DSM and UNICEF partnership poised to address malnutrition on global scale

12 May 2022 --- DSM, UNICEF and nutrition think tank Sight and Life have revealed an extension of their partnership to address malnutrition on a global scale.

The three groups will draw on their complementary competencies to address malnutrition at scale while maximizing impact alongside shared value creation, and co-creating systemic change. The cooperation will provide better nutrition for sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. They are also aiming to expand to Latin America for the first time.

Created by joint ambition, the organizations mention an incentive to promote access to better nutrition for mothers and children more sustainably and extensively. By providing access to vital food, development opportunities and lessons, knowledge will spread on a regional and global scale.

Suzanne Laszlo, director at UNICEF Netherlands, says: “Partnering with the private sector is how we can achieve impact at scale in these challenging times. When we see the numbers of malnourished children rising rapidly, it is of utmost importance that we cooperate and have shared ambitions.”

“Every child has a rigThe partnership has already shown improvements in addressing malnutrition.ht to grow up healthy and strong, and this renewed partnership will help even more children worldwide realize that right,” Laszlo adds.

Needs differ across regions
The focus lies in the Generation Unlimited sustainable food systems platform in Africa. It is expected to bring together investments for the shared vision of a self-sufficient sub-Saharan Africa. 

The platform will bring together stakeholders to provide inclusive economic growth that provides jobs in Africa's agriculture sector. Additionally, it will also collaborate to provide nutritious food. 

It will lead to the development of scalable models and serve as an innovation drive to address malnutrition. Similar actions and innovations will be extended to other parts of the continent and Latin America.

“We think of nutrition holistically and do our part to tackle malnutrition amongst the world’s most vulnerable populations. We apply our deep understanding of the science, experience and best practices into sustainable, consumer-centric solutions,” Klaus Kraemer, managing director at Sight and Life, comments.

Additionally, the companies will extend their practices in micronutrient supplementation on a global scale, advocate for workforce nutrition and continue to provide opportunities for youth in the value chain of agri-food. 

Previously seen developments
The partnership has shown that 3 million children in Nigeria reached better nutritional health. It was done by focusing on mothers and children throughout the first 1,000 days of life. 

This timespan was chosen due to the importance of nutritional absorption during this period. Lifelong benefits originate from the first few years of life, both physically and in cognitive development. The first 1,000 days of life are most crucial for nutrition absorption.

In India, there have also been improvements from the partnership. Here, the focus lies in the nutritional literacy of families, employees, customers and suppliers. The results show that more than 200 companies have contributed resources to the platform Impact4Nutrition (I4N). It has so far had a reach of approximately 2.5 million people in India.

Closing the micronutrition gap
The partnership plays an essential role in reaching the targets of DSM’s food system commitments. The micronutrition gap, currently suffered by 800 million people, aims to be closed in 2020 by providing increased demand, access and consumption of more nutritious food, especially for those in a risk group.

“With our recently announced food system commitments, we are taking the next step by making our societal impact explicit and measurable. We look forward to stepping this up with our public and private sector partners, such as UNICEF,” notes Herman Betten, vice president of strategic partnerships at DSM. 

Malnutrition has previously been explained as “hidden hunger,” which means that enough calories are consumed but a lack of a nutrient-rich diet to provide enough minerals and vitamins. 

Edited by Beatrice Wihlander