Initiative:

Sustainable Healthy Diets

Where we work: Bangladesh

Bangladesh has the ambition to improve access to healthy diets as reflected in several recently updated policies. The national government was an active participant in the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) dialogues and was one of more than 100 countries to commit to developing a national strategy for food systems transformation. Sustainable Healthy Diets is coming alongside the existing multi-stakeholder platforms and engaging in the consultative processes and activities contributing to the positive direction in food systems transformation in Bangladesh.

In 2022, Sustainable Healthy Diets is assembling datasets in Bangladesh for studies on country-level trade-offs between measurable outcomes in food systems including household food security and welfare, diet quality, and environmental impacts. The datasets are being studied from two perspectives, both from a demand estimation perspective and from a spatial modeling perspective; the two will be combined to measure the magnitude of tradeoffs between measurable outcomes. In the context of the Dhaka Food Agenda for 2041, workshops with local stakeholders will help inform the design of decision-support tools to help address key trade-offs.

In addition, Initiative researchers are developing connections with existing networks and discussing with stakeholders how their work can add value and contribute to activities, capacity development, and other multisectoral actions supporting the Government of Bangladesh’s food systems transformation agenda.

In its first year, Sustainable Healthy Diets is offering an e-course on food systems governance, which will soon expand to an interactive learning and exchange platform and resource to promote learning and address country-specific capacity needs.

In 2024, the Initiative expects to begin primary data collection to characterize Bangladesh’s food environments and dietary patterns, and to identify micro, small, and medium enterprises. This work will generate evidence on how food consumed by marginalized populations enters food environments and what are the barriers and constraints faced by actors to deliver sustainable nutritious foods and provide decent and fair employment opportunities.

In addition, researchers will begin activities to inform a baseline assessment of Bangladesh’s food systems, including a description of the current actors, their agendas and narratives about their food systems, and their perceptions of the need for transformation.

For more information about the Sustainable Healthy Diets Initiative’s work in Bangladesh, please contact Jainal Abedin, Country Coordinator, j.abedin@cgiar.org, Marion Herens, Work Package 5 Lead, Marion.Herens@wur.nl, or Mark Lundy, Work Package 5 Co-Lead, M.Lundy@cgiar.org.

Read about the Initiative’s work in other phase 1 target countries: