
The goal of the Food, Environment, and Health program is to develop evidence, innovations, and policies to improve health, build healthier food systems, and prevent non-communicable and infectious diseases. By investing in knowledge and innovation for large-scale positive change, we hope to enable solutions that improve the health of millions of people, particularly women and children.
The program’s first priority is the prevention of food-related chronic illnesses (such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease). The focus: public policy interventions and market innovations for changing local and national food systems in ways that enable healthy and sustainable diets.
Food, Environment, and Health will also build on promising results of past and ongoing work, where large-scale disease prevention is achievable in the short-term. This includes:
- Preventing and controlling infectious diseases of poverty such as Chagas disease in Central America and helminthic infections in Southeast Asia and China.
- Preventing pandemic zoonotic infections such as Ebola.
- Enabling countries to implement the most effective tobacco control measures to dramatically reduce tobacco use among poor populations.
Learn more
The Economics of Tobacco Control Research Initiative
Rapid Research Fund for Ebola Virus Disease Outbreaks
Preventing noncommunicable diseases through food systems (PDF, 180KB)
Building the evidence for healthier food systems
Inviting ideas: Food systems research for non-communicable disease prevention (PDF, 119KB)
The Food, Environment, and Health program funds research exclusively through competitive calls. Announcements and details on eligibility and thematic focus for funding opportunities will be posted on IDRC’s funding page.
News and events
Research in action
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Research in Action
Building the evidence for healthier food systems
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Research in Action
Improving household nutrition security and public health in the CARICOM
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Research in Action
Zeroing in on Zika
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Research in Action
Tackling the epidemic: Tobacco control research at IDRC
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Research in Action
Strengthening the field of ecohealth research in Southeast Asia
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Research in Action
Push for higher tobacco taxes in West Africa
Publications and resources
Through books, articles, research publications, and studies, we aim to widen the impact of our investment and advance development research.