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Former army and navy leaders urge government to think beyond military capability in advance of key defence review

Former military leaders are urging the UK government to widen its definition of national security to include climate, food and energy measures in advance of a planned multibillion-pound boost in defence spending.

Earlier this year Keir Starmer announced the biggest increase in defence spending in the UK since the end of the cold war, with the budget rising to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 – three years earlier than planned – and an ambition to reach 3%.

Food Policy Priorities for A Changing World

IFPRI’s 2025 Global Food Policy Report reflects on 50 years of progress and examines priorities for food policy research in the run up to 2050.

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Former development ministers Valerie Amos, Lynne Featherstone and Liz Sugg call on leaders to commit to ensuring that women and children have access to good nutrition

Malnutrition and hunger are soaring across the world, leading to hundreds of millions of people suffering and posing a major threat to global security. Access to good nutrition is foundational to development. Without it, children cannot reach their full potential, physically or cognitively. As a result, economies are undermined and less productive, poverty is entrenched and instability spreads.

Women and girls are disproportionately impacted. One billion adolescent girls and women worldwide are suffering from malnutrition because they typically eat last and least. This has a generational impact as malnutrition passes from mother to child. Improving maternal nutrition is critical to arresting global malnutrition and building a healthier and more secure world.

Cocoa one of six commodities vulnerable to environmental threats in ‘extremely worrying picture’ for food resilience

Climate breakdown and wildlife loss are deepening the EU’s “chocolate crisis”, a report has argued, with cocoa one of six key commodities to come mostly from countries vulnerable to environmental threats.

More than two-thirds of the cocoa, coffee, soy, rice, wheat and maize brought into the EU in 2023 came from countries that are not well-prepared for climate change, according to the UK consultants Foresight Transitions.

The global food system has been captured by a few rapacious companies that profit from public ill-health. We need a radical overhaul

Our food system is killing us. Designed in a different century for a different purpose – to mass produce cheap calories to prevent famine – it is now a source of jeopardy, destroying more than it creates. A quarter of all adult deaths globally – more than 12 million every year – are due to poor diets.

Malnutrition in all its forms – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity – is by far the biggest cause of ill-health, affecting one in three people on the planet. Ultra-processed foods are implicated in as many as one in seven premature deaths in some countries.

Fix social protection flaws instead of expanding outlay (The Daily Star)

Bangladesh must urgently redirect resources within its fragmented social protection system and scale up a handful of proven programs that directly benefit the poorest, says IFPRI's Akhter Ahmed.

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Despite attempts to build resilience by improving infrastructure and first response, extreme weather events and US aid cuts have left many feeling vulnerable

When the monsoon rains came last September, they swept away most of the village of Panauti, in the foothills of the Nepali Himalayas. The Roshi River overflowed after the unprecedented rainfall, triggering landslides and destroying most of the roads and bridges.

Peering through the thick blanket of relentless rain “felt like waiting for morning to arrive so we could see the world again”, says Bishnu Humagain. “We lost everything – our home, our agriculture, and all of our belongings.”

Experts stress importance of irrigation to nutrition, health outcomes (Nebraska Today)

Claudia Ringler delivered the keynote speech at the Heuermann Lecture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

The post Experts stress importance of irrigation to nutrition, health outcomes (Nebraska Today) appeared first on IFPRI.

IFPRI’s Wei Zhang appointed to the prestigious NASEM ad-hoc study committee on the status of insects in North America

IFPRI's Wei Zhang will participate in the NASEM study that will assess trends in insect abundance, identify research priorities, and recommend actions to slow insect declines in the most vulnerable and ecologically critical areas.

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Climate denialism should not blind investors and governments to the very real opportunities to be found in financing solutions

Among the many shocks currently facing the international development community is the new direction of the US administration on climate, and the implications worldwide for mitigation and adaptation efforts.

This is not uncharted territory. While a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement is undoubtedly a setback, it no longer carries the same level of disruption as it did. The global community has become more resilient and will continue to advance climate action.

Steven Were Omamo appointed IFPRI’s Director for Africa

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is pleased to announce that Steven Were Omamo has been appointed IFPRI’s Director for Africa, in addition to his ongoing role as Director of the Development Strategies and Governance Unit (DSG). Based in IFPRI’s Nairobi, Kenya office, Omamo joined IFPRI in October 2024. “We are delighted that Were […]

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What happens when western billionaires try to ‘fix’ hunger in developing countries? Neelam Tailor investigates how philanthropic efforts by the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation and the organisation they set up to revolutionise African farming, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), may have made matters worse for the small-scale farmers who produce 70% of the continent's food.

From seed laws that criminalise traditional practices to corporate partnerships with agribusiness giants such as Monsanto and Syngenta, we explore how a well-funded green revolution has led to rising debt, loss of biodiversity and deepening food insecurity across the continent

Parliamentarians from the UK and France urge governments to make strong pledges at the nutrition summit in Paris this week

This week, world leaders meet in Paris for Nutrition for Growth, the critical four-yearly summit that aims to tackle the scourge of soaring global malnutrition and hunger. As a group of cross-party politicians from the UK – the birthplace of Nutrition for Growth in 2013 – and the summit’s current host, France, we believe that the fight against malnutrition is an issue on which every policymaker should unite.

As official development assistance budgets diminish, it becomes increasingly essential for governments to invest funds strategically. Given that investments in nutrition are low-cost and high-impact, they should be prioritised and elevated on the international development agenda. We urge our governments – and other governments around the world – to make strong pledges on nutrition at the summit to save lives, reduce inequality and enhance global security.

Researchers say problem could increase number of people at risk of starvation by 400m in next two decades

The pollution of the planet by microplastics is significantly cutting food supplies by damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesise, according to a new assessment.

The analysis estimates that between 4% and 14% of the world’s staple crops of wheat, rice and maize is being lost due to the pervasive particles. It could get even worse, the scientists said, as more microplastics pour into the environment.

UN food agency received half its budget from US last year and is accelerating merger plan as a result of funding cuts

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the office in Johannesburg would close and the WFP would consolidate its southern and east Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.

First such request in 29 years blames economic hardship and climate crisis for high livestock prices and shortages

King Mohammed VI has urged his fellow Moroccans not to slaughter sheep for upcoming Eid al-Adha festivities as the country grapples with dwindling herds due to a six-year drought.

The request was delivered on Wednesday by the minister of Islamic affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, who read a letter on the monarch’s behalf on the state-run Al Aoula TV channel. He cited economic hardship and the climate crisis as reasons for the rising prices of livestock and sheep shortage in the north African state.

New study challenges the use of Growth Monitoring and Promotion to detect growth faltering in children

A new study published in Advances in Nutrition critically examines the effectiveness of Growth Monitoring and Promotion (GMP) in diagnosing or screening for inadequate growth in children.

The post New study challenges the use of Growth Monitoring and Promotion to detect growth faltering in children appeared first on IFPRI.

Ecowas breakup could push up food prices and worsen hunger in west Africa (The Conversation)

The Conversation Africa published this op-ed by Danielle Resnick, IFPRI Senior Research Fellow, on the recent Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) breakup, or “Sahelexit,” and the implications for West African food security and regional cooperation. “The exit from Africa’s largest political and economic union threatens to disrupt flows of goods, services and people. […]

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Makeshift hospitals and informal settlements deal with daily influx of those escaping the war in neighbouring Sudan

• Photographs by Diego Menjíbar Reynés

At the Joda border crossing between Sudan and South Sudan, movement is constant. Just 100 metres separate the two border checkpoints – on the Sudanese side, three raised flags welcome newcomers; on the South Sudanese side, a sign in Arabic and English marks the entrance to the country.

Women arrive carrying their children, with their belongings balanced on their heads. Some families bring bed frames, nightstands, food, chairs and suitcases, loading them on to carts pulled by donkeys and crossing into South Sudan to escape war in Sudan.

The entry point for refugees from Sudan to South Sudan; in the background is the border. In December, more than 5,000 people crossed this point each day

Abandoning vulnerable populations impacts everything from food security to fragile ecosystems. Plus, the symbolism of Serena Williams’ crip walk

Hello and welcome to The Long Wave. I have been following Donald Trump’s suspension of the US Agency for International Development. USAid is the world’s single biggest aid donor, and the decision to halt its work has sent shockwaves around the world. This week, I trace the effects of its potential demise on the Black diaspora. But first, the weekly roundup.