The Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA) program has called for a third round of applications for its competitive research grants.
The research grants are aimed at accelerating the development of innovative and interdisciplinary methods, metrics and tools to advance scientific understanding of the linkages between agriculture and food systems and health and nutrition outcomes, in order to better inform policy and programmatic actions to improve nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.
This workstream of the IMMANA program is led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. So far, 15 research grants of up to £250,000 have been awarded over two rounds (Round 1 and Round 2). There will be two funding rounds (Rounds 3 and 4) for the IMMANA Phase 2 grants. Each IMMANA grant will be a maximum of £250,000 and up to eight grants are expected to be awarded through a competitive selection process in each round (total of 16). Applications for Round 3 grants are now open.
Open Access Week is celebrated globally every year during the last complete week of October. To mark Open Access Week 2019, we highlight some recent open access research articles authored and co-authored by scientists from the Animal and Human Health program of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
The program seeks to effectively manage or eliminate livestock, zoonotic and foodborne diseases that matter to the poor through the generation and use of knowledge, technologies and products, leading to higher farmer incomes and better health and nutrition for consumers and livestock.
Read about our research on antimicrobial resistance, food safety, One Health and zoonotic diseases from this selection of peer-reviewed, open access journal articles published this year:
For more information, contact Delia Randolph (d.randolph@cgiar.org) or Vish Nene (v.nene@cgiar.org), co-leaders of ILRI’s Animal and Human Health program.
On World Food Day 2019, we highlight a recent article by scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute that summarizes the current state of knowledge on the role of livestock products for nutrition, with emphasis on the first 1000 days of life for individuals living in low-income countries.
Meat, milk and eggs are nutrient-rich products that could efficiently boost nutrient-poor diets either as part of the normal diet or if access is increased through interventions.
The article, published in the journal Animal Frontiers (Oct 2019), considers the nutritional importance of livestock products, the evidence base for their impact on health and nutrition, and the major externalities concerned with their production.
The authors note that promoting the intake of livestock products among resource-limited populations will require specific feasibility and sustainability studies to be conducted to ensure those foods are available and affordable to the target populations.
Citation Alonso, S., Dominguez-Salas, P. and Grace, D. 2019. The role of livestock products for nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life. Animal Frontiers 9(4): 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/af/vfz033
The design of strategies for uptake of livestock vaccines by communities in East Africa should take into account that male and female farmers face different barriers in the uptake of the vaccines, a new research study says.
These barriers include the cost of the vaccines, distances to vaccination points, access to information on vaccination campaigns and decision-making processes at household level. Some constraints affect both men and women while others affect one gender group only, based on prevailing gender norms and division of labour.
The study, published in the journal Vaccines (8 Aug 2019), was undertaken by a team of scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute, Uganda’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and the United States Agency for International Development Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
The work was carried out in purposively selected sites, namely, Kwale and Murang’a counties in Kenya and Arua and Ibanda districts in Uganda. The sites in Kenya were selected because livestock there had recently been vaccinated against Rift Valley fever while the sites in Uganda were chosen because they had experienced recent outbreaks of the disease but no vaccination was carried out. Data were collected through 58 focus group discussions (30 in Kenya and 28 in Uganda), with 8–12 discussants per group.
The researchers found that women in Kwale experienced more difficulties than their male counterparts in accessing information on vaccination campaigns while women in Ibanda had limited decision-making capacity over the management and control of livestock diseases because of culturally defined livestock ownership patterns.
The cost of vaccines was a greater barrier for men than for women because the role of managing and controlling livestock diseases in these communities was culturally ascribed to men.
To be effective, therefore, livestock vaccination campaigns need to consider the socio-cultural gender dynamics that exist at household and community level. It is not enough to merely provide vaccines to the community during mass campaigns.
“Availability of vaccines does not guarantee uptake at community level due to social, spatial, economic and vaccine safety and efficacy barriers faced by men and women farmers,” the researchers note.
They add, “Vaccine uptake is a complex process which requires buy-in from men and women farmers, veterinary departments, county/district governments, national governments and vaccine producers”.
There are too many issues with using lactic acid bacteria for aflatoxin binding for the practice to be safely promoted, according to a newly published review. The review adds that using aflatoxin binders in human food might even worsen food safety in the longer term.
“Use of binding agents in foods contradicts all the existing principles
and regulations set to ensure food safety. If such a method is promoted, the
efforts to combat the aflatoxin problem at farm level and throughout the value
chain, to eliminate and reduce the contaminants, could be compromised,” the study
says.
Aflatoxins continue to be a food safety problem globally, especially in
developing regions. A significant amount of effort and resources have been
invested to control aflatoxins. However, these efforts have not substantially
decreased the prevalence nor the dietary exposure to aflatoxins in developing
countries.
One approach to aflatoxin control is the use of binding agents in foods,
and lactic acid bacteria have been studied extensively for this purpose.
However, when assessing the results comprehensively and reviewing the
practicality and ethics of use, risks are evident and concerns arise.
The study notes that aflatoxin binding research has approached the issue
from a one-component ‘silver bullet’ solution instead of focusing on a
comprehensive approach to aflatoxin control that considers good agricultural
practices at the farm level and good manufacturing practices during
production.
Promoting increased diversity of diets, particularly of staple crops,
may contribute towards reduced exposure to aflatoxins. Additionally, the role
of food safety authorities needs to be strengthened to safeguard food quality
in both formal and informal markets.
Taking sheep for disease testing in Bako, Ethiopia (photo credit: ILRI/Barbara Wieland).
World Zoonoses Day is
marked annually on 6 July to commemorate the day in 1885 when Louis Pasteur
successfully administered the first vaccine against a zoonotic disease when he
treated a young boy who had been mauled by a rabid dog. The day is also an opportunity
to raise awareness of the risk of zoonoses, infectious diseases that are spread
between animals and people.
Scientists estimate
that 60% of known infectious diseases in people and 75% of new or emerging
infectious diseases in people are transmitted from animals. Neglected zoonoses
associated with livestock, such as brucellosis and cysticercosis, impose a huge
health burden on poor people and reduce the value of their livestock assets.
Through its Animal and Human Health program, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) carries out research with national and international partners towards improving the control of zoonotic diseases through a range of tools and approaches such as risk mapping and risk targeting, modelling of zoonotic pandemics, decision-support tools and advice on vaccination strategies. The program also generates evidence for policymakers on the cost and impact of zoonoses and the benefits of their prevention.
For an in-depth look, listed below are some of our research publications on zoonoses:
Grace, D., Mutua, F., Ochungo, P., Kruska, R., Jones, K., Brierley, L., Lapar, L., Said, M., Herrero, M., Phuc, P.M., Thao, N.B., Akuku, I. and Ogutu, F. 2012. Mapping of poverty and likely zoonoses hotspots. Zoonoses Project 4. Report to the UK Department for International Development. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.
For more information on ILRI’s research on zoonoses, contact Bernard Bett, senior scientist at ILRI (b.bett@cgiar.org) or Eric Fèvre, professor of veterinary infectious diseases, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool on joint appointment at ILRI (eric.fevre@liverpool.ac.uk).
Researchers entering sampling data (photo credit: Zoonoses and Emerging Diseases).
In the cities of developing nations, where unregulated antibiotic use is
common and livestock jostle with people amid often unsanitary conditions,
scientists have found a potentially troubling vector for the dissemination of
antimicrobial resistant bacteria: wildlife.
The epidemiological study published in the June 2019 issue of the journal Lancet Planetary Health shows that urban wildlife in Nairobi carry a high burden of clinically relevant antimicrobial resistant bacteria. The research team included scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the University of Liverpool and the Kenya Medical Research Institute, among other research institutions.
Antimicrobial resistance is an increasingly serious threat to public
health. Through misuse and overuse of antibacterial medication, more and more
of the bacterial diseases that were once easily treated with antibiotics have
become drug-resistant; these new strains of old germs require expensive and
prolonged treatment at best and at worst can be lethal.
The study deployed teams of veterinary, medical, environmental and
wildlife personnel to sample 99 households randomly chosen from Nairobi’s
socio-economically diverse neighbourhoods.
The study found higher diversity of antimicrobial resistance in
livestock and the environment than humans and wildlife. Rodents and birds were
significantly more likely to carry resistance to multiple drugs when exposed to
human and livestock waste through poor management practices, a common feature
of lower-income neighbourhoods.
“This paper shows that contamination of urban environments with
antimicrobial resistance is a serious issue. This is not just specific to
Nairobi but findings can be extrapolated to other cities in Africa,” said
Eric Fèvre, a joint appointed scientist at ILRI and professor of veterinary
infectious diseases at the University of Liverpool.
“We tend to think of antimicrobial resistance in primarily medical
terms, of developing new drugs and better using old ones. But we need to take
an ecological approach to addressing this threat. Urban cities can address this
by better urban planning, better waste disposal, better livestock husbandry
practices. This can go far toward disrupting antimicrobial resistance exchange
between wildlife, livestock and humans,” said Fèvre.
The lead author of the study, James Hassell, said, “Although we found no evidence to suggest that antimicrobial resistance carried by urban wildlife poses a direct threat to human health, that these animals harbour high levels of resistance to drugs used in human and animal medicine is particularly worrisome. Since wildlife are not treated with antibiotics, this is indicative of how pervasive antimicrobial resistance is in urban environments. Species that move freely across cities and further afield could disseminate resistance acquired in urban areas more widely.”
“We cannot address the rise of antimicrobial resistance without focusing on the environmental, ecological and social settings in which humans exist,” said Hassell.
The CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH) has published its 2018 annual report, highlighting program activities and research results from across A4NH’s five research flagships and five focus countries. These include:
research into consumer choices, motives and barriers through the lens of vegetable consumption in urban Nigeria;
building the evidence base with newly-published research that shows biofortified high-iron pearl millet can significantly improve nutrition and cognitive performance;
significant research contributions to help policymakers and consumers understand food safety issues and risks;
how agriculture and nutrition interventions delivered through community-based childcare centres can impact nutrient intake, dietary diversity and nutritional status;
improving hospital diagnostics for human brucellosis; and
an exploration of gender research projects being conducted under A4NH.
Food market near Khulungira Village, in central Malawi (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).
Today marks the first ever World Food Safety Day following the adoption in December 2018 of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly to set aside 7 June of every year to celebrate the benefits of safe food and inspire action towards preventing and managing foodborne diseases.
In Asia and Africa, most livestock products and fresh produce are sold in informal markets. The human health burden from foodborne disease is comparable to that of malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis. Unsafe food is also a barrier to market access for poor farmers.
Food safety is a key part of the research portfolio of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). ILRI leads the food safety flagship of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). This flagship seeks food safety solutions that can work in informal markets; it focuses primarily on mitigating aflatoxin contamination in key staples and on managing risks in informal markets for nutrient-rich perishables like meat, milk, fish and vegetables.
Our approach to food safety research is based on risk analysis. We identify the hazards in food and build the capacity of policymakers to understand risk-based approaches; policy will be more effective and efficient if based on actual risk to human health rather than the presence of hazards. We generate evidence and develop solutions to improve the safety of animal products in informal food markets.
Better management of foodborne diseases could save nearly half a million lives a year and safeguard the livelihoods of over one billion small-scale livestock producers. Indeed, there is no food security without food safety.
Some of the collaborative food safety projects that ILRI has led in the past include work on mitigating the risk of mycotoxins in the feed–dairy value chain in Kenya, improving food safety in smallholder pig value chains in Vietnam and food safety risk assessment and piloting of food safety interventions in eight countries in Africa.
Grace, D., Dominguez-Salas, P., Alonso, S., Fahrion, A., Haesler, B., Heilmann, M., Hoffmann, V., Kang’ethe, E., Roesel, K. and Lore, T. 2018. Food safety metrics relevant to low and middle income countries: Technical brief. Agriculture, Nutrition and Health Academy Food Safety Working Group. London, UK: Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions Programme.
Goat in a market in Nigeria (photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann).
Foodborne disease is a major public health problem in poor countries, but we lack effective, sustainable and scalable approaches that work in the traditional, informal markets where most fresh, risky food is sold.
A promising intervention is working with informal sector vendors to provide training and technologies, an enabling environment, and motivation for behaviour change.
A case study published in the March 2019 issue of the journal Infection Ecology & Epidemiology presents a long-term follow-up of a pilot project to improve food safety in Bodija abattoir and meat market, one of the largest markets in Nigeria.
An evaluation shortly after implementation found the intervention was acceptable, cost-effective and resulted in safer meat. The follow-up nine years later used qualitative surveys and microbiological tests.
The policy environment had become disabling, partly because of attempts by the authorities to move butchers to a modern, hygienic but more distant abattoir; this was resisted by the butchers.
Authorities revoked the licence for Bodija market and stopped providing services. Matters escalated and forceful attempts to remove butchers resulted in deaths followed by riots. Meat safety deteriorated.
The case study shows the importance of an enabling environment and need for stakeholder collaboration in attempting to improve food safety in the traditional sector.
In addition to organizations recognized for specific projects and outputs, we thank all donors which globally supported the work of ILRI and its partners through their contributions to the CGIAR system
AgHealth 