The Economics of Hunger: Addressing the Interplay Between Poverty, Equity, Hunger and Diets

Description

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate proficiency in integrating multidisciplinary practices to ensure equitable access to safe, healthy, and affordable diets, as evidenced by successful implementation in a practical scenario.
• Evaluate the cost, affordability, and feasibility of food, nutrition, and dietary interventions using data from the Food Prices for Nutrition project, agricultural economics sources, and global projects, and propose recommendations based on analysis.
• Identify and apply the most recent direct and indirect applications of data science, economics, and policy to impact global nutrition outcomes post-2024, as demonstrated through the development of innovative strategies or solutions.

Performance Indicators

• 8.1.1 Interprets and applies evidence-based literature and standards for determining nutritional needs of target audiences.
• 2.3.4 Identifies opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships with individuals or organizations with shared visions.
• 12.4.2 Applies knowledge of local and global food markets, food production systems and nutrition regulations.

Speakers

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  Yan Bai

  Economist, World Bank

  Dr. Yan Bai, Ph.D. in Nutrition Policy from Tufts University, is an Economist at the World Bank Development Data Group based in Washington, DC. Dr. Bai's previous academic and professional appointments include roles as Assistant Professor at Zhejiang University in China and Investment Analyst at the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Dr. Bai holds master’s degrees in international business and economics from Tufts University and bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and economics from Peking University in China. Specializing in the intersection of nutrition science, economics, and data analytics, Dr. Bai's research primarily involves the complex analysis of food price data, with an emphasis on assessing the economic accessibility and affordability of healthy diets worldwide. He is instrumental in the development of the FAO-World Bank Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet (COAHD) Indicators.

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  Elena Martinez

  Postdoctoral Scholar, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

  Dr. Elena Martinez is a postdoctoral scholar at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Dr. Martinez is an experienced food systems researcher with interdisciplinary training in science and policy related to agriculture, nutrition, public health, gender, and the environment. Her research focuses on the cost of healthy diets globally, including the non-market health and environmental impacts of food systems. Dr. Martinez holds a PhD and an MS in food and agricultural policy from the Friedman School, an MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from the Tufts University School of Medicine, and an AB in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University. Prior to her PhD, she worked as a researcher at the International Food Policy Research Institute and the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.

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  Holly Wang

  Professor of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University

  Dr. Holly Wang is a professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, and has served as a visiting or adjunct professor in multiple institutions in Canada, China, Finland, Germany, and the US. She is a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Dr. Wang has published over 120 articles in peer reviewed journals of both economics and cross disciplinary. She has also delivered hundreds of presentations at professional conferences and academic seminars, some of which are keynote speeches at international conferences in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Dr. Wang is a current co-Editor-in-Chief of Food Policy and Co-Editor of China Agricultural Economic Review. Dr. Wang’s research areas include consumer behavior, food safety, E-Commerce, commodity market, rural development, environmental and agricultural interface applied to multiple countries in the world. She has applied both hypothetical and non-hypothetical experimental methods, time series and spatial econometric methods, and other quantitative methods in empirical studies.

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Moderator

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  Tatyana El-Kour

  Global Nutrition Advisor, Aga Khan Foundation

  Dr El-Kour is a registered dietitian nutritionist, a thought leader in population health and nutrition, and currently serves as the Global Nutrition Advisor at the Aga Khan Foundation. Since June 2024, Dr. El-Kour assumed her chairmanship for the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group. A champion of systems’ thinking. Highly skilled at innovating frameworks to transform processes and leverage technology to maximize effectiveness and outcomes. For over 24 years, Dr. El-Kour has delivered progressive strategies integrating complex humanitarian and development programs and projects on behalf of the United Nations, international, governmental, and non-governmental agencies with a behavior change focus. Dr. El-Kour has evolved her technical specialty to address the changing health and food systems landscape, incorporating media psychology and technology to population health and humanitarian programming to drive behavior change. Dr. El-Kour holds a Ph.D. and master’s degrees in psychology with concentrations in media psychology and social impact of mobile media and immersive technology from Fielding Graduate University, a combined master’s and dietetic internship degree in medical nutrition therapy and policy from Tufts University, a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Kansas State University, and a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and food technology from the University of Jordan. She has received 21 awards and honors, 7 grants and fellowships, 8 scholarships, completed more than 100 certifications, and delivered more than 200 technical trainings and capacity building workshops globally.

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