By Edith Nyabicha, World Vision
I have had the opportunity to support the Faith-Based Nutrition Dialogues, a process that creates safe, structured spaces where faith leaders, caregivers, young people, and community members can reflect honestly on hunger and malnutrition not only as technical challenges, but as moral and lived realities. I became involved because I believe that communities already understand what hunger looks like, what it costs families, and what needs to change. What is often missing is a platform that honours their voices and connects them to wider systems of response.
In 2025, World Vision convened 93 Faith-Based Nutrition Dialogues across 20 countries, engaging a total of 7,697 participants. The synthesis report draws on all dialogue feedback forms submitted through the Nutrition Dialogues portal up to October 2025, capturing insights from faith leaders, women, young people, and community members across diverse contexts.
One experience that remains deeply memorable to me is listening to the reflections emerging from faith-led dialogues across different contexts. What stood out was the consistency of the message: hunger is not only about food. It is about dignity. Caregivers described the shame and distress they feel when they cannot provide adequate meals for their children, even when circumstances are beyond their control. Faith leaders and community members spoke about how hunger affects children’s energy, school participation, and emotional wellbeing. One quote that stayed with me was: “Allowing a child to go hungry is not only a social failure but a moral one.”
Supporting this work also revealed how complex the nutrition challenge truly is. Participants repeatedly linked malnutrition to interconnected pressures like rising food prices, unstable incomes, unemployment, and seasonal hardship. Many also highlighted climate shocks such as droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall that are disrupting livelihoods and undermining household food security. At the same time, the dialogues made clear that nutrition is shaped by social and cultural norms, particularly those affecting women and children. Women described eating last or least when food is scarce, and in some contexts, restrictive beliefs around maternal diets during pregnancy or breastfeeding continued to affect nutrition outcomes.
A key insight from this process was the unique role of faith actors in community life. Faith institutions are not peripheral. They are trusted anchors, present even in fragile and underserved settings. When families face hunger, crisis, or displacement, many turn first to churches, mosques, temples, and faith leaders for support. Faith actors provide immediate assistance through food sharing, community kitchens, counselling, and volunteer mobilisation. They also shape social norms through teaching and pastoral engagement, influencing behaviours related to caregiving, breastfeeding, hygiene, and family decision-making.
However, the dialogues also highlighted a serious gap: faith actors often operate at the margins of formal nutrition systems. Many expressed the desire to help more effectively, but also fear giving incorrect advice due to limited technical nutrition knowledge. Referral pathways to health services are often informal and dependent on personal relationships, and there are few simple tools for tracking or follow-up. As a result, faith-led contributions remain largely invisible in official planning and coordination mechanisms even when faith leaders are among the first to identify vulnerable households.
In times such as this, young voices are especially important. Young people experience hunger directly, and they also bring urgency, creativity, and courage into community conversations. Their perspectives remind us that nutrition is not only about survival, it is about dignity, learning, and future potential. Youth also help bridge generations, challenging harmful norms while inspiring action grounded in compassion and justice.
I encourage others to engage with Nutrition Dialogues by participating, supporting local faith partners, or creating space for youth and caregivers to be heard. Every dialogue strengthens the bridge between lived experience and systems-level change.
In times such as this, our calling is not to remain silent. It is to listen deeply and act collectively.
Read more: Faith Community Impact on Hunger and Nutrition | World Vision International
