The Food Systems Policy Index: A global tool to stimulate governments towards healthier, more equitable and sustainable food systems

<p dir="ltr">A food systems transformation is urgently needed, given their contribution to three interlinked global health pandemics: (1) undernutrition, (2) obesity, and (3) climate change. As policymakers make decisions that shape food systems, our research aimed to identify a wide range of “double and triple-duty policies”, to simultaneously reduce the burden of these pandemics.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Starting from a compilation of international policy recommendations, the double and triple-duty potential of policies was assessed in a scoping review and through international expert consultations, the International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) has created a Food Systems Policy Index for governments composed of 44 double and triple-duty policies. Moreover, exploratory policy mappings and 40 semi-structured interviews with national and local policy stakeholders across five African countries have been conducted to identify potential barriers and facilitators to their development and implementation.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">The new policy index represents a useful tool to guide governments and benchmark their actions to tackle undernutrition, obesity and climate change.</p>