25 February 2012

What are the Leading Blogs on Malnutrition?

Last week I was at a planning meeting of the new DFID-funded Transform Nutrition Research Consortium, lead by IFPRI (and headed up by Stuart Gillespie) in partnership with the University of Nairobi, the Public Health Foundation of India, ICDDRB, Save the Children UK, and IDS (lead is Nick Nisbett).
Based on input from a variety of sources, we are planning an exciting set of research and capacity activities to try to transform the way we think about and act to reduce undernutrition. We will give it a soft launch in the summer, complete with a web address etc.
In the course of our discussions, I asked the consortium partners about the best nutrition blogs out there. I was met with blank faces. No-one could, off the top of their heads think of blogs dedicated to nutrition that did the key bloggy things: inform, link, champion, campaign and, most importantly, critique. There are interesting articles scattered around World Bank blogs, a few in Global Food for Thought, From Poverty to Power, but very few blogs focusing on nutrition.
The critiquing aspect is the most important, I think. The nutrition bandwagon is up and rolling, but this makes it ever more vital to be self aware and self critical. We cannot succumb to our own hype.
Here are the blogs I found from a 45 minute internet search. Hardly any of the blogs talk about research, data or policy. They are mostly focused on front line perspectives. These are very insightful, but we need some of the other stuff too.
Interestingly, there are no blogs from UNICEF, IFPRI or the UN's Standing Committee on Nutrition. Come on guys, get with it.
Readers, please let me know of any blog gems I have missed. Thanks.
In no particular order:
There must be more--tell me about them. Thanks.

8 comments:

Luigi said...

You might like to have a look at this blog http://agro.biodiver.se/2012/02/how-to-solve-global-hunger-and-malnutrition/. Not entirely focused on malnutrition, but does treat the subject frequently.

Anonymous said...

Dear Lawrence,
Thanks for refering to the Standing Committee on Nutrition (UNSCN).

I would like to mention that the UNSCN has 2 electronic discussion platforms (on nutrition and climate change; on nutrition and noncommunicable diseases) and is hosting a third one, the Agriculture-Nutrition Community of Practice.
Become a member (go to our website to find out more: www.unscn.org)and participate.

Other interesting blogs are:
Food Politics from Marion Nestle http://www.foodpolitics.com/
Wageningen University blog: http://www.lei.wur.nl/UK/research/blog/
e-agriculture blog: http://www.e-agriculture.org/blog
Farming First blog: http://www.farmingfirst.org/category/blog/
http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/

Thanks,
Lina

Anna Herforth said...

Hi Lawrence,

Thanks for YOUR blog!

Per Pinstrup-Andersen has a blog on "Food Policy to acheive sustainable food security and good nutrition for all"
http://foodpolicy.dyson.cornell.edu/

Also as Lina mentioned, the Ag2Nut Community of Practice is an informal group, connecting people interested in the topic of linking agriculture and nutrition; we started less than 2 years ago and grew organically to the current 289 members from 37 countries. Not a blog per se, but we have regular discussions and could host a blog if someone felt so moved.
http://knowledge-gateway.org/ag2nut

Best,
Anna

Lawrence Haddad said...

Luigi: many thanks, a lively and interesting blog... but not much about malnutrition..

Lina: I joined the forum but found I couldn't be bothered to follow the instructions in the subsequent emails.. for impatient people like me these fora are not immediate enough (PS the light blue text on the left of the page is really hard to read)

Lina: thanks for the Marion Nestle blog--very good, if mostly focused on obesity, but good on power issues in general. The others you mention are all agriculture blogs, but useful for nutrition nevertheless

Anna: thanks for the feedback! Thanks for the PPA blog--good stuff (and nice video), but we need to hear more frequently from the great man

And thanks Anna for the Ag2Nut COP--same issue as the SCN (I am lazy about clicks) but it looks v interesting

Thanks everyone and keep them coming. Best wishes, Lawrence

Nabeeha M. Kazi said...

Lawrence - thanks for the shout out. You read my mind! Being neck deep in co-leading a nutrition science research intiative with the New York Academy of Sciences and the WHO there is a definate need for more discussion around research, gaps in data/knowledge and how filling key research and data gaps can/should inform or has informed programs and policies. Appreciate the feedback and stay tuned as we add more of the research discussion to our blog. Great seeing you in DC!

David Ritchson said...

Since people are getting conscious about health, We need to have
www.best-multivitamins-guide.com everyday and Milk, proper food intake are the best to key to fight malnutrition.

Unknown said...

Yes Poverty is the main reason behind malnutrition it's true. Their child and they also get deprived all all the nutritious food and we have also seen that poverty is the biggest problem that many developing as well as overdeveloping nations are facing in the 21st century. malnutrition is caused due to lack of intake of nutritious food as per said and its true but this poverty can also be overcomed by proper panning and many nations are also working upon it.

Robert Anthony said...

Deficiency of nourishment, not known to many, does not only relate to inadequate nourishment due to absence of healthier food to eat but as well as over-consumption of it. But the concentrate on this one would be on the former rather than the latter. crossword puzzle help