Feeding Communities in the Eye of the Storm: Food Systems, Nutrition and Natural Disasters

As climate-related events worsen, the relationship between climate, food, nutrition and health systems becomes increasingly apparent. There is an urgent need for multisectoral action to strengthen regional food systems to safeguard the health and resilience of communities.

On December 5th, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition hosted a webinar, “Feeding Communities in the Eye of the Storm: Food Systems, Nutrition and Natural Disasters”. The event brought together a diverse group of critical stakeholders to:

launch the HCC’s newest resource – Safeguarding Public Health Nutrition in the Caribbean During Emergencies: Guidelines for Managing Donations from the Commercial Sector.
unpack the impact of Natural Disasters on Food Systems in the Caribbean.
discuss strategies to safeguard public health nutrition and strengthen regional food systems before, during and after times of disaster.

Speakers shared numerous strategies to safeguard nutrition, including strengthening relationships with the agricultural sector, ensuring that a nutritionist is included in local and regional disaster response teams, investing in school nutrition and feeding programs, meaningfully engaging grassroots organizations before, during, and after crises, and prioritizing research—particularly research that highlights the unique perspectives of those directly impacted by the crisis. Finally, it was highlighted throughout the webinar that the commercial determinants of health continue to impede non-communicable disease (NCD) progress in the region. The newly launched guidelines are a valuable tool within a toolkit to help governments and other key stakeholders manage conflicts of interest and safeguard public health nutrition.