Building resilience and enhancing nutrition in Africa’s food systems
Lead Expert Group
The Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition's report, Building resilience and enhancing nutrition in Africa’s food systems, published in January 2025,
It report was the result of a 15-month study examining the resilience of food systems in these countries. Funded by Irish Aid, the objective was to foster the development of realistic and pragmatic strategies to substantially enhance each country’s capacity to provide affordable and sustainable, healthy diets for all, ensuring resilience to future challenges, and building on the leadership these countries have demonstrated in the region.
The project was directed, coordinated and written by a high level Lead Expert Group
Technical experts
Patrick Webb
Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, TUFTS University
Tim Benton
Research Director at Chatham House
International experts
Prof Evan Fraser
Chair of the LEG, Director, Arrell Food Institute, University of Guelph
Prof Amos Laar
Professor Public Health and Nutrition, University of Ghana
Prof Andy Dougill
Professor, University of York
Malawian experts
Dr Mirriam Matita
Lecturer Research Methods, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Dr Andrew Jamali
Director for research in the National Planning Commission
Ethiopian experts
Dr Masresha Tessema
Director, Food Science and Nutrition Research, Ethiopian Public Health Institute
Adinew Abate
Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Program Manager, Ministry of Health, Nutrition Coordination office, Seqota Declaration
Dr Sisay Sinamo
Senior Programme Manager, Seqota Declaration, Ministry of Health
Sierra Leonean experts
Dr Patrick Kormawa
Director, Food Security and Climate-Smart Agricultural Transformation, Office of the President
Dr Abdulai Jalloh
Chief Agricultural Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS)
Evan Fraser
Professor of Geography and Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, Canada.
Fraser is one of Canada’s most cited academics working on the future of food, sustainability, and climate change, and an expert and speaker who works with communities, the corporate sector, the Federal Government of Canada, and the United Nations.
He is an inaugural co-chair of the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council, which is a multi-stakeholder group that advises the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on the implementation of Canada’s food policy.
He is one of fifteen international experts who sit on the United Nations’ High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition.
Amos Laar
Professor of Public Health Nutrition, University of Ghana.
Prof Laar has academic training in Nutrition, Public Health, and Bioethics.
Currently, his research focuses on three distinct, yet related areas of public health:
- Bioethics and Global Health (including food ethics, research ethics, ethics & public health; global public health, health equity, health & human rights);
- Public Health Nutrition (including nutritional epidemiology, food systems, food environment, and nutrition-related non-communicable diseases);
- Social Public Health.
Dr Laar has expertise in mixed-methods research, public health policy analysis, and programme evaluations.
He has expertise and experience deploying such approaches as content analysis, interest analysis, and theoretical human rights analysis in his bioethics-driven research.
Andy Dougill
Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, University of York.
Prof Dougill is an applied environmental change researcher with achievements that integrate a range of disciplines including soil science, ecology, climate services and environmental social sciences.
He has expertise in leading the design and implementation of trans-disciplinary, ‘solutions-focused’ research projects on environmental sustainability and climate change adaptation and is a leading authority on developing integrated methodologies for studying African food systems and dryland environmental change.
Patrick Webb
Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, TUFTS University
Prof Webb is a recognised leader in the fields of food policy, climate change, and nutrition, including as these relate to the domain of humanitarian intervention.
He is also a widely known authority on food security, agriculture and nutrition policies, and food assistance.
He led the United States Agency for International Development's review of food aid quality from 2009 to 2021, served on the United Nations' Hunger Task Force from 2003 through 2005, was Director for the USAID-supported Feed the Future Nutrition Innovation Lab, 2010–2020, and is currently directing the Food Systems for Nutrition Innovation Lab (2021-2026).
Tim Benton
Research Director at Chatham House
Prof Benton leads the Environment and Society Centre at Chatham House.
He joined the institute in 2016 as a distinguished visiting fellow, at which time he was also Dean of Strategic Research Initiatives at the University of Leeds.
From 2011 until 2016, he was the ‘champion’ of the UK’s Global Food Security programme which was a multi-agency partnership of the UK’s public bodies (government departments, devolved governments and research councils) with an interest in the challenges around food.
He has worked with UK governments, the EU and G20 and has been a global agenda steward of the World Economic Forum.
Dr Mirriam Muhome Matita
Lecturer - Research Methods, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Matita has extensive experience in conducting socio economic research, economic analysis, policy analysis, scientific reporting, project management, monitoring and evaluation agriculture domains. She is a food-systems thinking enthusiast.
Dr Andrew Jamali
Director for research in the National Planning Commission
Jamali is an expert in Malawian food systems, has extensive research experience and is a public sector representative with a strong research-to-policy focus.
Dr Masresha Tessema
Director, Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, and Research at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute
Dr Tessema has over 12 years’ experience in public health nutrition, public health and food systems.
Currently, he is Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Research Directorate, at Ethiopian Public Health Institute.
He is also the lead for SUN Academia of Ethiopia. He is a PI and Co-PI of several research projects and has secured competitive grants from various funding agencies.
Adinew Abate
Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Program Manager, Ministry of Health, Nutrition Coordination Office, Seqota Declaration
Mr Abate has over 20 years experience in the planning, implementation, and M&E of Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Program, Climate-Smart Agriculture Program, Food Security Projects, Integrated Crops, Natural Resources and Livestock Development Projects, and other agricultural development programs in senior management roles.
Dr Sisay Sinamo
Senior Program Manager, Seqota Declaration, Ministry of Health
Dr Sinamo has over 18 years of experience in developmental and emergency health and nutrition projects/programs, strategy and sectoral guidance development.
He made a major contribution in institutionalization of emergency nutrition program (CMAM, IYCF in emergency, coverage and SMART) across the World Vision countries in Africa.
Dr Sinamo also provided technical leadership for program in fragile and developmental contexts in nine East African Region countries and hour of Africa drought response in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi four countries in the region.
Dr Patrick Kormawa
Director, Food Security and Climate-Smart Agricultural Transformation, Office of the President
Dr Kormawa has over 15 years leadership and management experience in International Agricultural Research and the United Nations Systems.
He has been involved in providing leadership to multidisciplinary teams for the formulation of strategies and frameworks.
He has led implementation of large-scale multi-country and regional programmes and facilitated high-level policy dialogues to promote agriculture, agribusiness and sustainable industrialisation as a pathway out of poverty.
Dr Abdulai Jalloh
Chief Agricultural Officer, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS)
Dr Jalloh has over 30 years of solid agricultural research for development experience.
Working in multidisciplinary teams and collaborating with local and international development partners as well as leading research teams and administrations.
He has considerable experience in mobilizing funds, implementing and coordinating externally funded programmes/projects.
He has been active in linking research outputs with development, food security and poverty alleviation in the face of climate change.