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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

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

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

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experts

Taddese Zerfu

Research Fellow

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Bio

Taddese Zerfu is a Research Fellow in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Together with the Ethiopian team, he coordinates the Ethiopia National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN) Technical Advisory Project (ENTAP). He has conducted a modeling study using the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) software, which has resulted in a significant policy impact in relation to Ethiopia’s Seqota Declaration activity.

Before joining IFPRI, Taddese worked as a clinician, researcher, and academic in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. In Ethiopia, he served as a technical advisor and later a senior research advisor for the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH). Taddese completed two postdoctoral fellowships and the Marie Curie Fellowship at the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems (GAAFS), University of Edinburgh. He is also the winner of the 2016 Tore Godal Medal award.

Languages: English, four Ethiopian local languages

Google Scholar Citations

Publications

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Blog Post

Beyond the Health Extension Program: Developing a focused approach to improve nutrition in Ethiopia

2024Zerfu, Taddese
Details

Beyond the Health Extension Program: Developing a focused approach to improve nutrition in Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Health Extension Program (HEP) has long been a cornerstone of the country’s public health strategy, especially in rural and underserved areas. Launched with high hopes in 2003, the HEP aimed to advance health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and provide essential health services to communities with limited access. From its early years, the HEP demonstrated significant promise. Focusing on health education and preventive measures, its efforts in promoting hygiene, maternal and child health, and disease prevention have been pivotal in advancing public health across Ethiopia. A key strength of the program is its deployment of community health workers (CHWs), who deliver services directly within communities, making health care more accessible, especially in remote and underserved areas.

Year published

2024

Authors

Zerfu, Taddese

Citation

Zerfu, Taddese. 2024. Beyond the Health Extension Program: Developing a focused approach to improve nutrition in Ethiopia. IFPRI Blog. First available online on September 11, 2024. https://www.ifpri.org/blog/beyond-the-health-extension-program-developing-a-focused-approach-to-improve-nutrition-in-ethiopia/

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Health; Millennium Development Goals; Health Services; Education; Hygiene; Maternal and Child Health; Disease Prevention

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Blog Post

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Blog Post

Feeding minds, fueling futures: How School Feeding Programs (SFP) drive development in low-Income nations like Ethiopia

2024Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
Details

Feeding minds, fueling futures: How School Feeding Programs (SFP) drive development in low-Income nations like Ethiopia

Ethiopian households face daunting challenges due to inflation, conflict, drought, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite significant socio-economic growth, the country remains highly susceptible to climate-induced shocks, compounded by destructive conflicts and persistent insecurity (1). Ethiopia is one of the most impacted countries in the world regarding food security, with up to 20 million (16% of the population) suffering from severe food insecurity (2,3). Many children are dropping out of school due to hunger (3). This predicament is exacerbated by students’ inability to concentrate or attend class, either due to hunger or familial obligations to seek food.

Year published

2024

Authors

Zerfu, Taddese Alemu

Citation

Zerfu, Taddese Alemu. 2024. Feeding minds, fueling futures: How School Feeding Programs (SFP) drive development in low-Income nations like Ethiopia. ANH Academy Blog post. First published online July 29, 2024. https://www.anh-academy.org/community/blogs/feeding-minds-fueling-futures-how-school-feeding-programs-sfp-drive-development-in

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Covid-19; Food Insecurity; Hunger; School Feeding

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Blog Post

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Journal Article

Sustained underweight in rural areas and emergence of overweight in urban Ethiopian women: A multivariate analysis of EDHS data 2000–2016

2024Tareke, Amare Abera; Alem, Addis; Debebe, Wondwossen; Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
Details

Sustained underweight in rural areas and emergence of overweight in urban Ethiopian women: A multivariate analysis of EDHS data 2000–2016

A growing body of evidence indicates the emergence of overweight/obesity in developing countries before the battle against undernutrition has been won. We conducted this study to quantify the reduction of underweight and the emergence of overweight among Ethiopian women from 2000 to 2016 and evaluate factors explaining the progress. We used the four Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (2000–2016) to analyze body mass index (BMI) trends among women. Data from 43,815 non-pregnant, non-puerperal reproductive-age women was used to evaluate the linear change in BMI and changes in the percentage of overweight and underweight over time. Using multivariate decomposition analysis of change in underweight and overweight percentages, we identified sources of change in BMI in the past 16 years of the survey periods. The BMI of Ethiopian reproductive-age women increased by 0.88 kg/m2 from 2000 to 2016. The increment was pronounced in urban areas with 1.46 kg/m2. There has been a significant reduction in underweight women since 2000 (p-value < 0.001), and 87.62% of the changes were attributed to behavioral changes toward weight management. And there was a significant upswing in overweight women from 2000 to 2016 (p-value < 0.001) as well. A compositional change of factors including region, women’s age, women’s educational status, religion, type of place of residence, and use of contraceptives contributed to 57.51% of the observed increment in the percentage of overweight women. A relatively slow decrease in underweight and an increment in overweight have been observed. This progress can be disaggregated into persistent underweight in the rural and poorest, and swift development of overweight in the urban and richest communities. Targeted nutrition interventions for both underweight and overweight women are mandatory. Nutritional interventions in Ethiopia should focus on behavioral change to reduce hunger and malnutrition as well as to avert the emergence of overweight or obesity in the affected communities.

Year published

2024

Authors

Tareke, Amare Abera; Alem, Addis; Debebe, Wondwossen; Zerfu, Taddese Alemu

Citation

Tareke, Amare Abera; Alem, Addis; Debebe, Wondwossen; and Zerfu, Taddese Alemu. 2024. Sustained underweight in rural areas and emergence of overweight in urban Ethiopian women: A multivariate analysis of EDHS data 2000–2016. Scientific Reports 14: 16668. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66409-y

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Body Mass Index; Overweight; Thinness; Trends; Women; Rural Areas; Urban Areas

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66409-y Source record

Record type

Journal Article

Events

SPIR II Learning Event
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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May 16 to 17, 2023

SPIR II Learning Event

May 16 and 17, 2023 (9:00am – 5:00pm Addis Ababa): The Strengthen PSNP5 Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Ethiopia is a five-year project (2021-2026) that supports implementation of the fifth phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP5) in Amhara and Oromia regions and provides additional graduation model programming through complementary gender-sensitive livelihood, nutrition, and climate resilience activities to strengthen the program and expand its impacts.