Intervention Package 8

Food Systems Transformation for More Nutritious and Healthy Diets

Challenge

Current food systems in AMS are failing to provide sustainable and healthy diets for their populations. Affordable and safe diets are often unavailable, leading to various forms of malnutrition and significant public health consequences, resulting in economic losses of over $100 billion annually. The region has a large number of undernourished and food-insecure individuals, alongside increasing rates of overweight children and obese adults. Additionally, food production and processing practices contribute to environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and greenhouse gas emissions. The food systems are an important source of employment but often have low and uncertain incomes and poor labor conditions, particularly for women and youth. Changes in income, urbanization, and technology have shaped evolving diets, with a shift towards ready-to-eat processed foods that are detrimental to health. ASEAN countries import safe and nutritious food, but the high prices limit access for the majority of the population. The COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the need to diversify supply chains to ensure food and nutrition security in the region. However, there is a disconnect between production and consumption, as consumer preferences and needs are not fully understood or met by existing regional food production and supply.

Regionality

IP8 aligns with the goals set in the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, contributing to ensuring access to safe and nutritious food, supporting sustainable consumption patterns, and building resilience in ASEAN. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to diversify supply chains for food and nutrition security. The intervention aims to improve livelihoods and provide sustainable and healthy food for all.

Objective

As a result of IP8 work, millions of ASEAN stakeholders will enjoy consuming sustainable healthy diets, with an adequate supply of sustainable, safe, and healthy foods and improved associated food-system livelihoods, with enhanced gender equity, and social inclusiveness across ASEAN food systems.

Outcomes

Increased understanding and capacity to address issues around nutrition-sensitive food systems and sustainable healthy diets
Increased demand for, supply and consumption of sustainable healthy diet
Innovations/policies co-designed to increase availability, affordability, and accessibility of safe and healthy food

Main activities

Food system assessment at subnational, national and regional levels
Test/evaluate interventions to improve key aspects of the food systems with national / sub-national partners
Scale food environments interventions that stimulate demand for and consumption of sustainable healthy diets

Beneficiaries

The IP aims to estimate the number of direct beneficiaries based on the stakeholders who adopt the tools developed. Indirect beneficiaries include consumers, especially those in rural and low-income urban areas, evenly split between men and women.