Abstract
Since 2010, USAID and other donors have funded a large-scale research and capacity-building undertaking led by the Friedman School.Called the Innovation Lab for Nutrition, numerous Friedman faculty, students and staff have managed a consortium of US and non-US universities to undertake policy-shaping studies in 8 countries in Africaand Asia. The focus has been on better understanding i) how investments in agriculture can support accelerated improvements in nutrition, ii) what capacity and commitment support is needed to ensure effective translation of national multisectoral policiesinto field-level activities, and iii) what biological mechanisms must be better understood in our drive to resolve malnutrition in all its forms (including the role of mycotoxins in growth retardation and environmental enteropathy’s links to household conditions and behaviors). This seminar will provide a summary of how this large research agenda has been organized, the findings already influencing how donors and governments think about nutrition, and what to expect in the next few years.
Speaker Bio
Patrick Webb is a Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University. He is the Director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition, and also Principal Investigator for the Office of Food for Peace’s Food Aid Quality Review. The latter builds on his work as Chief of Nutrition for the World Food Program in Rome, the former builds on 9 earlier years at IFPRI.In his spare time, Patrick serves as Technical Adviser for the London-based Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, he’s a member of the CGIAR’s Independent Science and Partnership Council, and also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Food Security and Agriculture.In addition to the Friedman School, Prof. Webb has academic affiliations with Hohenheim University (Germany), Patan Academy of Health Sciences (Nepal), and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts.