Subscribe

Back

Who we are

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.

Erick Boy

researcher spotlight

Erick Boy

Erick Boy is the Chief Nutritionist in the HarvestPlus section of the Innovation Policy and Scaling Unit. As head of nutrition for the HarvestPlus Program since 2008, he has led research that has generated scientific evidence on biofortified staple crops as efficacious and effective interventions to help address iron, vitamin A, and zinc deficiency in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.

Back

What we do

Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

Research topics

Projects and impact

Modeling tools

Project microsites

What’s new

Where we work

Back

Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

IFPRI Regional Programs

IFPRI Country Programs

Research by country and region

Subscribe

partnerships

The European Commission is known as the European Union’s (EU’s) executive arm, containing a group of 28 commissioners known as ‘The College’. The Commission takes decisions on the Union’s political and strategic direction. The European Commission’s main priorities include the international market, the digital market, and migration.

Homepage Link
donor-ec

Projects

Developing Smart Innovations through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) Project

Developing Smart Innovations through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) Project

The Developing Smart Innovations through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative is a five-year agricultural research project funded by the EU. Its main objective is to……

Southern Africa-Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED)

Southern Africa-Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED)

…

Food Security Portal

Food Security Portal

Volatile food prices, climate-change-driven shocks, conflict, economic downturns, and high population growth continue to raise serious concerns about food security and nutrition in many parts……

View all Projects

Publications

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

High-frequency monitoring enables machine learning–based forecasting of acute child malnutrition for early warning

2025Constenla-Villoslada, Susana; Liu, Yanyan; McBride, Linden; Ouma, Clinton; Mutanda, Nelson; Barrett, Christopher B.
Details

High-frequency monitoring enables machine learning–based forecasting of acute child malnutrition for early warning

The number of acutely food insecure people worldwide has doubled since 2017, increasing demand for early warning systems (EWS) that can predict food emergencies. Advances in computational methods, and the growing availability of near-real time remote sensing data, suggest that big data approaches might help meet this need. But such models have thus far exhibited low predictive skill with respect to subpopulation-level acute malnutrition indicators. We explore whether updating training data with high frequency monitoring of the predictand can help improve machine learning models’ predictive performance with respect to child acute malnutrition by directly learning the dynamic determinants of rapidly evolving acute malnutrition crises. We combine supervised machine learning methods and remotely sensed feature sets with time series child anthropometric data from EWS’ sentinel sites to generate accurate forecasts of acute malnutrition at operationally meaningful time horizons. These advances can enhance intertemporal and geographic targeting of humanitarian response to impending food emergencies that otherwise have unacceptably high case fatality rates.

Year published

2025

Authors

Constenla-Villoslada, Susana; Liu, Yanyan; McBride, Linden; Ouma, Clinton; Mutanda, Nelson; Barrett, Christopher B.

Citation

Constenla-Villoslada, Susana; Liu, Yanyan; McBride, Linden; Ouma, Clinton; Mutanda, Nelson; and Barrett, Christopher B. 2025. High-frequency monitoring enables machine learning–based forecasting of acute child malnutrition for early warning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) 122(23): e2416161122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416161122

Keywords

Monitoring; Machine Learning; Children; Malnutrition; Food Security; Early Warning Systems

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2416161122 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030

2025
Schneider, Kate R.; Remans, Roseline; Bekele, Tesfaye Hailu; Aytekin, Destan; Conforti, Piero; Dasgupta, Shouro; DeClerck, Fabrice A.J.; Dewi, Deviana; Fabi, Carola; Gephart, Jessica A.
…more Masuda, Yuta J.; McLaren, Rebecca; Saisana, Michaela; Aburto, Nancy; Ambikapathi, Ramya; Rodriguez, Mariana Arellano; Barquera, Simon; Battersby, Jane; Beal, Ty; Béné, Christophe; Cafiero, Carlo; Campeau, Christine; Caron, Patrick; Cattaneo, Cattaneo; Candel, Jeroen; Covic, Namukolo; del Pino Alvarez, Inmaculada; Barreto, Ana Paula Dominguez; Elouafi, Ismahane; Frazier, Tyler J.; Fremier, Alexander; Foley, Pat; Golden, Christopher D.; Fischer, Carlos Gonzalez; Guarin, Alejandro; Hendriks, Sheryl; Herforth, Anna; Honorati, Maddalena; Huang, Jikun; Getaneh, Yonas; Kennedy, Gina; Laar, Amos; Lal, Rattan; Lidder, Preetmoninder; Feye, Getachew Legese; Loken, Brent; Malapit, Hazel J.; Marshall, Quinn; Mulatu, Kalkidan A.; Munguia, Ana; Nordhagen, Stella; Resnick, Danielle; Suhardiman, Diana; Sumaila, U. Rashid; Sun, Bangyao; Mengesha, Belay Terefe; Cullen, Maximo Torero; Tubiello, Francesco N.; Dooren, Corné van; Morales, Isabel Valero; Vivero-Pol, Jose-Luis; Webb, Patrick; Wiebe, Keith D.; Haddad, Lawrence; Herrero, Mario; Moncayo, Jose Rosero; Fanzo, Jessica
Details

Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030

Due to complex interactions, changes in any one area of food systems are likely to impact—and possibly depend on—changes in other areas. Here we present the first annual monitoring update of the indicator framework proposed by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative, with new qualitative analysis elucidating interactions across indicators. Since 2000, we find that 20 of 42 indicators with time series have been trending in a desirable direction, indicating modest positive change. Qualitative expert elicitation assessed governance and resilience indicators to be most connected to other indicators across themes, highlighting entry points for action—particularly governance action. Literature review and country case studies add context to the assessed interactions across diets, environment, livelihoods, governance and resilience indicators, helping different actors understand and navigate food systems towards desirable change.Due to complex interactions, changes in any one area of food systems are likely to impact—and possibly depend on—changes in other areas. Here we present the first annual monitoring update of the indicator framework proposed by the Food Systems Countdown Initiative, with new qualitative analysis elucidating interactions across indicators. Since 2000, we find that 20 of 42 indicators with time series have been trending in a desirable direction, indicating modest positive change. Qualitative expert elicitation assessed governance and resilience indicators to be most connected to other indicators across themes, highlighting entry points for action—particularly governance action. Literature review and country case studies add context to the assessed interactions across diets, environment, livelihoods, governance and resilience indicators, helping different actors understand and navigate food systems towards desirable change.

Year published

2025

Authors

Schneider, Kate R.; Remans, Roseline; Bekele, Tesfaye Hailu; Aytekin, Destan; Conforti, Piero; Dasgupta, Shouro; DeClerck, Fabrice A.J.; Dewi, Deviana; Fabi, Carola; Gephart, Jessica A.; Masuda, Yuta J.; McLaren, Rebecca; Saisana, Michaela; Aburto, Nancy; Ambikapathi, Ramya; Rodriguez, Mariana Arellano; Barquera, Simon; Battersby, Jane; Beal, Ty; Béné, Christophe; Cafiero, Carlo; Campeau, Christine; Caron, Patrick; Cattaneo, Cattaneo; Candel, Jeroen; Covic, Namukolo; del Pino Alvarez, Inmaculada; Barreto, Ana Paula Dominguez; Elouafi, Ismahane; Frazier, Tyler J.; Fremier, Alexander; Foley, Pat; Golden, Christopher D.; Fischer, Carlos Gonzalez; Guarin, Alejandro; Hendriks, Sheryl; Herforth, Anna; Honorati, Maddalena; Huang, Jikun; Getaneh, Yonas; Kennedy, Gina; Laar, Amos; Lal, Rattan; Lidder, Preetmoninder; Feye, Getachew Legese; Loken, Brent; Malapit, Hazel J.; Marshall, Quinn; Mulatu, Kalkidan A.; Munguia, Ana; Nordhagen, Stella; Resnick, Danielle; Suhardiman, Diana; Sumaila, U. Rashid; Sun, Bangyao; Mengesha, Belay Terefe; Cullen, Maximo Torero; Tubiello, Francesco N.; Dooren, Corné van; Morales, Isabel Valero; Vivero-Pol, Jose-Luis; Webb, Patrick; Wiebe, Keith D.; Haddad, Lawrence; Herrero, Mario; Moncayo, Jose Rosero; Fanzo, Jessica

Citation

Schneider, Kate R.; Remans, Roseline; Bekele, Tesfaye Hailu; Aytekin, Destan; Conforti, Piero; Dasgupta, Shouro; et al. 2025. Governance and resilience as entry points for transforming food systems in the countdown to 2030. Nature Food 6: 105-116. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01109-4

Keywords

Food Systems; Governance; Resilience; Transformation; Resiliencia; Sistema Alimentario; Gobernanza-gobernancia

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01109-4 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Article has an altmetric score of 148
Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Progress in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) coverage and potential contribution to the decline in diarrhea and stunting in Ethiopia

2024Girma, Meron; Hussein, Alemayehu; Norris, Tom; Genye, Tirsit; Tessema, Masresha; Bossuyt, Anne; van Zyl, Cornelia
Details

Progress in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) coverage and potential contribution to the decline in diarrhea and stunting in Ethiopia

Inadequate safe water supply and poor sanitation and hygiene continue to be important risk factors for diarrhoea and stunting globally. We used data from the four rounds of the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey and applied the new World Health Organization (WHO)/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) service standards to assess progress in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) coverage between 2000 and 2016. We also performed an age-disaggregated pooled linear probability regression analysis followed by a decomposition analysis to determine whether changes in WASH practices have contributed to the changing prevalence of diarrhoea and stunting in children under 5 years of age. We observed a significant increase in the coverage of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities over the period. At the national level, the use of a basic water source increased from 18% in 2000 to 50% in 2016. Open defecation declined from 82% to 32% over the same period. However, in 2016, only 6% of households had access to a basic sanitation facility, and 40% of households had no handwashing facilities. The reduction in surface water use between 2000 and 2016 explained 6% of the decline in diarrhoea observed among children aged 0–5 months. In children aged 6–59 months, between 7% and 9% of the reduction in stunting were attributable to the reduction in open defecation over this period. Despite progress, improvements are still needed to increase basic WASH coverage in Ethiopia. Our findings showed that improvements in water and sanitation only modestly explained reductions in diarrhoea and stunting.

Year published

2024

Authors

Girma, Meron; Hussein, Alemayehu; Norris, Tom; Genye, Tirsit; Tessema, Masresha; Bossuyt, Anne; van Zyl, Cornelia

Citation

Girma, Meron; Hussein, Alemayehu; Norris, Tom; Genye, Tirsit; Tessema, Masresha; Bossuyt, Anne; van Zyl, Cornelia; et al. 2024. Progress in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) coverage and potential contribution to the decline in diarrhea and stunting in Ethiopia. Maternal and Child Nutrition 20(S5): e13280. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13280

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Africa; Diarrhoea; Water; Stunting; Children; Hygiene; Drinking Water

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13280 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Events

Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19: European Commission Discussion of IFPRI’s 2021 Global Food Policy Report
Series/Special Event

 | 

May 13, 2021, 6:00 – 7:30 am

Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19: European Commission Discussion of IFPRI’s 2021 Global Food Policy Report

Virtual Event: MAY 13, 2021- 06:00 AM to 07:30 AM European Commission share evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and discuss the furture of food systems transformation. 

Virtual Event - Local vs Global? The role of trade in building food system resilience
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

January 13, 2021, 9:30 – 11:00 am

Virtual Event – Local vs Global? The role of trade in building food system resilience

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global economy and put pressure on food supply chains, debate has resurged about the role of trade in protecting food security. Though food supply chains have proved fairly resilient during the outbreak, many countries have faced both severe disruptions in supply and shifts in food […]

Virtual Event - The European Green Deal: The Force of the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy to Build Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

July 23, 2020, 9:30 – 10:45 am

Virtual Event – The European Green Deal: The Force of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy to Build Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems

A discussion on the force of the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy & Biodiversity Strategy and building healthy & sustainable food systems. 
Watch Video
 

View all Events

Blogs

Shaping strategies for Rwanda’s agricultural transformation
IFPRI Blog
 | 
June 30, 2025

Shaping strategies for Rwanda’s agricultural transformation

By Maria DiGiovanni, James Warner, and Serge Mugabo

How IFPRI research helps guide policy.

A new rapid assessment tool for food security risks posed by global price shocks
IFPRI Blog
 | 
December 07, 2023

A new rapid assessment tool for food security risks posed by global price shocks

By Nicholas Minot and Rob Vos

Introducing the Food Import Vulnerability Index (FIVI).

Understanding what impacts last, after the project ends
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 08, 2019

Understanding what impacts last, after the project ends

By Alan de Brauw

A biofortification project in Mozambique shows lasting nutrition benefits.

View all Blogs