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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

Elodie Becquey

Elodie Becquey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Nutrition, Diets, and Health Unit, based in IFPRI’s West and Central Africa office in Senegal. She has over 15 years of research experience in diet, nutrition, and food security in Africa, including countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, and Tanzania.

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

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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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TOPIC

Health

Having access to nutritious, affordable, and safe food is critical for individuals to reach their physical and cognitive potential, maintain their health, and ensure economic productivity. Since agriculture, nutrition, diet, and health are intrinsically linked, IFPRI’s health research covers a range of issues, including antimicrobial resistance, agriculture-associated, infectious, and noncommunicable diseases, food safety, intimate partner violence, malnutrition, and maternal and child health, as well as social protection, agriculture, health, and education programs and policies for reducing poverty and enhancing nutrition, health, and education outcomes.

IFPRI’s research on this topic is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 2 and SDG 3.

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topics

Publications

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Brief

Nutrition and dietary quality in Sri Lanka: Insights from the 2024-2025 BRIGHT survey

2025
Tinneberg, Pia; Headey, Derek D.; Comstock, Andrew; Ecker, Olivier; Marshall, Quinn; Sitisekara, Hasara; Silva, Renuka; Hülsen, Vivien; Munasinghe, Dilusha; Ranucci, Immacolata
…more Sabai, Moe; Stifel, Elizabeth; van Asselt, Joanna; Weerasinghe, Krishani
Details

Nutrition and dietary quality in Sri Lanka: Insights from the 2024-2025 BRIGHT survey

Key findings and policy implications • Dietary quality in Sri Lanka – defined in terms of consumption levels of different healthy food groups – falls well short of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health’s 2021 Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) targets, with clear imbalances across food groups. • Heavy dependence on starchy staples. Starchy foods dense in calories but sparse in nutrients provide over 60% of total energy consumption, highlighting a strong over-consumption of rice. • Low consumption of nutrient-rich foods. Intakes of fruits, dark green leafy vegetables (DGLVs), and legumes are at only about one-third of the recommended levels. • Some households report zero consumption of healthy food groups. More than 30% of households report zero consumption of dairy foods in the past 7 days, while 15% report zero consumption of dark green leafy vegetables, and 5% zero fruit, indicating that important foods are absent from many household diets. • Multidimensional dietary deprivation. Nearly all Sri Lankan households are deprived in at least one food group. A typical deprived household falls below the reference threshold in six to seven of eight food groups and consumes only about 37% of the recommended amounts for the foods in which consumption is lower than recommended. • Significant dietary inequality across sectors. Dietary deprivation is most acute in the estate sector, while rural and urban areas fare moderately better. • There is a clear need to promote healthy dietary diversification, especially higher consumption of fruits, legumes, vegetables and dairy, while moderating excess consumption of starchy staples. • Institutionalize regular monitoring of diet deprivation, using the Reference Diet Deprivation (ReDD) index and other dietary indicators to guide targeted nutrition interventions. • Support further research on the drivers of dietary patterns in Sri Lanka to better understand its determinants and differences between sectors.

Year published

2025

Authors

Tinneberg, Pia; Headey, Derek D.; Comstock, Andrew; Ecker, Olivier; Marshall, Quinn; Sitisekara, Hasara; Silva, Renuka; Hülsen, Vivien; Munasinghe, Dilusha; Ranucci, Immacolata; Sabai, Moe; Stifel, Elizabeth; van Asselt, Joanna; Weerasinghe, Krishani

Citation

Tinneberg, Pia; Headey, Derek D.; Comstock, Andrew; Ecker, Olivier; Marshall, Quinn; et al. 2025. Nutrition and dietary quality in Sri Lanka: Insights from the 2024-2025 BRIGHT survey. BRIGHT Sri Lanka Project Note 7. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178184

Country/Region

Sri Lanka

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Nutrition; Diet Quality; Nutrient Intake; Health Diets; Nutritive Value; Surveys

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Source

Source record

Record type

Brief

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Journal Article

Methods for estimating beneficiary populations targeted by health and nutrition interventions for women, pregnant women, infants, and young children

2025Gune, Soyra; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Chakrabarti, Suman
Details

Methods for estimating beneficiary populations targeted by health and nutrition interventions for women, pregnant women, infants, and young children

Utilization of maternal and child interventions is typically tracked in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) using coverage estimates from population representative surveys. These estimates cannot be directly applied to assess resource gaps in intervention delivery for which data on the population eligible is required. Moreover, coverage improvements may not necessarily reflect an expansion in utilization because of a decline in the population eligible. We develop a method to estimate the populations eligible for interventions across the continuum of care. The method uses data from the World Population Prospects and the Demographic Health Survey, data sources which are available for most LMICs. Additionally, we develop a method to estimate the eligible population covered by each intervention. Using the illustration of India, we estimate populations eligible for, and covered by interventions during preconception, pregnancy, delivery, lactation, and childhood. We find that between 2015 and 2020, the eligible population declined for all beneficiary groups. Additionally, coverage expansion was not entirely driven by an increase in the population accessing an intervention, but rather also by a decline in the eligible population. Our illustration highlights the importance of including population estimates alongside coverage for interventions, particularly in LMIC contexts due to changing fertility dynamics.

Year published

2025

Authors

Gune, Soyra; Nguyen, Phuong Hong; Chakrabarti, Suman

Citation

Gune, Soyra; Nguyen, Phuong; and Chakrabarti, Suman. 2025. Methods for estimating beneficiary populations targeted by health and nutrition interventions for women, pregnant women, infants, and young children. American Journal of Epidemiology 194(11): 3106-3116. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwae469

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Capacity Development; Maternal and Child Health; Methods; Nutrition; Population

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwae469 Source record

Project

Foresight

Record type

Journal Article

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Biofortification as a food-based strategy to improve nutrition in high-income countries: A scoping review

2025Gulyas, Boglarka Z.; Mogeni, Brenda; Jackson, Peter; Walton, Jenny; Caton, Samantha J.
Details

Biofortification as a food-based strategy to improve nutrition in high-income countries: A scoping review

Biofortification (increasing the micronutrient content of food before harvest) has been successfully used to nutritionally improve staple foods in low- and middle-income countries. This approach could also help address micronutrient shortfalls in at-risk populations in high-income countries (HICs), however, the potential of biofortification interventions in this context is not well understood. The aim of this scoping review is to assess the nature and extent of available research evidence on biofortified foods in relation to human consumption in HICs. Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, WoS, ProQuest, CINAHL, AGRIS and Epistemonikos. Forty-six peer-reviewed articles were included. Most research was conducted in the USA (n = 15) and Italy (n = 11), on cereal crops (n = 14) and vegetables (n = 11), and on selenium (n = 12) and provitamin A (n = 11). Seven research domains were identified in the literature: bioavailability (n = 17); nutrient stability (n = 11); opinions and attitudes (n = 9); functionality (n = 9); sensory properties (n = 2); safety (n = 1); and modeling (n = 1). Evidence from HICs in each domain is limited. There is a need for more research particularly in areas sensitive to the cultural and socio-economic context.

Year published

2025

Authors

Gulyas, Boglarka Z.; Mogeni, Brenda; Jackson, Peter; Walton, Jenny; Caton, Samantha J.

Citation

Gulyas, Boglarka Z.; Mogeni, Brenda; Jackson, Peter; Walton, Jenny; and Caton, Samantha J. 2025. Biofortification as a food-based strategy to improve nutrition in high-income countries: A scoping review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 65(25): 5027-5048. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2024.2402998

Keywords

Biofortification; Trace Elements; Foods; Nutrition; Research; Public Health

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2024.2402998 Source record

Project

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Record type

Journal Article

Blogs

Growth monitoring and promotion as an opportunity to improve early childhood development
IFPRI Blog
 | 
November 13, 2025

Growth monitoring and promotion as an opportunity to improve early childhood development

By Leila M. Larson, Edward A. Frongillo, Rebecca Brander, Marie Ruel, and Jef L. Leroy

Leveraging a widespread practice.

Exploring the promise of regenerative agriculture for school meal programs
IFPRI Blog
 | 
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.

Screening for early childhood obesity: What can we learn from growth monitoring data?
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 22, 2025

Screening for early childhood obesity: What can we learn from growth monitoring data?

By Morgan Boncyk, Jef L. Leroy, Rebecca Brander, Leila M. Larson, Marie Ruel, and Edward A. Frongillo

Focusing on risks for children under 5.

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Events

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 […]

Empowerment in Crisis: Gender-Responsive Solutions for Fragile Food Systems
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

November 12, 2025, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Empowerment in Crisis: Gender-Responsive Solutions for Fragile Food Systems

Crises—whether driven by conflict, climate shocks, or economic instability—rarely affect everyone equally. Women and girls often bear the heaviest burdens, facing heightened food insecurity, disrupted livelihoods, and increased risks to their health and safety. Yet, women are not only victims of crisis—they are powerful drivers of resilience and recovery. “Empowerment in Crisis: Gender-Responsive Solutions for […]

What’s on the Menu? Collecting high-quality data to inform school menu decision-making
IFPRI Program/Country Event

 | 

October 30, 2025, 10:00 – 11:00 am

What’s on the Menu? Collecting high-quality data to inform school menu decision-making

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 […]

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News

July 31, 2025 | Press Release

New study finds behavior change communication and nutrition supplements can help prevent relapse from child wasting

The study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, used longitudinal data from two cluster-randomized trials in Burkina Faso and Mali, the PROMIS project.

February 04, 2025 | Press Release

Solving global hunger: New report highlights school meal programs as drivers of change

School meal programs don’t just ensure children go to school and stay fed — they are a powerful force for change in communities and food systems worldwide. According to the results of the latest Global Survey of School Meal Programs© conducted by Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), school meal programs can increase demand for nutritious […]

November 12, 2024 | Press Release

New Study: Short-term humanitarian aid alone insufficient to address severe deterioration in employment, income, access to essential services and food security.

Economic revival, social protection, and infrastructure rehabilitation are critical for urban recovery in Sudan. Nairobi, 12 November 2024 – Eighteen months of war have deeply affected urban households in Sudan: 31 percent have been displaced, full-time employment has plummeted by half, over 70 percent of the urban households in Sudan had all or some of […]

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Our experts

Deanna Olney

Deanna Olney

Director, Nutrition, Diets, and Health (NDH), Nutrition,
Diets, and Health

Kwaw Andam

Kwaw Andam

Country Program Leader / Senior Research Fellow, Development
Strategies and Governance

Manuel Hernandez

Manuel Hernandez

Senior Research Fellow, Markets,
Trade, and Institutions, Latin America and the Caribbean

Razin Kabir

Razin Kabir

Senior Program Manager, Poverty,
Gender, and Inclusion