Optional Unit

Food and Health

I. Measuring Food and Health

Global patterns in food/nutrition indicators, including the food security index, the hunger index, calories per person/capita, indicators of malnutrition
The nutrition transition, and associated regional variations of food consumption and nutrition choices
Global patterns in health indicators, including health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE), infant mortality, maternal mortality, access to sanitation and the ratio between doctors/physicians and people
The epidemiological transition, the diseases continuum (diseases of poverty to diseases of affluence), and the implications of a global ageing population for disease burden

Across the world, women outlive men. This is whyA look at how attitudes to health play in to life expectancy, and how sex and wealth make a difference.

II. Food systems and spread of disease

The merits of a systems approach (inputs, stores, transfers, outputs) to compare energy efficiency and water footprints in food production, and relative sustainability in different places
The physical and human processes that can lead to variations in food consumption
The importance of diffusion (including adoption/acquisition, expansion, relocation) in the spread of agricultural innovations, and also in the spread of diseases, and the role of geographic factors (including physical, economic and political barriers) in the rate of diffusion
Geographic factors contributing to the incidence, diffusion and impacts (demographic and socio-economic) of vector-borne and water-borne diseases

The basics of malariaVisit us (http://www.khanacademy.org/science/healthcare-and-medicine) for health and medicine content or (http://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat) for MCAT related content. These videos do not provide medical advice and are for informational purposes only. The videos are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen in any Khan Academy video.

3 reasons we still haven’t gotten rid of malariaWe’ve known how to cure malaria since the 1600s, so why does the disease still kill hundreds of thousands every year? It’s more than just a problem of medicine, says journalist Sonia Shah. A look into the history of malaria reveals three big-picture challenges to its eradication. Photos: Adam Nadel.

III. Stakeholders in food and health

The roles of international organizations (such as the World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and World Health Organization), governments and NGOs in combating food insecurity and disease
The influence of TNCs (agribusinesses and the media) in shaping food consumption habits
Gender roles related to food and health, including food production/acquisition and disparities in health
Factors affecting the severity of famine, including governance, the power of the media and access to international aid

IV. Future health and food security and sustainability

Possible solutions to food insecurity, including waste reduction
Advantages and disadvantages of contemporary approaches to food production, including genetically modified organisms (GMOs), vertical farming and in vitro meat
The merits of prevention and treatment in managing disease, including social marginalization issues, government priorities, means of infection and scientific intervention
Managing pandemics, including the epidemiology of the disease, prior local and global awareness, international action and the role of media

Roads, railways and research can stop global food wasteIn developing countries more than three-quarters of food waste occurs before it reaches consumers, through inefficient agriculture. Bjorn Lomborg argues what could remedy this

The politics of global food securityAs a new report says climate change threatens the world's three main crops, we ask where the next meal will come from.

Bangladesh | Crisis profile: Food Insecurity - Chittagong Hill Tracts, Mar - Aug./Sept. (15 March 2018) - BangladeshEnglish Analysis on Bangladesh about Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment, Women, Flood, Land Slide and more; published on 15 Mar 2018 by ACAPS and Start Network

Feed the Future Initiative Fights Hunger in BangladeshFeed the Future program has empowered farmers to increase their yields, giving them the means to fight back against hunger in Bangladesh.

Famine vs. Food Insecurity – What’s the Difference?What is “Food security? It is a situation “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” For food security to be possible, the World Health Organization says that food has to be: Available: Food availability means that there is enough food to eat all the time. [...] Read more »

Pandemic Management

The 90 90 90 strategy to end the HIV Pandemic by 2030: Can the supply chain handle it?UNAIDS “90-90-90” strategy calls for 90% of HIV-infected individuals to be diagnosed by 2020, 90% of whom will be on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and 90% of whom will achieve sustained virologic suppression. Reaching these targets by ...

Ethical riddles in HIV researchA woman in sub-Saharan Africa is part of a cutting-edge HIV clinical trial -- but she can't afford a bus ticket to her health clinic, let alone the life-saving antiretrovirals she'll need. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji asks an important question: How can researchers looking for a cure make sure they're not taking advantage of the people most affected by the pandemic?

Ending the HIV/AIDS Pandemic<p>The goal of ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic is theoretically achievable and would require addressing this global health catastrophe on individual and ...

Insights on HIV, in stunning data visualsHans Rosling unveils data visuals that untangle the complex risk factors of one of the world's deadliest (and most misunderstood) diseases: HIV. By following the data, he suggests a surprising key to ending the epidemic.

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