The world is indeed plagued by hunger, and Nigeria is no exception. By the time you are done reading this article, about 96 children under the age of 5 will be at the brink of death due to acute malnutrition and starvation. Global malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all deaths of children under the age of five, claiming lives every day.

 According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021, it was projected that between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in the year 2020. Close to 12% of the global population was severely food insecure, representing 928 million people — 148 million more than in 2019. The failure of our food systems is quite evident in these figures.

The Food System — a significant predictor of nutrition status and overall health — is responsible for delivering diets that are nutritious, diverse, sustainable, affordable, and safe for consumption. Once it fails to meet these demands, malnutrition sets in, as people will be unable to access food in the right quantity, quality, and frequency needed for their growth and development.

This article will attempt to break down the concept of the food systems, how it influences or determines nutrition outcomes, and how a food systems approach is key to improving the state of nutrition and ending hunger in Nigeria.

Food Systems Explained

In simple terms, the food system can be described as, what you eat, how you eat, where what you eat comes from and its effect on health and the environment. Essentially, the food system involves all the activities and processes involved in taking food from where it is grown, to where it is consumed and disposed of (farm to plate). These activities involve but are not limited to: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transportation, marketing, distribution, consumption, and disposal.

Drivers of the Food System

Think of the food system as a gear system. The individual gears with teeth interlocked directly with one another are its drivers. Drivers of the food system are factors or conditions that shape and impact the functionality of the food systems and their ability to deliver healthy and sustainable diets, thereby influencing nutrition outcomes. They define if and how food will be produced and distributed, and if it will be accessible, available, affordable, and safe — for consumption as well as the planet. Medium News