How one surgeon changed global health policy, with Dr Kemel Ghotme

How one surgeon changed global health policy, with Dr Kemel Ghotme

In today's episode, I’m joined by Dr. Kemel Ghotme, a Colombian paediatric neurosurgeon who led the first neurosurgery-led resolution in the history of the World Health Organisation, a global mandate to fortify staple foods with micronutrients to prevent neural tube defects and other birth conditions.  I spoke with Kemel in Geneva, where we were attending the third World Health Assembly since the resolution was unanimously adopted in May 2023. You'll hear why patients living with spina bifida chose to advocate for prevention over treatment, how Colombia convinced 35 countries to unanimously adopt a global health resolution in record time, and why a six-dollar intervention is projected to prevent 200,000 birth defects a year. Resources and links: * Dr. Kemel Ghotme on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kemelahmedghotme]  * Dr. Kemel Ghotme on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kemel-a-ghotme-md-phd-20858035/?locale=en_US] Connect: * Future Fork podcast website [http://futureforkpodcast.com/] * Paul Newnham on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paulnewnham/] * Paul Newnham on X [https://twitter.com/paulnewnham?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] * Paul Newnham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnewnham/?originalSubdomain=au] * Disruptive Consulting Solutions website [https://www.disruptiveconsultingsolutions.com/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub website [https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X [https://twitter.com/SDG2AdvocacyHub] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sdg2advocacyhub/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdg2-advocacy-hub/?originalSubdomain=uk]

HealthSetGo's mission to end Hidden Hunger in India, with Priya Prakash

In today's episode, Paul speaks with Priya Prakash, founder of HealthSetGo, a school health programme working across India to bring preventive healthcare, nutrition education, and basic health infrastructure to children who've never had access to it.  You'll hear why the Indian cultural definition of "healthy" for children is a misnomer, Priya shares a personal story of bullying and self-discovery that led her to build HealthSetGo from scratch and how HealthSetGo’s new initiative  Gummies for Good is trying to end Hidden Hunger in India. Resources and links: * HealthSetGo website [https://www.healthsetgoeducation.com/] * Priya Prakash on LinkedIn [https://in.linkedin.com/in/priyaprakashhsg] * Priya Prakash on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/priyasblog/] Connect: * Future Fork podcast website [http://futureforkpodcast.com/] * Paul Newnham on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paulnewnham/] * Paul Newnham on X [https://twitter.com/paulnewnham?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] * Paul Newnham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnewnham/?originalSubdomain=au] * Disruptive Consulting Solutions website [https://www.disruptiveconsultingsolutions.com/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub website [https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X [https://twitter.com/SDG2AdvocacyHub] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sdg2advocacyhub/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdg2-advocacy-hub/?originalSubdomain=uk]

Hunger and Malnutrition are not the same, with Lawrence Haddad

Dr Lawrence Haddad is the Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), an international organisation working across more than a dozen countries to make nutritious food more available, affordable and desirable.  In today’s episode, we explore the state of global nutrition in 2026. You'll hear Lawrence's reflections on what David Nabarro would be telling the nutrition community right now, the surprising fact that five or six of the top ten risk factors for disease in most countries come down to what we eat and why GAIN is increasingly focused on small and medium businesses as the real engine of local food systems. Resources and links: * GAIN website [https://www.gainhealth.org/] * Dr Lawrence Haddad on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-haddad-cmg-5809b916b/] Connect: * Future Fork podcast website [http://futureforkpodcast.com/] * Paul Newnham on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paulnewnham/] * Paul Newnham on X [https://twitter.com/paulnewnham?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] * Paul Newnham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnewnham/?originalSubdomain=au] * Disruptive Consulting Solutions website [https://www.disruptiveconsultingsolutions.com/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub website [https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X [https://twitter.com/SDG2AdvocacyHub] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sdg2advocacyhub/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdg2-advocacy-hub/?originalSubdomain=uk]

Putting AI in the hands of 500 million farmers, with Alesha Miller

In today's episode, we're talking to Alesha Miller, Chief Strategy Officer at Digital Green — a tech nonprofit putting AI tools directly into the hands of smallholder farmers around the world. We explore how digital technology is reshaping agriculture from the ground up and why the world's 500 million smallholder farmers have been chronically under-served. You'll hear how Digital Green's Farmer Chat app has already answered more than 10 million questions in farmers' own languages, why Alesha believes farmers will end up teaching AI more than AI teaches them, and the reason farmer protests are erupting in countries where data centres are now competing with farms for the same water. Resources and links: * Digital Green website [https://digitalgreen.org/] * Alesha Miller on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alesha-black-miller-03a2aa1a/] * Farmer Chat on Google Play [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.digitalgreen.farmer.chat] Connect: * Future Fork podcast website [http://futureforkpodcast.com/] * Paul Newnham on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paulnewnham/] * Paul Newnham on X [https://twitter.com/paulnewnham?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] * Paul Newnham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnewnham/?originalSubdomain=au] * Disruptive Consulting Solutions website [https://www.disruptiveconsultingsolutions.com/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub website [https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X [https://twitter.com/SDG2AdvocacyHub] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sdg2advocacyhub/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdg2-advocacy-hub/?originalSubdomain=uk]

Hunger in a region of abundance, the truth about Asia-Pacific, with Samir Wanmali

Samir Wanmali is the WFP Regional Director for Asia-Pacific. With over 20 years of experience across food security, emergency operations and programme design, he has led responses in some of the world's most challenging contexts. Since November 2024, he has turned his attention to a region that feeds much of the world, yet where hunger and malnutrition persist in ways that are often overlooked. In this conversation, we explore the contradictions at the heart of the Asia-Pacific food story, a region of extraordinary abundance and economic growth where 69 million people still can't find their next meal, and 1.7 billion can't afford a healthy diet. You'll hear why climate shocks that were once considered once-in-a-century events are now happening every three years, how WFP is shifting from response to anticipatory action and the experience working with displaced communities in South Darfur that taught Samir the difference between giving people food and building something with them. Resources and links: * WFP website [https://www.wfp.org/support-us/stories/donate?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=11625191910&utm_content=110051130461&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11625191910&gbraid=0AAAAACOf4HpNwiXcxeMZQfrcd6nkXAVtP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqPLOBhCiARIsAKRMPZoUZZlsF60AzaNQpJ74t-_QQq9pphvxBhyK-0nQ9HalrxwUmEpGETcaAgwGEALw_wcB] Connect: * Future Fork podcast website [http://futureforkpodcast.com/] * Paul Newnham on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/paulnewnham/] * Paul Newnham on X [https://twitter.com/paulnewnham?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] * Paul Newnham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnewnham/?originalSubdomain=au] * Disruptive Consulting Solutions website [https://www.disruptiveconsultingsolutions.com/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub website [https://sdg2advocacyhub.org/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on X [https://twitter.com/SDG2AdvocacyHub] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/sdg2advocacyhub/] * SDG2 Advocacy Hub on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sdg2-advocacy-hub/?originalSubdomain=uk]