Leadership Council members meet to accelerate progress towards Compact2025

Members of the Leadership Council pictured here include: Jeff Hill, USAID, Isatou Jallow, NEPAD, Newai Gebre-ab, EDRI, Kanayo Nwanze, IFAD, Stanlake Samkange, Woeld Food Programme Fazle Hasan Abed, BRAC, Catherine Bertini, Syracuse University, Shenggen Fan, IFPRI Kathy Spahn, Helen Keller International Wolfgang Jamann, CARE International, Sagar Kaushik, UPL Ltd. Teunis van Rheenen, IFPRI Mathilde Mukantabana, Embassy of Rwanda, Rajul Pandya-Lorch, IFPRI. Photo Credit: Caroline Smith / International Food Policy Research Institute / Washington, DC / 2016

On 6 October 2016, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) held a special event in Washington D.C. titled “Accelerating Progress in Ending Hunger and Undernutrition” to discuss how progress to end hunger and undernutrition by 2025 can be accelerated and sustained.

Shenggen Fan, director general of IFPRI, opened the event with an overview of Compact2025’s main roles—to engage at the country-level, stimulate knowledge and innovation, and support other initiatives working to address hunger and undernutrition. Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), gave a keynote address and highlighted the “cruel paradox” that many families that feed the world on small farms are the ones who go hungry.

Following the keynote address, three panelists provided their perspectives; Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, shared the experience of developing a multisectoral program targeted to the ultra-poor in Bangladesh, Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General and CEO of CARE International, reflected on the policies and systems required to accelerate progress to end hunger and undernutrition, and Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International, called for a lens shift from the costs of malnutrition to the benefits of investing in nutrition.

Leadership Council Meeting Blog: Reviewing progress and advancing Compact2025

Just as hunger and undernutrition are markers of poverty, ending hunger and undernutrition are markers and makers of prosperity.”

Kathy Spahn, President and CEO of Helen Keller International

The Compact2025 Leadership Council made up of champions and influential thinkers, met on the same day to provide strategic guidance to help shape and unify the commitments of national leaders for overcoming country and global-level challenges as part of IFPRI’s Compact2025.

Download the Leadership Council meeting minutes: October 6, 2016.

On the same day, Shenggen Fan and Wolfgang Jamann signed a partnership agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. The formal agreement signals that IFPRI and CARE will move toward a more systematic partnership while continuing joint projects currently underway.

Gerda Verburg, Coordinator, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement speaking with fellow Council members. Photo Credit: Caroline Smith / International Food Policy Research Institute / Washington, DC / 2016

About Compact2025

Launched on 18 November 2015, Compact2025 is an International Food Policy Research Institute initiative for ending hunger and undernutrition by 2025. It aims to bring stakeholders together to set priorities, innovate and learn, fine-tune actions, build on successes, and synthesize shareable lessons in order to accelerate progress. The first countries to join Compact2025 are Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi and Rwanda. Since it’s launch, Compact2025 has has hosted country roundtables and released the book Nourishing Millions: Stories of Change in Nutrition. It is also developing a Knowledge and Innovation hub to experiment, learn, and share evidence for pragmatic, action-oriented strategies.

Compact2025 Website | Compact2025 Briefing Note (PDF 514 KB) | Compact2025 FAQ (PDF 357 KB) |  | Compact2025 Presentation (Slideshare) | Press Release