More on Together for Nutrition

The challenge

Every country in the world faces serious levels of malnutrition, whether hunger, obesity, or micronutrient deficiency. Taken together, one in three people worldwide are experiencing at least one of these conditions. Poor diet is common to all these forms of malnutrition. People are either not getting enough food, not enough of the right food or too much of the wrong food. This is a fundamental challenge which all societies and actors in the agriculture and food system will have to grapple with over the next decade and beyond.

Nutritious food choices are unavailable, unaffordable or undesirable for billions of people. Food systems – the relationships between what is produced, distributed, stored, processed, marketed, advertised and eaten – need to be reshaped to deliver healthy and nutritious diets to all.

Governments set the rules of the game for food systems. Businesses – small, medium, and large - are the main investors in those systems. Neither can alter the food system dynamic on their own: they need to engage with each other to change the trajectory of their nation’s food systems. The question is what, how, with whom, when and where?

Course overview

Hosted by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), this course will take participants through a learning experience that will help them negotiate these questions in their own context. At the end of the course participants will be better able to identify and create opportunities for public-private engagement to advance nutrition. In addition, they will be able to engage and maximise their positive impact on the consumption of nutritious and safe food for all people, especially the most vulnerable. Participants will also have access to high-quality resources, relationships and networks to advance their agendas post-course.

Course leaders

The course leaders – Lawrence Haddad and Myriam Sidibe – bring leadership from the public and private sectors. Dr Haddad, an economist, is the 2018 World Food Prize Laureate and the Executive Director of GAIN. Dr Sidibe is a world expert on commercial brands that drive public health impact backed by 15 years of hands-on experience at Unilever as their Social Mission Director for Hygiene and Nutrition brands. Dr Sidibe is on sabbatical at the Harvard Kennedy School as a resident senior fellow at the Mossavar Rahmani Centre for Business and Government. Course facilitation will draw on a wide range of senior leaders from the public and private sectors. The development costs of this programme have been supported by bilateral donor agencies – Irish Aid, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Germany, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Canada and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). There will be 10–12 additional expert presenters drawn from a variety of public and private sector organisations.

Course details

The course will take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 29 June to 3 July 2020. The course fee is USD 2,250, 3,000 or 3,500 depending on the location, size and type of organisation the applicant works for: USD 2,250: national NGO/CSOs, SMEs, academia or government staff in Africa or South Asia; USD 3,000 for international NGOs, multilaterals & academia; USD 3,500 for international businesses, those based in Europe/North America and international donors. A limited number of scholarships are available for participants from Africa and South Asia for whom travel and accommodation will be paid for.

Course applications are now open through Nutrition Connect. Applications will be assessed based on whether potential participants are (a) in a position to contribute to joint learning, (b) can effect change within their domains and (c) will promote diversity within the cohort.

For more information on Together for Nutrition, please email: GAINcourse@gainhealth.org 

Testimonials

"I really appreciate the way the course has been set up, the participants, those leading the course, guest speakers, case studies, the entire package is really valuable."  -- Saachi Bhalla, Programme Office, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

 

"I am going to walk away with contacts from different geographies and different sectors. I am going to use that to enhance what I do in my daily job."   --  Phyllis Obote, Head of Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs Africa, Upfield Foods Kenya Ltd

 

"The big value of this course is the creation of an environment where people can share their point of view – it is valuable and enriching, don’t stop! "  --  Org van der Wath, Managing Director, Nomsoco Food Ltd

 

"It’s an eclectic, mixed group from a lot of different countries and backgrounds, including representatives from donor organisations, the private sector and civil society... Everybody’s bringing some value to the conversation. It was great because you leave your logo and company at the door and you don’t get embarrassed about looking under the hood."  --  Brent Wibberley, Director of Food Processing and Nutrition, Technoserve