The double burden of malnutrition (DBM) – the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight/obesity – poses a critical global health challenge, particularly for children and adolescents. School meal programs offer an opportunity to address the DBM by providing nutritious meals that support growth, development, and lifelong health. However, limited school meal quality data hinders effective, nutritionally-tailored program design in many contexts around the world.
This webinar will explore new findings from a global analysis of school meal quality across 29 countries, leveraging Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) metrics, and will spotlight Latvia’s experience and best practices in this area.
Moderator Welcome & Overview: Presentation of section 3.3 on food baskets from the 2024 Global Survey of School Meals
- Ayala Wineman, Research Scientist, Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)
Presentation of “What’s on the Menu? A Review of School Meal Quality Across 29 Countries”
- Aisha Kante, Research Program Coordinator, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future
Presentation of Latvia’s school meal menu design and implementation
- Zanda Mihailovska, Senior Expert, Health Promotion Division, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia
Q&A Moderator
- Samuel Scott, Research Fellow, IFPRI
Closing Remarks
- Ayala Wineman, Research Scientist, Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)