NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 15 – The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), EAT, the Food & Land Use Coalition (FOLU), and Nutrition Connect have launched the Dietary Shifts (DISH) Competition 2024 in Kenya and Indonesia.
This initiative aims to address the pressing need for dietary changes to combat malnutrition, including undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies, while also considering the environmental and climate impacts of food systems.
The statistics highlight the urgency: 23 million Kenyans are undernourished, with 18% of children under five stunted, while 10% are underweight and 5% wasted.
On the other end of the spectrum, 17% of Kenyan women and 4% of men aged 20-49 are obese. In Indonesia, 10.9% of women and 6.3% of men live with obesity, while 24.4% of children under five are stunted and 11% are wasted.
The DISH Competition invites food system stakeholders to submit tested, evidence-based solutions aimed at promoting healthy and sustainable dietary changes in Kenya and Indonesia. Each country will highlight 15 solutions that address the specific dietary needs of their populations, with submissions expected to align with national health and nutrition recommendations. Participants will work alongside experts from government, the private sector, and civil society to foster transformative partnerships that can lead to lasting dietary shifts.
Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director at GAIN, emphasized the importance of the competition, stating, “We all make dozens of decisions every day about what to eat. Too many of us choose unhealthy options, even if we know better. If you have an innovative idea about how to nudge people toward healthier choices, we want to hear from you.”
The competition focuses on five categories: Policy and Advocacy, Advertising and Culturally-Relevant Strategies, Food Services Interventions, Culinary Skills, and Product-Level Interventions. It calls upon entrepreneurs, policymakers, chefs, marketers, and other food system actors to submit solutions by October 31, 2024, that promote positive dietary shifts.
The initiative also aligns with the Planetary Health Diet, a flexible global reference diet from the 2019 EAT-Lancet Commission, which promotes human health while considering environmental sustainability.
Lujain Alqodmani, Chief Action Officer at EAT, highlighted the collective impact of the competition: “Shifting toward healthy and sustainable diets may seem complex, but DISH offers a platform for local actors to implement solutions that safeguard both human and planetary health.”
Winners will receive an appreciation award of USD 1,000, recognition at global platforms, mentorship from experts, media coverage, and networking opportunities. Finalists will also have the chance to compete in Phase 2 of the competition in 2025.
The launch of the competition coincides with the release of the DISH Report, which outlines key challenges to dietary shifts in both countries, including political hurdles, economic barriers like poverty, limited government support, and cultural factors that influence food choices.
Source: capitalfm
