Food, Environment, and Health

We aim to improve health, build healthier food systems, and prevent non-communicable and infectious diseases

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 healthier food systems (PDF, 239KB)

Inviting ideas: Food systems research for non-communicable disease prevention (PDF, 119KB)

Funding

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.