Vital Data Initiative: Food Security, Nutition & related Health information ecosystem: What needs to be protected, prioritized or reformed?

Food security and nutrition (FSN) information systems are essential for evidence-informed policy, anticipatory action, and resilient food systems. Yet funding contractions, declining institutional capacity, political and governance constraints, and rapid digital transformation are placing critical information functions under increasing pressure, affecting the availability, quality and timeliness of data and countries’ ability to anticipate and respond to food and nutrition crises. Digital and AI innovations present opportunities, but they cannot substitute for sustainable financing, institutional capacity, governance, and coordination.

This interactive session will move from evidence of vulnerability to country experience, reform priorities and opportunities for collective action. New global evidence on how financial shocks, institutional pressures and governance constraints affect FSN information systems will be grounded through country perspectives from Somalia and Mozambique. Country contributions will examine which information functions are most critical and vulnerable, what is already working or changing, and which reforms or investments would make the greatest difference.

Building on these findings, a focused multi-stakeholder discussion will consider what the changed financing, institutional and technological environment means for food security, nutrition and related health information systems. The session would conclude with strategic discussions in smaller groups with different stakeholders as we brainstorm on the overarching question on what needs to be protected, prioritized and reformed within the humanitarian and development information ecosystems on food security, nutrition and health.