Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) (360G-Wellcome-201790_Z_16_Z)

The Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (SHEFS) programme aims to understand the impact of changing food systems on the health of vulnerable populations in Africa and Asia where food system, demographic and environmental changes are set to unfold most dramatically. Building on an original analysis of multi-sectoral observational data, we will deliver innovative studies in multiple sites undergoing rapid food system change to identify the critical drivers and key interventions in food systems that can improve population health. Our study sites will provide a rich new research resource for food systems science and public health. We propose to integrate this information with inputs from socio-economic, demographic, health and earth-system models to investigate potential solutions and interventions and to establish how they might contribute to sustainable health and environment goals. We will conduct substantive new scenario modelling, considering projections that may involve complex and non-linear trends, and analysing how governance and decision-making can secure equitable and sustainable health outcomes through improved food systems in a rapidly changing world. Our goal is a step-change in the evidence base available to design food systems that improve population health whilst protecting the environment, underpinning a new generation of evidence-based policies and interventions.