Giving Compass' Take:

• Individuals, as well as food supply professionals, need to prioritize nutrition and promote efforts to ensure food security and access to healthy food during the pandemic. 

• How can donors help increase access to nutritious food? 

• Learn about addressing food insecurity during COVID-19. 

The impact of Covid-19 on global food supply chains and access to food has been vast.

Lockdowns imposed by many governments to control the outbreak have also caused many businesses—in some cases, entire industries such as tourism—to shut, driving millions out of work and their households into financial insecurity.

In a world set to face challenging economic times, eating healthily must remain a priority even when on a tight budget, nutrition experts told Eco-Business.

Even without the threat of Covid-19 infection, eating well helps keep the immune system running efficiently. Diets have a direct impact on health and the body’s ability to ward off or recover from illnesses.

For instance, it is well-established that poor diets are linked to chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which are currently the leading causes of poor health and deaths worldwide.

Mounting evidence also shows that people with these pre-existing conditions fare worse and have a higher risk of dying when they contract Covid-19 and other infections.

Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that are not produced by the body, but are required in small amounts. Those scientifically proven to support the immune system include vitamins A, B-vitamins, C, D, E and folate as well as trace minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and selenium.

Apart from individual efforts to eat well and stay healthy, other experts have called for wider efforts to ensure food security and access to nutrition amid the pandemic. Governments should work together and ensure that short-term measures to restrict trade should not distort global markets, international agencies including the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation have urged.

Read the full article about nutrition as a priority during COVID-19 by Eveline Gan at Eco-Business.