Micronutrient deficiency (hidden hunger) is a public health concern, estimated to affect over 2 billion people worldwide. Although the concern is highest in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, high income countries are not exempt. War, pandemics, and climate change have all impacted the global food system and cost of nutritious food. The clinical presentation of hidden hunger may not always be obvious, yet the underlying impact of micronutrient deficiencies is profound. Hidden hunger can affect growth as well as physical and cognitive development in children, and impaired immune function in adults, leading to increased morbidity and susceptibility to infection. Beyond this, hidden hunger impacts national economic productivity. So, can we solve hidden hunger? Join Professor Nicola Lowe as she discusses strategies to improve micronutrient intakes at a population scale and how they must be affordable and sustainable, with biofortification as the leading strategy.
What will I gain?
- Understand the scale of the problem of hidden hunger worldwide.
- Learn about the role of biofortification in addressing hidden hunger and examine the evidence on the nutritional and health benefits.
- Gain insight into the evidence, showing what is needed for a successful strategy to improve micronutrient deficiency at population level.
Endorsement No EN175.40
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 2 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Bio-fortification - the international benefit2
Instructor
Nicola is Professor of Nutritional Sciences, and Director of the Research Centre for Global Development at UCLan. She has a BSc in Biochemistry/Applied Zoology and a PhD in trace mineral metabolism and has worked in the field of global nutrition for much of her career. Her primary research interest is trace mineral metabo-lism, with a particular focus micronutrient deficiency, known as “hidden hunger”. From 2018 to 2021, she was seconded to the role Challenge Leader for Food Systems portfolio of the Global Challenges Research Fund at UKRI, where she provided strategic oversight for new funding calls and future impact of the funding pro-gramme.
Nicola is also the research director and a trustee for the Abaseen Foundation, a Lancashire based charity that received the Queens Award (MBE) for Voluntary Service in 2017. The Abaseen Foundation is working alongside community members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in north west Pakistan, to improve education and health care provision. She has been collaborating with researchers in Pakistan for over 15 years, conducting research aimed at tackling malnutrition in marginalised communities. She is currently the Principal Investigator for re-search in Pakistan to investigate novel biomarkers of zinc status, and the potential for wheat biofortification to alleviate zinc deficiency (BIZIFED study).
Nicola is a Fellow of the Association for Nutrition and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is commit-ted to research that embraces equitable partnerships.
