May 24, 2019
For Sourcing Matters episode 80 we welcome Dr. Lawrence Haddad –
Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
(GAIN). The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) was
launched at the UN in 2002 to tackle the human suffering caused by
malnutrition. Working with diverse global partners, GAIN aims at
making healthier food choices more affordable, more available, and
more desirable.
Dr. Lawrence Haddad became the Executive Director of GAIN in
October 2016. Prior to this Lawrence was the founding co-chair and
lead author of the Global Nutrition Report from 2014 to 2016. From
2004-2014 Lawrence was the Director of the Institute of Development
Studies (IDS), the world’s leading development studies institute.
Before joining IDS in 2004, he was Director of the Food Consumption
and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI) from 1994 to 2004. An economist, Lawrence has a
PhD in Food Research from Stanford University. Most recently,
in June of 2018 – the World Food Prize Foundation awarded Dr.
Haddad the 2018 World Food Prize.
THE FACTS: According to Global Nutrition
Report, about 88% of countries suffer from two or three forms of
malnutrition. Every day, 815 million people are going to bed
hungry, up from 777mm in 2015. 1 in 3 people lack key
micronutrients, like iron and vitamin A, needed to grow properly,
live active lives, and raise a healthy family. At the same time, 2
billion adults are overweight or obese and 41 million children are
overweight. Malnutrition now undermines billions of people’s
health and leaves 155mm children stunted every year. In
speaking to the outcomes that come to stunted
children “without proper nutrition – children’s hardware
and software is not developing properly” - explains
Haddad.
GAIN has its sights set on addressing these far reaching concerns
with both an air and ground attack. Led by Haddad and his
impressive teams across the world – GAIN uses boots on the ground
and strategic influence to introduce nutrition as a framework of
change, to more. TuneIn to our 50 minute conversation to hear
about how this agent of change is tackling malnutrition throughout
global societies being underfed and overfed.