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The World Food Prize Foundation announced today that the 2018 Laureates, Drs. Lawrence Haddad and David Nabarro, will be featured speakers at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Conference on August 30 at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
“I am delighted that Dr. Lawrence Haddad and Dr. David Nabarro, the 2018 winners of the prestigious World Food Prize, will visit Wageningen University & Research. Their presence, with Ambassador Ken Quinn, the President of the World Food Prize, during the international SDG Conference on the 30th and 31st of August will be a great inspiration to our students and staff. Their relentless commitment to food security mirrors that of WUR. I look forward to discuss how we can bring the best of science together to improve the quality, quantity, availability of food while safeguarding the sustainability of production. In these efforts we share the legacy of Dr Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution and creator of the World Food Prize,” said Dr. Louise Fresco, president of Wageningen University and member of the World Food Prize Council of Advisors.
Drs. Haddad and Nabarro will give a joint presentation Thursday, August 30 during the conference, with introductory remarks by Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation.
“Having the two 2018 World Food Prize Laureates speak at Wageningen University as it celebrates its 100th anniversary is the perfect intersection of long-standing world class research capability and extraordinary application and impact, for which both our Laureates and this distinguished century-old institution are deservedly renowned,” Amb. Quinn said. “It is particularly appropriate that this entire conference is under the direction of Dr. Louise Fresco, the distinguished president of Wageningen and a member of the World Food Prize Council of Advisors.”
Drs. Haddad and Nabarro were selected as 2018 World Food Prize Laureates for their complementary work in bringing global attention to the critical issue of child and maternal nutrition and driving significant change. Dr. Haddad used scientific evidence to persuade policy-makers to make nutrition a central part of their global development strategies, while Dr. Nabarro, as coordinator of the UN’s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, united more than 50 countries for the same purpose. Their work significantly improved maternal and child nutrition and reduced the world’s number of stunted children by 10 million between 2012 and 2017. Drs. Haddad and Nabarro will be honored for their efforts during World Food Prize Week, October 17-19, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
“The evidence that nutrition is a driving force for the SDGs is clear and rock solid,” Dr. Haddad said. “Now every one of us who cares about nutrition has to reach out to champions across all sectors and — together — find ways of advancing their own goals while improving nutrition outcomes at the same time.”
“Young people aspire to a sustainable world where everyone can live well and enjoy life. It is our collective responsibility to nurture this future but it requires major transformations in all spheres of life everywhere,” Dr. Nabarro said. “These can only be achieved through connections and bridges between disciplines, people and territories.”
The SDG conference at Wageningen University gathers key stakeholders from around the world to discuss solutions and celebrate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly through strategic partnerships. This conference focuses on SDG2 (end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG17 (create partnerships). Wageningen University and Research combines efforts in the natural and social sciences to focus on food, food production, living environment, health, lifestyle and livelihood.
Press Contact:
Nicole Barreca, Director of Communications and Events
515-245-3735, or by email at nbarreca@worldfoodprize.org
ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD PRIZE: The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. The Prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, the World Food Prize has honored 48 outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions throughout the world. The World Food Prize annually hosts the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium and a variety of youth education programs to help further the discussion on cutting-edge global food security issues and inspire the next generation to end hunger.
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