LIN Event Recap: Addressing Disability in Nutrition Programmes

On 26 March 2026, we hosted our Spring Inclusion Café on the theme of „Inclusive Nutrition for Every Child: Addressing Disability in Nutrition Programmes”, bringing together around 60 participants from different sectors.

The session opened by framing nutrition and food security as pressing global challenges, shaped by interconnected factors such as climate change, conflict, cultural norms, physiology, and economic conditions. Central to this discussion was the role of inequality and power dynamics across all these components, and what determines what is available, affordable, appropriate, and high-quality nutrition.

While nutrition affects people throughout the life course, this session focused on children with disabilities. Our speakers addressed the topic from different perspectives:

Lori Baxter, disability rights and inclusion consultant with Save the Children, introduced resources to support disability-inclusive nutrition. These included Save the Children’s pen access training packages on disability-inclusive nutrition and feeding for frontline workers and in emergencies. She also highlighted tools such as UNICEF’s resource and image bank and noted relevant reference groups on nutrition and feeding.

Nick Corby, director of Impel Consultancy Ltd, shared key findings from research conducted with the World Food Programme in Laos and Nepal. He explored the link between inclusive education and school feeding programmes, drawing on a practice guide developed from the research. He emphasised indicative actions and practical entry points that can help integrate inclusive approaches into both education and nutrition systems.

Yetneberesh Nigussie Molla, lawyer, disability rights activist, and disability inclusion specialist at UNICEF, provided an overview of inclusive nutrition policies and international frameworks. She highlighted potential areas for more systematic inclusion of persons especially children with disabilities within the nutrition system. She provided important resources and references for those looking to deepen their engagement in this field.

Across all presentations and in the lively discussion that followed, one message stood out clearly: the urgency of connecting and partnering with a range of organisations and institutions, including Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, to better understand and comprehensively address inclusive nutrition and food security.

Addressing inclusive nutrition requires stronger collaboration!