SHiFT hosts food systems capacity assessment for sustainable healthy diets in Bangladesh

In February 2024, the CGIAR Research Initiative on Sustainable Healthy Diets through Food Systems Transformation (SHiFT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council (BNNC) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  and the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit (FPMU) of the Ministry of Food, formalizing their commitment to strengthen the implementation of food systems transformation for sustainable and healthy diets in the country.

In early June, SHiFT held a workshop with officials from BNNC and FPMU—who engage with SHiFT as Strategic Partners—to build a better understanding of the capacities needed to drive Bangladesh’s food systems transformation and how to best strengthen them. The day-long workshop focused on achieving three primary objectives: a capacity assessment, vision activity, and action planning for capacity strengthening.

In the second half of the day, the participants applied the findings from the capacity assessment to envision how each Strategic Partner institution could strengthen its capacity over the next decade. As part of this exercise, they prioritized activities for the next one to two years and conducted action planning to identify specific capacities and actions needed to achieve the overall vision, as well as who should take these actions.

Through this workshop, the participants from BNNC and FPMU reflected on how their institutions are working to achieve food systems transformation for sustainable healthy diets. They became aware of their current level of institutional capacities and developed ideas to strengthen capabilities where needed. Both BNNC and FPMU recognize the need for integrating the concepts of food systems transformation and sustainable healthy diets into their regular work, and for greater investment in human resources, institutional capacity, and financial support to effectively implement and prioritize food systems transformation and sustainable healthy diets. This also includes strengthening monitoring capacities that are essential for tracing strategic actions  to better contribute to the transformation process and, ultimately, achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Bangladesh’s Vision 2041.

Moving forward, SHiFT will follow the approach used in both Viet Nam and Ethiopia to apply the lessons learned from the workshop as it prepares its capacity-building strategy for Bangladesh. This will include the design and delivery of a training of trainers program on food systems governance and reopening of the related e-course. SHiFT will also provide technical support for FPMU and BNNC’s institutional capacity strengthening to help them achieve their intended visions.

The International Food Policy Research Institute and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT lead SHiFT in close collaboration with Wageningen University and Research and with contributions from the International Potato Center. SHiFT combines high-quality nutritional and social science research capacity with development partnerships to generate innovative, robust solutions that contribute to healthier, more sustainable dietary choices and consumption of sustainable healthy diets. It builds on CGIAR’s unparalleled track record of agricultural research for development, including ten years of work on food systems and nutrition under the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health.

Header image: Staff from the Bangladesh National Nutrition Council and the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit complete one of the participatory activities during the recently held SHiFT capacity assessment workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo provided by Jainal Abedin/International Food Policy Research Institute.