Helen Young gave a Keynote Speech at the virtual 2020 Tropentag Conference where she presented findings from her work, “Nutrition in Africa’s drylands: A conceptual framework for addressing acute malnutrition.” In Young’s presentation, she seeks to address the problem of recurring high rates of childhood acute malnutrition in dryland regions. Her presentation reflected on the relationship between the basic, more systemic drivers of malnutrition in drylands (associated with seasonality, institutions and livelihoods) and nutritional outcomes, and discussed the challenges and gaps in further understanding and promoting more effective solutions in a global context.