Food, nutrition, and health

 Healthy diets and good nutrition are critical to health and development for all ages. Better nutrition is linked to improved infant, child, and maternal health; lower risk of illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease; higher productivity and income; and longevity. However, low-income and socially marginalized communities are less likely to have easy access to affordable, safe and nutritious food and are likely to have to travel further to access fresh fruit and vegetables. The exposure of marginalized communities to corporate activity, such as marketing of unhealthy foods, high in sugar and salt, and of sugarsweetened beverages also exacerbates poor nutrition. Currently, 47 million children under the age of 5 years are too thin for their height, while another 38.3 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight. Single parents or lowincome households often do not have the time or money to provide a healthy diet and purchase (often cheaper) junk food high in salt, sugars or fat, leading to poor childhood nutrition. 

COVID-19, nutrition, and health: COVID-19 has laid bare the fragility of the world’s food system: by the end of 2020 COVID-19 may push the number of undernourished people, currently an estimated 690 million, up to 132 million. Some countries also report an increase in overweight and obesity of children and adults. Before the pandemic, 672 million adults were obese. Obesity increases the risk of severe illness from COVID19, and it disproportionately impacts some racial and ethnic minority groups. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have prevented farmers accessing markets, including for buying inputs and selling their produce, and agricultural workers from harvesting crops, thus disrupting domestic and international food supply chains and reducing access to healthy, safe and diverse diets. 

Action: Different forms of support are essential to ensuring access to healthy diets and good nutrition. 

Cash transfers can decrease undernutrition of infants by 7% in low-income households and work best when given to female heads of households (too often studies show that no difference is seen in childhood nutrition if it is the male head of household who receives the transfer). Other measures include promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding, including for working mothers; child allowances and healthy school meals; shelter and food assistance initiatives; and support for employment retention and recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.