Reimagining Health Systems for Sustainable Food Futures in the Global South

(Subhasree Ray – Observer Research Foundation) Health systems and food systems are deeply interconnected, yet they continue to function in relative isolation across much of the Global South. Food systems are increasingly recognised as one of the most powerful determinants of population health, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Far beyond the linear chain of food production and consumption, they encompass interconnected processes of cultivation, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management, all embedded within wider ecological, economic, and political structures. Contemporary evidence suggests that food systems contribute nearly one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, while unhealthy diets are linked to approximately 11 million preventable deaths annually. These burdens are disproportionately concentrated within countries of the Global South, where environmental vulnerability, structural inequality, and fragile governance systems intersect. – Reimagining Health Systems for Sustainable Food Futures in the Global South