Evidence of Climate-Nutrition Pathways in Crisis Settings

The Global Nutrition Cluster (GNC) Climate Crisis Working Group, UNICEF, and the Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) present:

Evidence of Climate-Nutrition Pathways in Crisis Settings 

This multilingual webinar took place on Wednesday, 6 May, 11:00 – 12:30 CEST/Geneva time 

Watch now (EN & FR)

• SPEAKERS: Chloe Angood, UNICEF | Dr Matt Fortnam, UNICEF | William Rudgard, University of Oxford | Dr Masresha Tessema, Ethiopian Public Health Institute | Laura Nübler, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and Ritapriya Bandyopadhyay, University of Oxford
• CONCLUDING REMARKS: Christiane Rudert, Centre of Excellence Bangkok, UNICEF

This session opened with a brief welcome and introduction before moving into a series of evidence presentations. Research teams from multiple regions – including Southern Africa, Ethiopia and India – then shared new findings on how climate hazards affect nutrition outcomes, drawing on recent studies and a comprehensive evidence review. These inputs explore key impact pathways across food systems, services, and care practices. 

A focused discussion followed, highlighting what these insights mean for crisis‑affected contexts and how they can inform operational and policy decisions. The webinar closed with key takeaways and next steps, and a Q&A session. 

Session outcomes:

• Learning about the latest research and remaining evidence gaps
• Exploring the implications for nutrition policy and programming 

🎧 The webinar recording is available with audio tracks in English and French.

Have questions? Email: Domitille Kauffmann – [email protected]  

Speaker Bios

Chloe Angood is a Consultant Nutrition Specialist (Climate and Nutrition) in the UNICEF Child Nutrition and Development Practice. She previously served as a Nutrition Specialist in UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office in Nairobi (2021–2025). Chloe has over 16 years of experience in global public health nutrition, with a focus on evidence generation, knowledge management, and technical support for policies and programmes addressing maternal and child malnutrition. She has also worked with the Emergency Nutrition Network, the University of Southampton, and as a consultant for various NGOs. Chloe holds an MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Southampton, and MA and BA degrees in International Development Studies from Middlesex University and the University of Leeds.

Dr Matt Fortnam is an interdisciplinary social scientist at the University of Exeter with an interest in applying resilience thinking to diverse research fields and policy domains, including climate change, health systems, nutrition and natural resource management. He is Principal Investigator for the Health System Resilience to Climate-related Surges (HERCS) project at the Centre for Humanitarian Change. He is working with UNICEF and NutritionWorks to develop the evidence, strategies and tools for climate and nutrition action. His recent publications include The Impact of Climate Change on Maternal and Child Nutrition: A Global Evidence Review (UNICEF) and Resilience in interconnected community and formal health systems (SSM Health Systems).

William Rudgard is Associate Professor in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Reuben College, and an Honorary Research Affiliate at the University of Cape Town’s Centre for Social Science Research. His research focuses on identifying cost-effective combinations of social, health, and climate-responsive interventions to improve child and adolescent wellbeing across Africa.

Dr Masresha Tessema is a Public Health Nutritionist and Senior Researcher with over 14 years of experience at the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), where he directs the Nutrition, Environmental Health, and Non-Communicable Diseases Research Directorate. He also serves as President of the Food and Nutrition Society of Ethiopia. Dr Masresha has a successful track record of securing competitive grants (as PI and Co-PI) and forging international collaborations. His expertise spans implementation science, data, and policy support for nutritional challenges including micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition, as well as the nexus of NCDs, climate, and nutrition. He has authored over 90 peer-reviewed publications and holds a PhD from Wageningen University, the Netherlands.

Laura Nübler is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Climate Change and Health Working Group at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). She is a health modeller on the ClimaKid project, investigating how climate change affects child health and nutrition through agricultural pathways across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Her doctoral research focused on universal health coverage and health equity, including the design and evaluation of digital interventions to expand health coverage in Ghana.

Christiane Rudert is Senior Adviser Nutrition (Climate and Nutrition) in the UNICEF Child Nutrition and Development Practice at the Bangkok Centre of Excellence. She previously served as Regional Nutrition Advisor in UNICEF’s Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office in Nairobi (2020–2026) and in the East Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Bangkok (2014–2020). Christiane began her career in international nutrition and public health in 1994 in Namibia with NGO Health Unlimited and joined UNICEF in 1997 in Zambia. She has also worked with UNICEF in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and New York HQ. Christiane holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/London School of Economics and a BA in Social Anthropology from SOAS, London.

Ritapriya (Reeth) is an economist by disciplinary training and is currently a Research Assistant at the Accelerate Hub within the Department of Social Policy and Intervention. He joined the team in 2023 and has been working with Dr. William Rudgard on estimating the returns to education for adolescents in Kenya and Nigeria. In addition, he contributes to research quantifying the burden of climate risk and child vulnerability in Africa, using geospatial and survey data.