WFF Youth Initiative engages at the N4G Summit

The World Food Forum (WFF)’s Global Youth Action Initiative marked its presence at the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit in Paris, France. On 24 March, Dr Ana Luiza Domingos, a member of the Young Scientists Group (YSG), joined the side event, “Investing in Integrated Climate and Nutrition Actions”, co-hosted by Standing Together for Nutrition, Micronutrient Forum, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The event highlighted the link between climate change and nutrition, emphasizing the need to integrate nutrition into climate action.

The side event kicked off with Dr Joanne Raisin, Director of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement Secretariat, who gave an overview on what climate change and nutrition means. In her welcome address, she highlighted how climate change is probably the single greatest threat to achieving nutrition targets, and how the challenges of climate change and nutrition are deeply connected.

Following the welcome address, the event had three different presentations given by Dr Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director of the Micronutrient Forum; Dr Elizabeth Bryan, Research Fellow at IFPRI and Dr Nancy Aburto, Deputy Director of the Food and Nutrition Division (ESN) at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Dr Osendarp discussed the latest data, metric and evidence on the impact of integrated climate-nutrition action, sharing a newly published policy brief entitled “The Climate Crisis and the Nutrition Crisis Intertwined”. This addressed how countries can use policies to create an enabling environment for the shift to sustainable and healthy diets by addressing both crises simultaneously as they have interlinked drivers and consequences.

Dr Bryan gave an insightful presentation on gender inequalities in climate change, highlighting how women are more affected yet have the potential to drive solutions. She discussed their limited resilience capacities and how empowering women can strengthen climate resilience.

Dr Abruto emphasized the link between climate change and malnutrition and the need for more evidence-based research. Building on Dr. Bryan’s insights, she advocated for gender-transformative approaches in addressing climate and nutrition challenges.

These presentations set the stage for the policy roundtable discussion on prioritizing evidence to support policy and financing. Dr Ana Luiza was joined by Nadia Rehman from the Planning Commission of Pakistan, Professor Marie Danielle Vololontiane, Nutrition Coordinator at SUN Movement and moderator Shawn Baker.

Nadia Rehman highlighted the fragmentation of the policy space, where ministries often work in isolation, reducing policy effectiveness. Dr Ana Luiza stressed the need for greater investment in science and policy integration. She argued that research must be better incorporated into policy development and that interdisciplinary collaboration is key to strengthen solutions. Professor Marie Danielle provided insights from Madagascar, a country highly vulnerable to climate change yet committed to focusing and financing climate and nutrition sensitive initiatives.

The side event concluded with a presentation by Sarah LaHaye, lead of the Initiative on Climate Action and Nutrition at GAIN. She underscored the missed opportunities that result from failing to integrate climate and nutrition policies effectively. Strengthening collaboration between countries, improving data collection, mobilizing financing and engaging the private sector were identified as crucial next steps in ensuring a more cohesive approach to tackling these interconnected challenges.