescents; Adults; Dietary Diversity; Diet Quality; Fruits; Nutrition; Trace Elements; Vegetables

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13786 Source record

Project

Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Effect of combining lower- and higher-value monthly cash transfers with nutrition-sensitive agriculture, male engagement and psychosocial intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Malawi: A secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial

2026
Bliznashka, Lilia; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Ahun, Marilyn N; Roschnik, Natalie; Phiri, Brenda; Gondwe-Matekesa, Esnatt; Kachinjika, Monice; Mvula, Peter; Munthali, Alister; Maggio, Daniel
…more Katundu, Mangani; Maleta, Kenneth; Gladstone, Melissa; Gelli, Aulo; MAZIKO trial team
Details

Effect of combining lower- and higher-value monthly cash transfers with nutrition-sensitive agriculture, male engagement and psychosocial intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Malawi: A secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Maternal depression affects one in five women in Malawi. Integrated interventions simultaneously addressing multiple risks are a promising strategy to improve mental health. This study evaluated the impact of a nutrition-sensitive social behaviour change (SBC) intervention (agriculture and livelihoods, male engagement and Caring for the Caregiver) with or without cash transfers on maternal perinatal depression during the lean season in rural Malawi. A midline survey for a cluster-randomised controlled trial was conducted, where 156 clusters were randomly assigned to four arms (39 clusters/arm): (1) standard of care (SoC), (2) SBC, (3) SBC+low cash (US$17 per month) and (4) SBC+high cash (US$43 per month). Pregnant women and mothers of children <2 years of age (n=2677) were enrolled at baseline (May–June 2022). A subsample of 1303 women was followed-up at midline (November–December 2023). Maternal perinatal depression was assessed using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire with a score of ≥8 indicating symptoms consistent with depression. Intervention effects were estimated using linear mixed effects models. At midline, SBC+high cash reduced depression scores relative to SoC (mean difference −1.13 (95% CI −1.96 to –0.31)) but had no impact on the proportion of women with depressive symptoms. Relative to SoC, SBC+low cash and SBC alone had no impact on depression scores or the proportion of women with depressive symptoms. Relative to SBC alone, adding cash to SBC reduced depression scores and the proportion of women with depressive symptoms regardless of the size of the cash transfer. Cash transfers integrated with SBC can benefit maternal perinatal mental health in rural Malawi during the lean season.

Year published

2026

Authors

Bliznashka, Lilia; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Ahun, Marilyn N; Roschnik, Natalie; Phiri, Brenda; Gondwe-Matekesa, Esnatt; Kachinjika, Monice; Mvula, Peter; Munthali, Alister; Maggio, Daniel; Katundu, Mangani; Maleta, Kenneth; Gladstone, Melissa; Gelli, Aulo; MAZIKO trial team

Citation

Bliznashka, Lilia; Nwabuikwu, Odiche; Ahun, Marilyn N.; Roschnik, Natalie; Phiri, Brenda; et al. 2026. Effect of combining lower- and higher-value monthly cash transfers with nutrition-sensitive agriculture, male engagement and psychosocial intervention on maternal depressive symptoms in rural Malawi: A secondary analysis of a cluster-randomised controlled trial. BMJ Global Health 11(1): e018860. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2025-018860

Country/Region

Malawi

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Capacity Building; Rural Areas; Cash Transfers; Social Protection; Nutrition; Gender; Randomized Controlled Trials

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2025-018860 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs
Event Post
 | 
November 05, 2025

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs

By Kristin Davis, Upeksha Hettiarachchi, Ryan Nehring, Wei Zhang, Claudia Ringler, and Aulo Gelli

Linking sustainable farming practices to childhood nutrition.

Unlocking opportunities for planet-friendly school meals
Research Post
 | 
December 08, 2023

Unlocking opportunities for planet-friendly school meals

By Aulo Gelli and Marie Ruel

Balancing nutrition and climate.

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – and could offer lessons for scaling up
Issue Post
 | 
September 20, 2023

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – and could offer lessons for scaling up

By Elisheba Kiru and Aulo Gelli

Providing subsidized lunches for 250,000 Nairobi students.

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Events

Evidence-Informed Impact: Unpacking the Untapped Potential of the School Feeding Labor Force
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

January 28, 2026, 10:00 – 11:00 am

Evidence-Informed Impact: Unpacking the Untapped Potential of the School Feeding Labor Force

School meal programs can be powerful engines for job creation and local economic development. Many models intentionally prioritize employment for groups that face systemic barriers to entering the labor market, such as women, youth and people with disabilities. Yet despite their potential, there remains a significant evidence gap around how different program designs impact employment […]

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

December 10, 2025, 10:00 – 11:00 am

The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs in Ghana and Malawi

This webinar will explore the latest global evidence on how school feeding programs drive broad-based returns: boosting education, enhancing health outcomes, supporting local agriculture, and strengthening national development as a follow-up to episode 1 of this series. The session will showcase research from Malawi and Ghana, evaluating the economy-wide impacts of both nation’s national school […]

IFPRI @ 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30)
IFPRI at External Event

 | 

November 10 to 21, 2025

IFPRI @ 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30)

IFPRI is pleased to participate in the 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30) being held in Belém, Brazil from November 10 to November 21, 2025. COP30 builds on progress of previous COPs to turn the ambitions of the Paris Agreement into reality. Hosted in the Amazonian city of Belém, the topics of […]

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News

September 18, 2023 | In the News

Kenya’s new urban school meal plan is ambitious – it could offer lessons for scaling up (The Conversation) 

More than 250,000 children in public primary schools in Nairobi will receive regular subsidized school meals provided by the county government. The Dishi Na County program is Kenya’s first in an urban setting. The national school meal program set up in 2009 serves more than 1.5 million children in rural drought-affected counties. The Conversation asked Elisheba Kiru (African Population and […]

July 11, 2023 | Press Release

Women key to crop success in low-income countries

This post is a slightly modified version of the original press release issued by the University of Edinburgh. Empowering women farmers in low and middle-income countries can lead to greater crop diversity helping to improve year-round supply of healthy foods, suggests a new article published in The Lancet Planetary Health by a group of authors including […]

July 11, 2023 | In the News

Editorial: Empower women to grow (The Lancet Planetary Health)

“Almost half of the world’s agricultural workers are women and women farmers produce up to 80% of the food grown in LMICs. Despite their large contribution to agricultural labor, fewer than 20% of landowners globally are women,” writes The Lancet Planetary Health in an editorial featuring a new article co-authored by IFPRI’s Lilia Bliznashka, Aulo Gelli, and […]

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