DELIVERING FOR NUTRITION IN SOUTH ASIA: 2026 – AGENDA – ALL DAYS

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1a

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Session title, co-chairs and presenters

To be announced

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1b

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Session title, co-chairs and presenters

To be announced

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1c

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Session title, co-chairs and presenters

To be announced

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1a

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Weathering the Storm: Shocks, Climate & Food Security

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Monsoon Dry Spells and Nutritional Vulnerability in India: Evidence from Three Decades of Household Consumption Surveys
  Zeeshan, New Delhi Institute of Management
• Before and After the Storm: Cyclone Ditwah and Food Insecurity Dynamics in Sri Lankan Households
  U.K.M.H. Dilusha Erandi Munasinghe, University of Peradeniya/IFPRI
• Geopolitical shocks, food prices and household diets: Insights from Sri Lanka
  Pia Tinneberg, University of Göttingen
• From Fields to Markets: How Climate Stress Is Reshaping Diets across Urban, Rural and Coastal Bangladesh
  Santhia Ireen, BRAC JPGSPH
• Calorie Adequacy and Climate Trade-Offs in Indian Diets: Evidence from HCES 2011-12 and 2023-24
  Bhumika Mishra, IFPRI

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1b

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Roots & Resilience: Local Knowledge for a Changing Climate

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Harnessing Ancestral Wisdom for Climate-Resilient Food Systems and Diets in Pakistan
  Farhana Tabassum, Aga Khan University
• Climate Stress, Gender and Food Insecurity: Evidence for Resilient Local Food Systems in Achham, Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal
  Maheshwor Rijal, Welthungerhilfe Nepal
• From Community Kitchen to Nutrition Governance: OBHIZATRIK's Journey to Youth-Led Climate Nutrition Systems in Bangladesh
  Minhaz Uddin Shibly, OBHIZATRIK Foundation
• Seasonal Heat, Dietary Diversity, and Local Adaptation among Women in Rural Pakistan: A Mixed-Methods Study
  Fatima Nazir, Aga Khan University
• Widespread Dependence, Limited Recognition: Pollination Knowledge and Household Dependency in Nepal's Transitioning Agrifood Systems
  Sujan Sapkota, HERD International

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 1c

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No One Left Behind: Nutrition in Fragile & Vulnerable Settings

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Informality, infrastructure and the spatial dynamics of food environments of low-income urban communities
  Meghal Perera, Colombo Urban Lab
• Food Security and Dietary Coping Strategies Among Afghan Refugee Households in Pakistan
  Mirza Muhammad Hadeed Khawar, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore
• When Fishing Does Not Feed: Fishing Livelihoods and Dietary Quality in Coastal Sri Lanka
  Wickrama Arachchillage Ayomi Menaka Bandara, University of Göttingen
• Household water insecurity as a constraint on healthy diets among women in Sri Lanka
  Bibi Nadia Shaheen Koyratty, IFPRI
• Homestead Gardening and Food Security Among Rohingya Refugee Households in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
  Tariqul Islam, BRAC

Time: 13:45-15:00 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Learning Session 2a

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Systems approaches to map complex pathways between perishable food losses and healthy diets

Organizer: Gregory Cooper, Research Fellow, Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy

Format: In person

Learning objectives:

• Learn how to visualize and interpret complex food system interactions (e.g., pathways, feedback loops, delays) through causal-loop diagrams.
• Contribute to the development and evaluation of a novel food systems framework linking nutrient-dense food losses to healthy diets.
• Co-develop a shortlist of high-potential metrics for measuring how losses of nutrient-dense foods along the supply chain impact healthy diets.

What is planned: After a brief scene-setting presentation and group formation (first 15 minutes), the session centers on participatory "group model building." Small groups of 3–5 people will work together to co-develop their own causal-loop diagrams through discussion, drawing and annotation, and group decision-making (e.g., weighting different pathways). Facilitators will rove the room to offer support, and in the final 20 minutes a representative from each group will report back.

Time: 13:45-15:00 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Learning Session 2b

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From Evidence to Action: What It Actually Takes to Scale Maternal Nutrition Supplementation in South Asia

Organizer: Jigyasa Nawani, Senior Manager, Advocacy & Communications – Asia, Nutrition International

Format: Hybrid

Learning objectives:

• Understand the common enablers and bottlenecks across South Asia for successfully implementing maternal nutrition interventions.
• Identify concrete priority actions that can inform future investment, policy dialogue, and program design in maternal nutrition.
• Strengthen connections among researchers, policymakers, and implementers working on maternal nutrition, supporting continued collaboration beyond the session.

What is planned: A multi-sectoral panel discussion drawing on examples from three countries at different stages of transition, followed by interactive Q&A. "Temperature check" exercises will gauge participants' knowledge of maternal nutrition and of the enablers and barriers to system transition, and organizers will share tools and resources to support decision-making on maternal nutrition interventions.

Time: 13:45-15:00 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Learning Session 2c

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Integrating Geriatric Nutrition Services in the Primary Health Care System of South Asia

Organizer: Malay Kanti Mridha, Professor and Director, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University

Format: Hybrid

Learning objectives:

• Describe the nutritional burden and nutrition care needs of older adults in South Asia.
• Identify the key health-system barriers currently preventing the delivery of geriatric nutrition services through primary health care facilities.
• Develop a country-specific case study detailing the challenges of, and solutions for, integrating geriatric nutrition services into primary health care.

What is planned: The session opens with live polling on the current state of geriatric nutrition integration in participants' own health systems, followed by an open discussion giving participants direct access to panelists. In case-based implementation sprints, participants will use a simplified implementation science framework to design a three-step workflow for integrating nutrition into primary health care in their own country.

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 2a

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From Farm to Fork: Markets, Value Chains & Livelihoods

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Applying the 'Healthy Food Markets' framework to identify priorities for rural food market investment in Bihar, India
  Martin Watts, The University of Sheffield
• Same Income, Different Plates: Formal Employment and Protein Consumption in Bangladesh, 2000–2022
  Nawshiba Arnob, BRAC
• Market Concentration and the Relative Price of Processed and Fresh Foods: Global Evidence with Implications for South Asia
  Manuel Hernandez, IFPRI
• Nutrition on credit: payroll-linked purchasing in Fair Price Shops as an affordability mechanism for Bangladesh's garment workers
  G.M. Reza Sumon, GAIN
• Bridging Nutrition and Immunization: A Private Provider Engagement Model for Integrated Service Delivery in Urban Karachi
  Zahid Ali Memon, Aga Khan University

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 2b

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Bytes & Bites: Digital Innovation for Better Diets

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• When advice outruns affordability: a price-linked engine that computes what a nutritious diet costs in Pakistan each week
  Mohammad Azeem Malik, King Edward Medical University, Lahore
• Digital Accountability?: Exploring the Disconnect Between Data Monitoring and Service Delivery
  Saroj, ZealGrit Social Welfare Foundation
• Nutria mHealth App for Health and Dietary Management of Gestational Diabetes: Feasibility and Effectiveness in Urban Bangladesh
  Barnali Chakraborty, North South University
• Constructing Meanings of Nutrition: A Digital Ethnography of Commercial Nutrition Communication on Social Media in Bangladesh
  Anika Tahsin, Comilla University
• Enhancing Dietary Adherence in Diabetic Patients through Traditional and mHealth Nutrition Education: A Randomized Controlled Study in Bangladesh
  Bilkis Banu, Independent University, Bangladesh (virtual)

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 2c

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The First 1,000 Days & Beyond: Maternal & Child Nutrition

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Complementary Feeding Trends and Persistent Inequalities among Young Children in Nepal, 2019–2024/25
  Ramesh Prasad Adhikari, Helen Keller Intl
• Joint effects of household proximity to lead-related economic activity and elevated blood lead level on child stunting in Bangladesh
  Abu Hena M Mahbub ul Latif, University of Dhaka / BRAC JPGSPH
• Do Parental Health Shocks and Environmental Shocks Lead to Child Growth Faltering? Evidence from Young Lives India
  Akshara V, Madras School of Economics, Chennai
• Maternal Diet Quality During Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes: Evidence from a Prospective Cohort Study in India
  Kajal Subhash Tonde, KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune
• Seasonal shifts in complementary food contamination, food insecurity, and child health status in coastal Bangladesh
  Rehnuma Sarah Haque, icddr,b

Time: 13:45-15:00 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Learning Session 3a

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Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 4a

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Seeds of Change: Nutrition-Sensitive Agri-food Systems

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Uncertain Food, Uncertain Future: Food System Experiences of Two Indigenous Communities from India
  Shuvashree Nanda, IIPH Bhubaneswar, PHFI
• Digital Agriculture Platforms and Smallholder Access to Nutritious Food Markets in Rural Punjab, Pakistan
  Muneeb Khawar, Mayo Hospital, Lahore
• Navigating Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture: Farmer Experiences with Rice–Fish–Vegetable Farming in Bangladesh
  Nurun Nahar Naila, icddr,b
• Navigating seasonal food-system transitions: Dietary diversity and mixed effects of an integrated agriculture–nutrition intervention in Bangladesh
  Mustafa Kamal, CIMMYT
• Transforming School Meal Budgets Into Local Nutrition Markets: Linking OFSP, Farmers and Schools in Lumbini, Nepal
  Shirishman Singh, Helen Keller Intl

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 4b

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Shifting Plates: Reshaping Diets Across the Life Course

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Navigating the Double Burden: The Protective Role of Nutrition Health Literacy on Adolescent BMI in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal
  Birabha Bhakta Singh Pradhan, Patan Academy of Health Sciences
• Digital Transformation in Adolescent Nutrition: Feasibility of an AI-Assisted Gamified App to Improve Diet Quality among Adolescent Girls in Sri Lanka
  Nilmini Jayalath Karunarathna Hitihami Mudiyanselage, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
• From Policy to Practice: Advancing Adolescent Nutrition Through Multi-Country Implementation in Asia
  Shweta Upadhyay, Nutrition International
• Transforming Anganwadi Meals for Better Diets: Lessons from a Locally Adapted Nutrition Intervention in Nandurbar, Maharashtra
  Chandni Chopra, Eternal General Service Foundation
• Community-Based Strategies to Reduce Junk Food Intake and Maternal Obesity in Urban Kolkata Slums
  Sreeparna Ghosh Mukherjee, Child in Need Institute

Time: 11:00-12:30 (Sri Lanka time) | Venue: TBA

Thematic Session 4c

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Making Healthy the Easy Choice: Affordability & Food Environments

Co-chairs: To be announced

Presentations:

• Can Bangladesh Afford Safer Street Food?
  Mostafizur Rahman, North South University
• Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet in Sri Lanka
  Pasdun Korale Arachchige Jayamini Champika, HARTI, Sri Lanka
• The influence of physical accessibility on household fruit and vegetable purchases in urban and rural Sri Lanka
  Quinn Marshall, IFPRI
• Estimating the cost of a preference-based healthy diet and comparing it with Aswesuma cash transfers in Sri Lanka
  Budni Hasanga Hewavidana, PGIA, University of Peradeniya
• Strengthening food transfers for maternal health and nutrition: Evidence from Rural India
  Sumedha Minocha, Tata-Cornell Institute (virtual)