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

Cocoa pod husk (CPH) is the main by-product (ca. 70-75% weight of whole fruit) of the cocoa harvest, an important and economic crop in developing countries. It is a rich source of minerals (particularly potassium), fibre (including lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin) and antioxidants (e.g. phenolic acids). An existing practise is the return of CPH to soil with potential benefits (or disadvantages) for cocoa productivity and soil sustainability that have not been fully characterised. Currently, alternative low-value applications of CPH include its use as animal feed, as a starting material for soap making and activated carbon. Other biotechnological valorisation potentials for CPH and its fractions include the production of bio-fuels and their incorporation in food systems. Physical, chemical or biological pretreatment approaches are needed in order to achieve desirable fractions in a cost-effective and sustainable manner for novel applications in food and non-food sectors.

Highlights Reliance on microfinance for everyday survival will be deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of microfinance borrowers globally are women. Servicing microfinance loans will heighten burdens of (un)-paid work that women undertake as part of social reproduction. Over-indebtedness leads to women’s bodily and emotional ‘depletion’. The global public health crisis of COVID-19 represents a major challenge to gender equality and sustainable development.