The Agriculture, Nutrition and Health (ANH) Academy is a global community of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working on agriculture and food systems for improved nutrition and health. With over 9,000 members in over 145 countries, the organisation claims to have best researchers and other experts in the world.

History

The community was co-funded with United Kingdom Aid from the UK government and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...

. It is led by the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine (LSHTM) in partnership with

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

and other international organisations.

Initiatives

The academy, prior to its founding, the community was meant to share innovative research in agriculture and food systems for improved nutrition and health, as well as stimulating the development and harmonisation of new researches. It also ensures the facilitation of the uptake of evidence in policies and programmes in agriculture and food systems for healthy, sustainable and equitable nutrition.

Academy Week

The Academy Week comprises a series of annual events with an intention of bringing together the community of researchers, practitioners and policymakers working at the intersection of agriculture, food systems, nutrition and health. The main objective is to boost knowledge exchange, innovation and learning around interdisciplinary research. The academy has two areas that are, learning laboratories and a research conference. The sixth successful Academy Week was held in Ethiopia in 2016, Nepal in 2017, and Ghana in 2018, as well as India in 2019. However, the last two Academy Weeks (2020 and 2021) were held online due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. The 2020 and 2021 Academy Weeks were online that were organized in collaboration with Malawi and Pakistan institutions. In 2022, it was held in collaboration with the Southern Africa Food Lab and

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

in South Africa.

Group Works

The group works ensures accelerating of research by sharing experience and synthesizing disparate research methods, metrics and approaches.

Events

In June 2023, 400 scientists, policymakers, famers and practitioners from 35 countries met at the

Bingu International Conference Centre Bingu International Conference Centre (also Bingu Wa Mtharika International Conference Centre) is the international conference centre in Lilongwe, Malawi. It is used for international government meetings, activity and events. Since its opening in ...

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

for the eighth Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy Week where experts share innovative ideas to inform policies designed to address world development challenges.

References

{{authority control Organizations established in 2015 Dietetics Food technology organizations Nutrition organizations School accreditors Learned societies of the United States 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations