In a world faced with rising temperatures, increasingly severe droughts and floods, and a rapidly growing population, how can people adapt to this new way of life – and even thrive? Leading experts discussed this question in-depth during an Aspen Institute Global Health and Development Program event titled, “Building Resiliency: The Importance of Food Security and Population.” The panel took place as part of the Civil Society Policy Forum at the 2014 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC.

“Rapid population growth increases vulnerability to shocks of many kinds, including economic shocks, climate change impacts, and food insecurity,” said Clive Mutunga, population, health, and environment technical advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He noted that 222 million women around the world have an unmet need for family planning, which leads to high rates of maternal and infant mortality, early child-bearing, and high fertility rates that drive population growth. “Meeting women’s needs for reproductive health and family planning can contribute in important ways to building resilience in the face of these shocks.”

Making or Breaking the Next Generation

Proper nutrition impacts a child’s ability to grow and learn. “Building human capacity starts with the mother and young child,” said Meera Shekar, lead health and nutrition specialist in the Africa region at the World Bank. “Nutrition-sensitive agriculture is tremendously important in food security strategies that serve to build resilience. The first 1,000 days [of a child’s life] can lock in human capacity for life, and this can make or break a generation.”

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