The impact of COVID-19 on diet quality, food security and nutrition in low and middle income countries: A systematic review of the evidence.

Background & Aims: The current global pandemic of Coronavirus (COVID-19), and measures adopted to reduce its spread, threaten the nutritional status of populations in Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Documenting how the COVID-19 affects diets, nutrition and food security can help generating evidence-informed recommendations for mitigating interventions and policies.

Methods: We carried out a systematic literature review.

Compounding crises of social reproduction: Microfinance, over-indebtedness and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit at a time when microfinance is at its historical peak, with an estimated 139 million microfinance customers globally. Cambodia's microfinance sector is one of the fastest growing, and like others in the Global South has moved from offering entrepreneurial capital to everyday liquidity, and even disaster relief. In this Viewpoint, however, we argue that the promotion of microfinance as market-based relief and recovery from the pandemic should be a source of concern, not comfort.

Physical activity, time use, and food intakes of rural households in Ghana, India, and Nepal.

With more than 820 million undernourished people living in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), ending hunger and ensuring access to food by all is a global priority. In the past few decades, the adoption of technological innovations in the agricultural sector and related crop yield improvements have not led to expected improvements in the nutritional status of rural households in many LMICs. The increased energy expenditure associated with the adoption of productivity-enhancing innovations may provide an important explanation of the disconnect between agricultural productivity enhancements and improved nutritional outcomes.

Drudgery reduction, physical activity and energy requirements in rural livelihoods.

Low and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa have been witnessing a process of rural transformation, characterised by rising agricultural productivity, commercialisation of agriculture, improved infrastructure and access to services, over several decades. However, there is little empirical evidence on how this transformation process has affected the patterns and intensity of physical activity and time use in rural livelihoods. The lack of empirical evidence can be attributed to the constraints in accurate measurement of physical activity and energy expenditure in the context of free-living populations.