Undernutrition is a leading risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It undermines economic performance and facilitates intergenerational poverty. Its invisibility, irreversibility and multi-sectorality are challenges for domestic public policy. Funding streams for nutrition are low, both domestically and from official development assistance (ODA). The World Bank estimates that annual spending on nutrition interventions needs to increase from about $750m to $15bn. Prospects for increased funding are tempered by the current global economic downturn.

Political commitment for doing something about undernutrition remains patchy and the evidence gaps to guide action are large. In this context, what is the best role for ODA? This seminar will explore the options and make some recommendations.

Lawrence Haddad is the Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. He is an economist whose main research interests are at the intersection of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Professor Haddad was formerly Director of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Food Consumption and Nutrition Division and Lecturer in Development Economics at the University of Warwick. His field research has been in the Philippines, India and South Africa. He has a PhD from Stanford University.


This seminar is presented by the Development Policy Centre at the Crawford School of Public Policy.

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