Nutri-Café Sessions

The Nutri Café sessions are a series of short sessions providing cutting-edge technical nutrition updates and insights on considerations for improving implementation efforts in nutrition targeting diverse settings and contexts, including a focus on supporting the 2024 AKF Nutrition Innovation Challenge.

How might we use blue (aquatic) foods for better nutrition? Part 1: Blue (aquatic) foods are anything we eat that comes from the water, so it covers fish, seafood and seaweed (both wild and farmed). They are nutrient-rich, generate low emissions and impacts on land and water, and contribute to the human health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of rural communities. Demand for blue (aquatic) foods has increased rapidly due in part to increasing appreciation for the nutrition and climate co-benefits of fish consumption. This one-hour session is part 1 of 2 sessions. It defines blue (aquatic) foods in the context of AKF geographies and provide insights into latest studies pertaining to nutrition, diet transformation, climate change, shifts in the blue (aquatic) food sector, and the potential for blue (aquatic) foods to provide nutrition-sensitive interventions for combating food insecurity and malnutrition at different levels. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners. 

How might we use blue (aquatic) foods for better nutrition? Part 2: Blue (aquatic) foods are anything we eat that comes from the water, so it covers fish, seafood and seaweed (both wild and farmed). They are nutrient-rich, generate low emissions and impacts on land and water, and contribute to the human health, wellbeing, and livelihoods of rural communities. Demand for blue (aquatic) foods has increased rapidly due in part to increasing appreciation for the nutrition and climate co-benefits of fish consumption. This one-hour session is part 2 of 2 sessions. It reaffirms what constitutes blue (aquatic) foods and builds on part 1 to provide further insights into how to integrate blue (aquatic) foods in interventions for better nutrition while discussing implementation realities. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

How might we integrate novel foods or practices for better nutrition? Part 1: Novel foods include traditional foods not consumed by country, foods made from plants, microorganisms, fungi, algae, and animals (e.g. chia seeds, baobab fruit, insects, water chestnuts, and foods derived from new production processes (such as UV-treated milk or bread).  Incorporating novel foods in European diets proved to reduce global warming potential, water use and land use by over 80%. Novel foods are nutritious, have lower environmental impact, and act as protein substitutes. This one-hour session is part 1 of 2 sessions. It discusses the definition, types, practical applications, and opportunities pertaining to integrating novel foods in practice to improve diet quality and increase protein intake.  The session delves into practical examples of novel foods, including using insects as a sustainable alternative to traditional sources of animal protein, and algae-based foods due to their nutritional benefits and sustainable production methods. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

How might we integrate novel foods or practices for better nutrition? Part 2: Novel foods include traditional foods not consumed by country, foods made from plants, microorganisms, fungi, algae, and animals (e.g. chia seeds, baobab fruit, insects, water chestnuts, and foods derived from new production processes (such as UV-treated milk or bread).  Incorporating novel foods in European diets proved to reduce global warming potential, water use and land use by over 80%. Novel foods are nutritious, have lower environmental impact, and act as protein substitutes. This one-hour session is part 2 of 2 sessions. It reaffirms concepts, aspects, and implementation realities pertaining to integrating novel foods in practice to improve diet quality and increase protein intake. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

How might we identify 1-2 leverage points for better nutrition using a systems approach? Part 1: The nature of nutrition challenges requires a system’s approach to appreciate the complexity, and to identify key leverage points that we can target to make systems work for nutrition. This one-hour session is part 1 of 2 sessions. It takes participants into a journey of understanding the food system with all its elements and activities from production to consumption of food, as well as the markets and all the institutions that govern the system. A system’s approach results in outcomes such as food and nutrition security, but also (positive and negative) socio-economic and environmental impacts. Like food systems, a health system approach is needed where nutrition can be integrated, such as improving service quality, or integrating nutrition within immunization. Within education systems, the School Meals Coalition offers an interesting interplay between education, health, nutrition and social systems. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

How might we identify 1-2 leverage points for better nutrition using a systems approach? Part 2: The nature of nutrition challenges requires a system’s approach to appreciate the complexity, and to identify key leverage points that we can target to make systems work for nutrition. This one-hour session is part 2 of 2 sessions. It builds on systems’ thinking concepts and provides practical innovations and examples from across the world on how leveraging different systems like health and food can contribute to improving nutrition outcomes by targeting lever points within each system. 

The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

Writing and Publishing Your Nutrition Work in Emergency Nutrition Network Field Exchange Publication: This one-hour session hosts the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) Field Exchange Technical Coordinator, Mr. Thomas Stubbs, who will speak about how to write and publish your nutrition work in ENN Field Exchange publication. Participants are invited to download the most recent issues using Field Exchange | ENN prior to the session to get familiar with the publication. The session introduces participants to the possibilities of publishing to support building their technical visibility and credibility and provides practical tips on improving writing and publishing from field experiences. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.

All about Proteins: Fundamentals, Innovations and Future Trends: Proteins are essential for our growth, repair, nutrition, and health. For populations suffering from malnutrition, adequate protein intake is crucial to rebuild muscle mass, support immune function, and improve overall wellbeing. Proteins from diverse sources, including animal-based, plant-based, and fortified options, can help address deficiencies and support recovery. This one-hour session takes a deep dive into proteins and protein alternatives for better nutrition, and provides cutting-edge learnings about what proteins are, why should we consume them, and what trends to watch for in 2025 and beyond. The session targets practitioners from different sectors and fields of specialty, including health, nutrition, agriculture, climate, economics, water, education, early childhood development, gender, civil society and partners.