Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia

While there is growing global momentum behind food systems strategies to improve planetary and human health—including nutrition—there is limited evidence of what types of food systems interventions work. Evaluating these types of interventions is challenging due to their complex and dynamic nature a...

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Autores principales: Neufeld, Lynnette M., Nordhagen, Stella, Leroy, Jef L., Aberman, Noora-Lisa, Barnett, Inka, Wouabe, Eric Djimeu, Girard, Amy Webb, Gonzalez, Wendy, Levin, Carol E., Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N., Nakasone, Eduardo, Dhillon, Christina Nyhus, Prescott, Dave, Smith, Matt, Tschirley, David
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140789
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author Neufeld, Lynnette M.
Nordhagen, Stella
Leroy, Jef L.
Aberman, Noora-Lisa
Barnett, Inka
Wouabe, Eric Djimeu
Girard, Amy Webb
Gonzalez, Wendy
Levin, Carol E.
Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N.
Nakasone, Eduardo
Dhillon, Christina Nyhus
Prescott, Dave
Smith, Matt
Tschirley, David
author_browse Aberman, Noora-Lisa
Barnett, Inka
Dhillon, Christina Nyhus
Girard, Amy Webb
Gonzalez, Wendy
Leroy, Jef L.
Levin, Carol E.
Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N.
Nakasone, Eduardo
Neufeld, Lynnette M.
Nordhagen, Stella
Prescott, Dave
Smith, Matt
Tschirley, David
Wouabe, Eric Djimeu
author_facet Neufeld, Lynnette M.
Nordhagen, Stella
Leroy, Jef L.
Aberman, Noora-Lisa
Barnett, Inka
Wouabe, Eric Djimeu
Girard, Amy Webb
Gonzalez, Wendy
Levin, Carol E.
Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N.
Nakasone, Eduardo
Dhillon, Christina Nyhus
Prescott, Dave
Smith, Matt
Tschirley, David
author_sort Neufeld, Lynnette M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description While there is growing global momentum behind food systems strategies to improve planetary and human health—including nutrition—there is limited evidence of what types of food systems interventions work. Evaluating these types of interventions is challenging due to their complex and dynamic nature and lack of fit with standard evaluation methods. In this paper, we draw on a portfolio of six evaluations of food systems interventions in Africa and South Asia that were intended to improve nutrition. We identify key methodological challenges and formulate recommendations to improve the quality of such studies. We highlight five challenges: a lack of evidence base to justify the intervention; the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the interventions; addressing attribution; collecting or accessing accurate and timely data; and defining and measuring appropriate outcomes. In addition to more specific guidance, we identify six cross-cutting recommendations, including a need to use multiple and diverse methods and flexible designs. We also note that these evaluation challenges present opportunities to develop new methods and highlight several specific needs in this space.
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spelling CGSpace1407892025-12-11T21:27:31Z Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia Neufeld, Lynnette M. Nordhagen, Stella Leroy, Jef L. Aberman, Noora-Lisa Barnett, Inka Wouabe, Eric Djimeu Girard, Amy Webb Gonzalez, Wendy Levin, Carol E. Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N. Nakasone, Eduardo Dhillon, Christina Nyhus Prescott, Dave Smith, Matt Tschirley, David theory of change methods food systems nutrition evaluation health While there is growing global momentum behind food systems strategies to improve planetary and human health—including nutrition—there is limited evidence of what types of food systems interventions work. Evaluating these types of interventions is challenging due to their complex and dynamic nature and lack of fit with standard evaluation methods. In this paper, we draw on a portfolio of six evaluations of food systems interventions in Africa and South Asia that were intended to improve nutrition. We identify key methodological challenges and formulate recommendations to improve the quality of such studies. We highlight five challenges: a lack of evidence base to justify the intervention; the dynamic and multifaceted nature of the interventions; addressing attribution; collecting or accessing accurate and timely data; and defining and measuring appropriate outcomes. In addition to more specific guidance, we identify six cross-cutting recommendations, including a need to use multiple and diverse methods and flexible designs. We also note that these evaluation challenges present opportunities to develop new methods and highlight several specific needs in this space. 2024-06 2024-04-10T16:11:32Z 2024-04-10T16:11:32Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140789 en Open Access Elsevier Neufeld, Lynnette M.; Nordhagen, Stella; Leroy, Jef L.; Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Barnett, Inka; Wouabe, Eric Djimeu; et al. 2024. Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia. Journal of Nutrition 154(6): 1727-1738. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.005
spellingShingle theory of change
methods
food systems
nutrition
evaluation
health
Neufeld, Lynnette M.
Nordhagen, Stella
Leroy, Jef L.
Aberman, Noora-Lisa
Barnett, Inka
Wouabe, Eric Djimeu
Girard, Amy Webb
Gonzalez, Wendy
Levin, Carol E.
Mbuya, Mduduzi N. N.
Nakasone, Eduardo
Dhillon, Christina Nyhus
Prescott, Dave
Smith, Matt
Tschirley, David
Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title_full Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title_fullStr Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title_full_unstemmed Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title_short Food systems interventions for nutrition: Lessons from 6 program evaluations in Africa and South Asia
title_sort food systems interventions for nutrition lessons from 6 program evaluations in africa and south asia
topic theory of change
methods
food systems
nutrition
evaluation
health
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/140789
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