GFPR 2024 | INDIA LAUNCH

Malnutrition in South Asia is driven by poor diet quality, marked by high consumption of cereals and calorie-dense foods, and low intake of vegetables and micronutrient-rich foods. This dietary pattern results in persistent undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, alongside rising rates of overweight, obesity, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Contributing factors include poor affordability, relative prices, cultural preferences, food policies and food environments that often favor staple crops and calorie-dense foods. Some countries in the region have implemented large food-based social safety nets which tend to subsidize rice and wheat but have limited impact on improving nutritional diversity. There is a need to allocate more resources to promote production and consumption of non-staple foods. However, the consumption expenditure on calorie dense foods has increased in India and other South Asian countries. Reduction in the supply and consumption of unhealthy foods can be achieved by promoting crop-neutral policies, imposing corrective taxes, and implementing effective food labeling. Efforts to improve diet quality involve diversifying crop production, modifying social safety net programs, and promoting non-staple foods. Besides, new policies across South Asia are essential to combat malnutrition and the burden of NCDs. The 2024 Global Food Policy Report: Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Nutrition highlights the need for sustainable healthy diets. It offers evidence-based recommendations to make diets more desirable, affordable, accessible, and available while considering environmental impacts. The report examines multiple approaches to address poor diets and nutrition, with special attention to markets, geography, and governance. When tailored to specific contexts, these approaches can promote a shift toward sustainable healthy diets. The report stresses that achieving this shift requires policy commitments that integrate healthy diet goals with climate change solutions, re-allocating public investments, and establishing governance structures that can navigate between development goals and competing interests within food systems. The report examines the role of food systems in driving nutrition outcomes and evaluates proven and innovative ways to scale up policies and technologies to sustainably improve diet quality and reduce malnutrition, the role of both agricultural crops and animal-source foods, and governance for better diets and nutrition. The India launch of the IFPRI’s 2024 GFPR on 4 July 2024 in New Delhi will provide a pivotal platform to distinguished policymakers, esteemed stakeholders, and leading experts from across India to deliberate on the key findings and recommendations outlined in the report.