No matter how much we like to think of ourselves as informed consumers, the majority of us do not fully understand the complexity of the arrangements needed to get even the most basic commodities to our tables safely, reliably and with any luck, tastily. The journey of the humble cornflake from corn seed to the breakfast table requires a tangled web of research, forecasting, analysis, logistics, contracts and legal compliance. Yet for some 820 million people around the world, that complexity int...
A new report for the World Food Programme (WFP), co-authored by Prof. Franziska Gassmann and Eszter Timar, presents the findings of three country case studies – Armenia, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan – and provides a general overview of social protection and safety nets issues in relation to food security and nutrition outcomes in the sub-region, with a synthesis of the main trends and a set of consolidated findings and policy recommendations. This report is part of a series of scoping stud...
The United Nations University in the Netherlands (UNU-MERIT) is pleased to announce an agreement with the World Food Programme to provide long-term monitoring, evaluation, analysis and policy guidance in support of WFP’s work with refugee and vulnerable communities in Kenya. Worth USD $2 million over the next four years, this project will be led by Dr. Nyasha Tirivayi of UNU-MERIT. Her team of dedicated researchers will monitor and evaluate the effects of long-term aid programmes to Kenya’s popu...
The paradigm of long-term delivery of short-term aid needs to be reconsidered — because the current system is barely functional or sustainable. This implies building a new bridge between humanitarian aid and long-term human development. But what exactly does that mean? A key part of the process is to examine the many complex factors at play, including the issue of responsibility. This post considers the moral nature of the so-called ‘duty bearer’ in more detail. ...
You defended your PhD thesis ‘A tall order – Improving child linear growth’ on 19 June 2018. When you applied to the programme, you were working as a project manager for the UN’s World Food Programme. Was there a link between your activities at work, and the choice to apply for a part-time PhD?...
Takahiro Utsumi is one of our many students who also works for another UN organisation — in this case the World Food Programme (WFP) in Khartoum, Sudan. He came to Maastricht for our unique course on Evidence-Based Policy Research Methods (EPRM), to improve his everyday work and long-term career as a food security analyst. We caught up with him in mid-December 2016. ••• You’re a Japanese analyst working for a UN programme in East Africa. What exactly do you do? I’m a Food Security Analyst workin...
Fatai Adegboye is one of our many part-time PhD fellows who also works for another UN body — in this case the World Food Programme (WFP) in Damascus, Syria. He came to Maastricht for our unique PhD Dual Career Training Programme in Governance and Policy Analysis (GPAC²). The questions are posed by course leader Dr. Mindel van de Laar. ••• Can you describe your daily work in Damascus? FA: I am a Business Support Manager at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Syria Country Office....