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The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked a range of economic shocks, food systems shocks, public health crises and political upheavals across the globe, prompting a rethink of associated global systems. Prepandemic anticolonial movements that challenged hierarchies of race, space, gender and expert knowledge in global health took on new meaning in the context of the unequal impacts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as it moved through different kinds of spaces and distinct political contexts. In light of these dynamics, and the desire of many current practitioners in global health to reimagine the future, the need for critical analyses of the recent past have become more urgent. Here we challenge linear understandings of progress in global health—with a focus on the field of nutrition—by returning to consider a previous cycle of dramatic social, political and economic change that prompted serious challenges to the dominance of Western powers and US-based philanthro-capitalists. With a 'global' health and nutrition audience in mind, we put forward considerations on why a better understanding of the continuities and divergences between this past and the present moment are necessary to challenge a status quo that was, and is, highly flawed. ; PR ; IFPRI3; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all ; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

COVID-19 and the measures governments have put in place to prevent its aggravation have triggered an economic recession that will increase poverty rates and hunger. In June, the International Monetary Fund projected a 4.9% decline in global economic growth compared to 20191. A similar forecast has been generated under Ceres2030, a research project co-directed by the International Food Policy Research Institute, Cornell University and the International Institute for Sustainable Development that is calculating the cost of effective interventions to end hunger sustainably. The estimate is that 95 million additional people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, will be living in extreme poverty by the end of the year. ; IFPRI3; 1 Fostering Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Food Supply; CRP2; Ceres2030 ; AFR; PIM ; Non-PR ; CGIAR Research Programs on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

One of the silver linings of any crisis is the innovation it produces. And when it comes to food, COVID-19 is no exception. The evidence, anecdotal as it is, shows that lockdowns around the world have had a profound impact on the markets, transport, and labor supply needed to produce, distribute, and sell nutritious foods. With reports of vegetables rotting in the fields and milk being thrown away while people go without, a clear mismatch has emerged between supply and demand. But as things have closed down, new spaces have opened up. Innovations driven by government, business, and communities targeting production, distribution, markets, and consumers have proliferated to enable food to get to people who need it in new ways. Crisis often necessitates new actions for short-term solutions. But given the longer-term problem of undernutrition and overweight around the world, and the ongoing conversation about how food systems need to change, it's worth asking: do these innovations tell us anything about what is possible and beneficial for food systems transformation toward nutritious, healthy diets for all? ; Non-PR ; IFPRI4

Founded by the European Union, FAO and WFP at the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the Global Network Against Food Crises is an alliance of humanitarian and development actors working together to prevent, prepare for, and respond to food crises and support the Sustainable Development Goal to End Hunger (SDG 2). It seeks to reduce vulnerabilities associated with acute hunger; achieve food security and improved nutrition; and promote sustainable agriculture and food systems, using a '3x3 approach.' This involves working at the global, regional and national levels to support partnerships within existing structures and to improve advocacy, decision-making, policy and programming along the following three dimensions: Dimension 1 | Understanding food crises The work within this dimension aims to build greater consensus and promote evidencebased food security and nutrition analyses and reporting in order to strengthen the collection, quality and coverage of the food security and nutrition data and analysis, and inform decision-making and action. This will be achieved through the contribution to the Global Report on Food Crises, a unique 'global public good' under the coordination and leadership of the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), as well as the coordination, synthesis, and publication of technical analyses, including forward-looking analyses of food crises. Dimension 2 | Leveraging strategic investments in food security, nutrition and agriculture The work within this dimension aims to advocate for 'fit for purpose' financing that draws on the full range of resource flows (public and private, international and domestic) to better prepare for, prevent and respond to food crises. It seeks to improve coherence between humanitarian, development and peace actions (the HDP 'nexus') to build resilience to shocks and promote longer-term self-reliance. Activities include a strong focus on supporting capacity strengthening of country-level actors and institutions, as well as strengthening coordination at the regional level to ensure that investments are focused on the right place, at the right time. Dimension 3 | Going beyond food The work within this dimension aims to foster political uptake and coordination across clusters/sectors to address the underlying multi-dimensional drivers of food crises including environmental, political, economic, societal and security risk factors. It seeks to improve understanding and promote linkages between the different dimensions of fragility through knowledge sharing, advocacy and integrated policy responses. ; PR ; IFPRI2; DCA; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; Food Security Portal ; MTID

The economic crisis and food and health system disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic threaten to exacerbate undernutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We developed pessimistic, moderate and optimistic scenarios for 2020–2022 and used three modelling tools (MIRAGRODEP, the Lives Saved Tool and Optima Nutrition) to estimate the impacts of pandemic-induced disruptions on child stunting, wasting and mortality, maternal anaemia and children born to women with a low body mass index (BMI) in 118 LMICs. We estimated the cost of six nutrition interventions to mitigate excess stunting and child mortality due to the pandemic and to maximize alive and non-stunted children, and used the human capital approach to estimate future productivity losses. By 2022, COVID-19-related disruptions could result in an additional 9.3 million wasted children and 2.6 million stunted children, 168,000 additional child deaths, 2.1 million maternal anaemia cases, 2.1 million children born to women with a low BMI and US$29.7 billion in future productivity losses due to excess stunting and child mortality. An additional US$1.2 billion per year will be needed to mitigate these effects by scaling up nutrition interventions. Governments and donors must maintain nutrition as a priority, continue to support resilient systems and ensure the efficient use of new and existing resources. ; PR ; IFPRI3; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; G Cross-cutting gender theme; Advancing Research on Nutrition and Agriculture (ARENA); Ceres2030 ; DSGD; MTID; PHND; A4NH ; CGIAR Research Programs on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

Lockdowns induced by COVID-19 have threatened food security in most developing countries. Four weeks after the country went into lockdown, we carried out a telephone survey of roughly 2,600 rural households in eastern India, one of the poorest regions of the world. The aim was to provide rapid evidence on the status and determinants of food insecurity and to understand the coping strategies adopted by rural households during the pandemic. Using comprehensive telephone survey data from 2,599 households, we estimated the status of food insecurity using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale. We found that roughly 98 percent of rural households reported a negative income shock after countrywide lockdown was imposed. We further observed that about 46 percent of the sampled households were moderately food insecure and 25 percent were severely food insecure. We also observed regional differences in the extent of food insecurity. The results of the Poisson regression indicate that households that belong to lower social strata and have less land and fewer years of education are more likely to suffer from food insecurity. The results also indicate that households which are receiving government assistance are more likely to be food secure. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI5; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; DCA ; SAR

Measures that have been put in place across the world to slow down the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) have had profound effects on food and nutrition security for those furthest behind. In the short run, many have experienced increased commodity prices, decreased access to food through schools and markets, disrupted agri-food supply chains, and loss of livelihoods. It is feared that these short-term effects will have a long-term impact on poverty, intergenerational malnutrition among vulnerable people (in particular, pregnant and lactating women), agricultural productivity reduction, and increased conflicts and displacement. How can we build back food systems better after Covid-19 so that they serve the needs of those furthest behind? To guide this decision, we employ the following concept of food systems resilience: 'Capacity over time of a food system and its units at multiple levels, to provide sufficient, appropriate and accessible food to all, in the face of various and even unforeseen disturbances'. In applying this concept to the post-Covid-19 response, we supplement this with a political economy angle that critically examines whose resilience is and should be prioritised in humanitarian aid and donor-funded interventions. In line with international and Ireland's commitments, the aim is to build back food systems that 'leave no one behind'. ; IFPRI5; CRP4; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; UNFSS ; PHND; A4NH ; PR ; CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

The COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted structures and communities across the globe. Numerous regions of the world have had varying responses in their attempts to contain the spread of the virus. Varying factors such as public health policies, governance, and sociopolitical factors, have led to differential levels of success at controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Ultimately, a more advanced surveillance metric for COVID-19 transmission is necessary to help government systems and national leaders understand which responses have been effective and gauge where outbreaks occur. ; PR ; IFPRI3; ISI; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry; 5 Strengthening Institutions and Governance; COVID-19 Policy Response (CPR) Portal; CRP2 ; DSGD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered intense discussions about the vulnerability of the world's food systems and food supply chains (FSCs) and about the roles of different types of supply chains, such as local vs. global, in providing food security. We know that the spread of the novel coronavirus and government- imposed lockdowns and other restrictions have had a range of impacts on FSCs, and triggered a variety of creative innovations to keep supply chains running. To guide government policy responses going forward, and to facilitate a shift to more resilient FSCs in the long run, we need to understand several things: the role of various types of supply chains in food security; how resilient they have — or have not — been to the pandemic's impacts; and what innovations are now emerging to improve their resilience. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI4 ; DGO

Myanmar experienced four distinct COVID shocks to its economy over 2020 to early 2022 as well as a military takeover in February 2021 that created severe political, civil and economic turmoil. COVID and the coup d'état reversed a decade of growth and poverty reduction, but the full extent of the crisis on household poverty has remained uncertain because of the challenges of conducting large-scale in-person welfare surveys during the pandemic and recent political instability. Here we combine ex ante simulation models with diverse phone survey evidence from mid-2020 to early 2022 to estimate the poverty impacts of these shocks and some of the mechanisms behind them. Both simulations and surveys are consistent in painting a grim picture of rising poverty, capital-depleting coping mechanisms, and the complete collapse of government-provided social protection. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; MyanmarSSP; MAPSA; CRP2; 4 Transforming Agricultural and Rural Economies ; DSGD; PIM ; CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

The Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2020 is the result of a joint, consensus-based assessment of acute food insecurity situations around the world by 16 partner organizations. At 135 million, the number of people in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) in 2019 was the highest in the four years of the GRFC's existence. This increase also reflected the inclusion of additional countries and areas within some countries. When comparing the 50 countries that were in both the 2019 and the 2020 reports, the population in Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) rose from 112 to 123 million. This reflected worsening acute food insecurity in key conflict-driven crises, notably the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan and the growing severity of drought and economic shocks as drivers in countries such as Haiti, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Around 183 million people in 47 countries were classified in Stressed (IPC/CH Phase 2) conditions, at risk of slipping into Crisis or worse (IPC/CH Phase 3 or above) if confronted by an additional shock or stressor. An estimated 75 million stunted children were living in the 55 food-crisis countries analysed. These children have limited access to sufficient dietary energy, nutritionally diverse diets, clean drinking water, sanitation and health care, which weakens their health and nutrition status, with dire consequences for their development and long-term productivity. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI2 ; MTID

PIM had a productive final year centered on synthesizing findings while continuing to respond to demand on the impacts of COVID-19 and preparing the transition to the new CGIAR portfolio. PIM findings and engagement contributed to Myanmar's response to COVID-19, South Africa's policies on resilience to climate change, Tunisia's policies for pastoral development, a reform of Nigeria's national agricultural research system, Ghana's fish seed and farm certification system, gender strategies for three agricultural value chains in Honduras, and genome editing guidelines for the agricultural sector in four African countries. PIM research informed policy documents of FAO, IFAD, One CGIAR, the UK Government, the World Bank and the World Food Programme. PIM tools enabled more equitable co-management of 76 protected areas in Peru and informed World Bank social protection projects. Books on food security in Bangladesh and Malawi, trade in Latin America, African agricultural value chains and gender were published. 42 PIM synthesis briefs and notes were issued, summarizing research results in key thematic areas. PIM contributed 181 journal articles, 8 journal issues (on demand driven seed systems, China's response to COVID-19, agriculture and food security in China under COVID-19, food loss and waste, landscape restoration, multistakeholder fora in forestry and two issues on gender), 15 book chapters and about 500 non-peer-reviewed outputs. 16 PIM webinars were organized. PIM's contributions to the United Nations Food Systems Summit covered agricultural extension, food system innovations and digital technologies, the future of small farms, the science-policy interface, the cost of ending hunger by 2030, food waste and loss, management of the commons and gender. Building on past PIM investments in economywide modeling tools and social accounting matrices, PIM teams continued to assess the impacts of COVID-19 and policy responses at country level. Lessons learned from PIM country-level analyses on COVID-19's impacts on food ...