Event Information

You are invited to join a World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue hybrid side event, hosted by the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), Fed to Thrive: Accelerating Action on Nourishing Foods for Infants and Young Children. The 2022 Borlaug Dialogue, hosted by the World Food Prize Foundation, will take place October 18–20, 2022, in person in Des Moines, IA, and online. This year’s theme, “Feeding a Fragile World,” focuses on overcoming pervasive shocks to a global food system.

Register to participate virtually:  https://bit.ly/BIFADWFP22-ON or to attend in person: https://bit.ly/BIFADWFP22-IP.

Today, nearly two in three children ages six months to two years are not consuming nutritionally adequate diets critical to growth and development. Families are struggling to afford safe and nutritious food for their young children, posing threats to child survival and irreversible consequences for child cognitive and physical growth. 

The meeting will convene expert presenters and seek public input on evidence-based solutions for increasing the affordability, availability, and convenience of nutrient-dense foods for  infants and children six months to two years of age, providing adequate safety nets for families most vulnerable to early childhood malnutrition, and engaging across systems to deliver on the global commitment to “feed a fragile world”. 

Presentations and discussion will focus on the questions: 1) What does a nutritionally balanced food basket for infants and young children look like, and what would it cost? 2) What are evidence-based priority actions to reduce the costs of balanced food baskets, improve nutrient content and safety, incentivize use by improving convenience and enabling caregivers, and provide financial means for the most vulnerable to access them through safety nets? 3) How do we achieve coordinated, gender-transformative change across the food, health, and social protection systems in both development and humanitarian (emergency) settings? Drawing from testimony by global experts and practitioners, BIFAD will advise the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on recommended policy and program actions. The meeting will include a public comment period from 8:25 to 8:40 am Central Time.

The meeting will be held at the Iowa Event Center in Des Moines, Iowa on October 19, 2022 from 7:00–8:45 am Central Time. Members of the public are invited to join in person at the venue (room details will be shared after registration). The meeting will also be live streamed via ZOOM (registration required) for virtual public participation. All participants, virtual and in person, should register at the link above. 

Special thanks to the World Food Prize (WFP) Foundation for the invitation to host this side event. Please visit the World Food Prize website to learn more and register for the 2022 Borlaug Dialogue. 

Note: Registration in the Borlaug Dialogues is not required to join this side event.