Project Statement of Task

Emphasizing the importance of child mortality and maternal health to international development, the Millennium Development Goals represent a global commitment to poverty and hunger eradication. The current abrupt increase in food prices threatens progress made in these areas and could prove a serious barrier to achievement of these goals. The Institute of Medicine convened an ad hoc committee to plan and conduct a three-day workshop to explore the implications of the global food crisis on nutrition and health (view agenda).

Workshop presenters described the pathways to, and impacts and trade-offs of, rising food prices. In addition, potential gaps in surveillance, data collection, and monitoring and evaluation were also considered. An individually-authored workshop summary of the meeting will be prepared. The workshop was held on July 14 - 16, 2009 at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, DC. This project is a joint activity of the Board on Global Health and the Food and Nutrition Board in collaboration with the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Sponsorship Information

This project is sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and PepsiCo Foundation.

Additional Information

For more information about this project, please contact Gui Liu at gliu@nas.edu.