World Food Day 2026: turning innovation and evidence into action
On World Food Day, Healthy Diet, Healthy Life (HDHL) supports the call to “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” Innovation is essential to build healthier, more sustainable and resilient food systems for all. But innovation alone is not enough. We also need to make sure that knowledge and evidence lead to action.
This year’s World Food Day focuses on the role of innovation in transforming agrifood systems. Innovation can take many forms, from advances in science and technology to new approaches to policy, collaboration and implementation. World Food Day therefore sends an important message: innovation requires collective action, partnership and investment.
At HDHL, we strongly support this broad understanding of innovation. Addressing challenges at the intersection of food, nutrition and health requires more than new knowledge or technological solutions. It also requires researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders to work together and turn knowledge into effective policies and practices.
From evidence to action
The central question at our 2026 conference “Turning Evidence into Action” therefore was: how can we turn what we know into meaningful change? In April, more than 150 participants from 23 countries came together in Brussels to address this question.
One message stood out throughout the conference: the challenge is not only to generate more evidence. We need to become better at translating existing evidence into policy and action.
Participants highlighted several factors that can help close this gap. These include a stronger focus on implementation, scale-up and enforcement, as well as better governance, transparency and accountability. Participation and inclusion are also essential. Effective and equitable policies need to take account of lived experience, local knowledge and the perspectives of communities affected by food environments.
Conference brief with call to action
Building bridges to accelerate change
World Food Day reminds us that nourishing future generations starts with the actions we take today. At HDHL, this means connecting research, people and purpose to ensure that knowledge leads to real-world impact.
One of the ways we enable this is through funding research via several Knowledge Hub calls and other calls where stakeholder engagement was stimulated. A recent example of a Knowledge Hub call is the FUSE (Food processing, hUman health and Sustainable food systEms) network. Starting in early 2027, FUSE aims to translate fragmented knowledge on food processing and its implications for human health and sustainable food systems into practical tools, policy guidance and a shared research agenda. This collaborative effort will help to move from evidence to informed action.
We invite you to stay informed and involved with HDHL’s ongoing efforts. Through collaboration, alignment and trust, we help create the conditions for innovation today that can contribute to healthier lives tomorrow.
Watch the conference video
See the highlights from Brussels and hear from conference participants.