Mission and Vision of the Noodles Network

The African living environments, diets, and habits are changing. Along with them, nutritional requirements are changing as well. Indeed, updated nutritional requirements should consider how micronutrients deficiencies and imbalances are associated to environmental factors and behavioral interferences. Micronutrient status and exposure to environmental factors, especially during the development from womb to childhood, do impact on the organism development programming, with major consequences on the risk for a variety of health disorders and non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) in adult life, from metabolic syndrome, asthma, infertility and other reproductive disorders through to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. In adults, an impaired metabolic function due to altered nutrients homeostasis and toxic exposures is central in the etiopathology of many major multidiseases and comorbidities.

The NOODLES Alliance, “Nutrition & Food Safety And Wholesomeness. Action for Prevention, Education And Research”, is a science-driven network of local organizations sharing the same mission and vision. The Alliance implements a Concerted Action boosting a non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention frame for the mitigation of infant morbidity and mortality, the improvement of healthy life and increase life expectancy.

The NOODLES network makes avail of the proactive role of local communities. Expected results are:

• the translation of scientific research to daily life (science-based risk management and decision making)
• the support to the emerging role of scientists in science-society dialogue
• the promotion of a movement on NCDs prevention (awareness/empowerment), also by giving impetus to the role of volunteers (e.g. students, citizens, associations of women, association of midwives) in creating a culture of primary prevention in both production and consumption of healthy products
• bridging the international scientific gap between countries that historically have had minimal scientific contact in the field of food safety, environmental health, and risk analysis.
• the extension of the field of international cooperation towards the (transgenerational and early in life) prevention of chronic multifactorial diseases.
• the implementation of a one health framework, where protection of environment, farm animals and human well-being are linked and mutually support each other.
• boosting governance, as well as global health governance by working locally but connecting globally.