Addressing Global Hidden Hunger Through Private-Public Partnership

Transcription

1 iews 52 Positions & Statements Addressing Global Hidden Hunger Through Private-Public Partnership Federico Graciano DSM Nutritional Products Asia Pacific, Singapore, Singapore Martin W Bloem united Nations World Food Programme, Rome, Italy Klaus Kraemer Sight and Life, Basel, Switzerland Introduction Despite overwhelming advances in medicine, science and technology, nearly a billion people including 16 percent of the population of developing countries were chronically hungry in 2010, according to the united Nations. 1,2 This means that they have insufficient food to keep themselves active and healthy, and they do not get all the vitamins and minerals the body needs to function well. 3 In developing countries, nearly 200 million children are chronically malnourished and undernutrition contributed to more than one-third of child deaths worldwide in ,5 In poorer nations, undernutrition affects one out of four preschoolaged children, and, among pregnant women, leads to one out of six infants born with low birth weight. Micronutrient deficiencies, also known as hidden hunger, affect 2 billion people worldwide and contribute to infections, birth defects and impaired physical and mental development. Stunting, a key indicator of chronic hidden hunger, affects about 195 million children globally. 6,7 stephan Tanda helping with the distribution of enriched food at a school in Kenya, The impact of hidden hunger may be felt for decades, as the period from conception until 24 months of age irreversibly shapes a person s health and intellectual ability A long-term impact Hidden hunger is a lack or loss of dietary quality, resulting in vitamin-mineral deficiencies that diminish health, cognition, function, survival, and economic potential in individuals or populations. Hidden hunger reduces immunity, work productivity and school performance, and also slows down cognitive development and growth; lowered immunity increases illnesses and diseases,

2 SIGHT AND LIFE VOL. 26 (1) 2012 ADDRESSING GLOBAL HIDDEN HuNGER THROuGH PRIVATE-PuBLIC PARTNERSHIP 53 DSM-WFP Partnership Facts DSM-WFP Partnership Founded in 2007 Number of beneficiaries reached with improved nutrition More than 10 million Number of projects 26 Number of countries 15 Number of new products developed 8 Funds raised by DSM employees 462,000 Number of DSM volunteers and secondees 52 Number of peer-reviewed papers published 26 Online nutrition tools for WFP staff Available to 12,000 employees which in turn increase nutrient losses and reduce appetite, further increasing vulnerability. 8 The impact of hidden hunger may be felt for decades, given its effect on young-child development, as the period from conception until 24 months of age irreversibly shapes a person s health and intellectual ability. Left unaddressed, micronutrient-deficient children may grow up unable to reach their full intellectual, physical and economic potential. 9 A study by the united Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the un Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimated that the cost of hunger amounts to as much as 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in some countries. 10 The direct cost of child and maternal undernutrition in developing countries is an estimated us$30 billion per year. 11 With such staggering challenges, public sector agencies, such as the WFP, are examining how to break the cycle of hunger at its root and develop sustainable solutions through innovative programs. Part of this solution is to establish partnerships with private industry to invest in nutrition solutions aligned with social and economic goals. 12,13 Corporate evolution Since the industrial revolution, private industry has focused on finding and serving the most profitable markets. Companies have long leveraged innovations in science and technology to reduce costs and increase bottom lines and returns to shareholders. Since the late 1990s, the concept of a volume-driven market at the bottom of the economic pyramid has gained increasing private sector interest. 14 Today, large corporations are expanding their reach to include underserved communities, with a range of products distributed through both public and private sector channels. Surveys conducted by the McKinsey Quarterly over the last few years found that executives overwhelmingly support the idea that the role of corporations in society goes far beyond merely meeting obligations to shareholders. The global business community has embraced the idea that it plays a wider role in society. The majority of McKinsey s executive respondents agree that generating high returns for investors should be accompanied by broader contributions to the public good. 15 Progressive companies now focus on sustainability and their contribution to the social well-being as a strategic competence in the marketplace Enlightened corporations realize that their welfare is linked closely to that of the society where they operate, hence blurring the line between business concerns and those of society. While publicity and reputation enhancement may have once been the key objectives of corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, progressive companies now focus on sustainability and their contribution to the social well-being as a strategic competence in the marketplace. 16 A strategic business investment Approaching the social sector not as an object of charity, these companies see social problems as an opportunity for learning and business development, supported by R&D and operating funds rather than philanthropic contribution alone. 17 Through this approach, companies have a stake in social problems, and treat the effort the way they would treat any other project central to the their operations, using their best people and their core skills this is not charity, but a strategic business investment. 18

3 54 ADDRESSING GLOBAL HIDDEN HuNGER THROuGH PRIVATE-PuBLIC PARTNERSHIP Improving Nutrition Improving Lives Over the past years, DSM has maintained a strategic partnership with the WFP to address the problems of malnutrition in the developing world. The partnership, dubbed Improving Nutrition Improving Lives, is a program that has to date helped approximately ten million people across Nepal, Kenya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and other countries to enrich their lives through micronutrients. 23 DSM has extended this partnership with the WFP until 2013 and will continue to provide technical and scientific support to the organization, supply food fortificants and specialty nutrition products, and will work with the WFP as it develops and rolls out country-specific nutrition strategies. The partnership aims to include micronutrients in WFP s food basket for at least 80% of WFP s beneficiaries. Under this partnership, DSM has improved the nutritional quality of blended foods such as maize soy blend, and developed a nutrition-rich blend, called MixMe, which is provided in sachets and which can be sprinkled over prepared foods. DSM s NutriRice recomposed vitamin and mineral enriched rice kernels formed by a process that protects the micronutrients during washing and cooking will also contribute to this program. Critical to the corporate social innovation approach are partnerships with committed social sector organizations, and leaders who are already working on change. Companies need such partners to bring together diverse constituencies, and to assure the interests of all stakeholders are incorporated and managed appropriately. Committed social partners can also help businesses win access to underserved markets, particularly those in emerging economies and developing countries. The multinational corporation can play a key role in social enterprise, particularly in providing the capital and business resources necessary to catalyze and accelerate social innovation. In some cases, the corporate partner may be in a position to structure distribution relationships or joint venture partnerships that could accelerate access to or the success of a new venture in a market. 19 Case study: Royal DSM Royal DSM is a Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company that creates solutions to nourish, protect and improve performance. Its subsidiary DSM Nutritional Products is a leading supplier of vitamins, carotenoids, and other fine chemicals to the feed, food, pharmaceutical and personal care industries. The company has a long tradition as a pioneer in the discovery of new products, formulations and applications for all industry segments. As a company that emphasizes quality assurance in process, product and service delivery as the basis of its market differentiation, DSM bases its Quality for Life commitment on the four pillars of quality, reliability, traceability and sustainability. 20 For DSM, a company consistently among the leaders on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, sustainability has important human development as well as environmental dimensions. We cannot be successful, nor can we call ourselves successful, in a society that fails Royal DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma links the company s success with its humanitarian efforts, saying: We cannot be successful, nor can we call ourselves successful, in a society that fails. Food and nutrition industry specialists have a duty to address the pressing issue of world hunger and malnutrition. DSM commits time and expertise to humanitarian programs, including a number of projects to combat hidden hunger, through its humanitarian initiative Sight and Life and a global partnership with WFP. 21,22,23 DSM s NutriRice innovation, which uses reconstituted vitamin and mineral enriched rice kernels to deliver added micronutrients to consumers, can help to reduce hidden hunger in countries where rice makes up a large proportion of the staple diet. 24 In 2009, the ground-breaking program won a Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) award for innovation, an example of how commercial expertise can be applied to humanitarian initiatives. 25 The company was recognized by the united Nations at the 2011 World Business and Development Awards for its Nutrition Improvement Program, which focuses on the development of food fortification at no added cost to consumers in developing markets. 26 At the ceremony, the company was commended for its innovative and targeted solutions, which are specifically designed to meet the requirements of those in the developing world suffering from hidden hunger. The hard work, however, is far from over. DSM is aware that its commitment to humanitarian initiatives must continue, if extreme world hunger and poverty are to be eradicated by the 2015 deadline set by the international community. Correspondence: Klaus Kraemer, Sight and Life, PO Box 2116, 4002 Basel, Switzerland klaus.kraemer@sightandlife.org

4 sight AND LIFE Vol. 26 (1) 2012 Addressing Global Hidden Hunger Through Private-Public Partnership 55 References 01. FAO/WFP. The State of Food Insecurity in the World. Addressing food insecurity in protracted crises. Rome: FAO, Internet: (accessed 7 Oct 2010). 02. Bloem MW, Semba RD, Kraemer K. Castel Gandolfo workshop: an introduction to the impact of climate change, the economic crisis, and the increase in the food prices on malnutrition. J Nutr. 2010;140:132S 5S. Epub 2009 Nov FAO. What is hunger. 1billionhungry.org. Internet: (accessed 7 Oct 2010). 04. UNICEF. Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition: A Survival and Development Priority. New York: UNICEF, Internet: Progress_On_Child_and_Maternal_Nutrition_EN_ pdf (accessed 7 Oct 2010). 05. Horton R. Maternal and child undernutrition: an urgent opportunity. Lancet, 2008; 371:9608, UNICEF. Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition: A survival and development priority. New York: UNICEF, Internet: (accessed 12 Oct 2010). 07. Lawn JE, Cousens S, Zupan, J. 4 million neonatal deaths: When? Where? Why? Lancet, 2005, 365: Sight and Life. Expert panel convened to advance unified advocacy on global problem of hidden hunger. Internet: Itemid= (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 09. Bloem MW, Semba RD, Kraemer K. Castel Gandolfo Workshop: An introduction to the impact of climate change, the economic crisis, and the increase in the food prices on malnutrition. J Nutr 2010;140: Martinez R, Fernandez A. The Cost of Hunger: Social and Economic Impact of Child Undernutrition in Central America and the Dominican Republic. Santiago, Chile: United Nations Economic, and Social Commission for Latin America, 2008, p. 15. Internet: wfp pdf (accessed 7 Oct 2010). 11. Sheeran J. Innovating against hunger and undernutrition. In: Global Forum for Health Research. Fostering innovation for global health. Global Forum Update on Research for Health Vol 5. Geneva, Switzerland: GFHR, Elias CJ, Gerrans Y, LaForce FM. Public-private partnerships drive innovation to improve the health of poor populations. In: Global Forum for Health Research. Fostering innovation for global health. Global Forum Update on Research for Health Vol 5. Geneva, Switzerland: GFHR, Bradley D. Beyond product: the private sector drive to perform with the purpose of alleviating global under-nutrition. In: Global Forum for Health Research. Fostering innovation for global health. Global Forum Update on Research for Health Vol 5. Geneva, Switzerland: GFHR, Prahalad CK. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall, The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Business and Society. McKinsey Quarterly 2006;2: Ati AJ. Corporate Citizenship and Sustainable Development. ACR 2007;15:i-iii. 17. Vilanova M, Lozano JM, Arenas D. Exploring the Nature of the Relationship Between CSR and Competitiveness. J Business Ethics 2009;87: Kanter RM. From Spare Change to Real Change: The Social Sector as Beta Site for Business Innovation. Harvard Business Review, May-Iune 1999, p Rosenzweig W. Vision for a venturing ecosystem to generate global health innovation. In: Global Forum for Health Research. Fostering innovation for global health. Global Forum Update on Research for Health Vol 5. Geneva, Switzerland: GFHR, DSM. Quality for LifeTM. Internet: html/dnp/hnh_quality_for_life.htm (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 21. DSM. Hidden Hunger. Internet: cworld/public/media/pages/kit_2_hidden_hunger.jsp (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 22. Sight and Life. Projects. Internet: php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&itemid=44 (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 23. DSM. A brighter future for people most at risk. Internet: dsm.com/en_us/cworld/public/sustainability/pages/world_food_ programme.jsp (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 24. DSM. DSM and Bühler launch first NutriRice facility in China. Internet: downloads/34e_07_nutririce_dsm_and_buhler.pdf (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 25. DSM. DSM receives the GAIN Business Award for Innovation in Nutrition. Internet: pdf?fileaction=openfile (accessed 7 Sep 2011). 26. DSM. Royal DSM receives World Business and Development Award. Internet: press-releases/39_10_dsm_receives_wbda.jsp (accessed 7 Sep 2011).

5 56 BETTER NuTRITION FOR HALF A BILLION PEOPLE Ten years of Innovation and Partnership: Better Nutrition for Half a Billion People The mission of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is to improve the lives of vulnerable populations through access to affordable, better quality, nutritious foods. While 2011 saw the 25 th anniversary of Sight and Life and 50 years of the World Food Programme, 2012 is an important anniversary for another valued partner of Sight and Life. This year is GAIN s 10 th anniversary. The alliance is proud to be reaching over half a billion people worldwide, including 253 million women and children. The GAIN partnership model GAIN works to reduce malnutrition by improving the effectiveness of markets to reach low-income consumers. It mobilizes public-private partnerships to implement innovative and sustainable market-based solutions at scale. The partnership model that GAIN pioneered in the nutrition sector has been recognized by the Stanford Social Innovation Review as a model of collaboration that achieves large-scale progress in the face of the urgent and complex problems of our time, as detailed at gainhealth.org/about-gain/channeling-change-making-collective-impact-work. GAIN works to reduce malnutrition by improving the effectiveness of markets to reach low-income consumers Entrepreneurs including farmers, storage and transport businesses, food processors and retailers are the key to producing more nutritious foods and delivering them to all segments of the market. However, the involvement of governments is also necessary to set standards and ensure quality through appropriate legislation and regulation. GAIN works with both business and government; its programs include large-scale food fortification; maternal, infant and young child nutrition, improved agricultural practices to enhance nutrition; and advocacy to effect policy change. In its effort to optimize access to nutritious foods, GAIN uses different program delivery channels, from market-driven approaches to hybrid models that combine commercial approaches and subsidized programs. Maximum nutrition benefit An example of a GAIN-supported partnership is a project in India, whereby GAIN supports AP Foods to expand its production capacity and improve the formulation of foods and supplements distributed to more than 2 million children. As part of this initiative, AP Foods has taken the significant step of removing unhealthy fats, trans fats, from all of its products. In Bangladesh, meanwhile, GAIN partners with the pharmaceutical company Renata Ltd, the non-governmental organization BRAC, Social Marketing Company (SMC) and usaid to develop and market small sachets of multi-nutrient powders to be used, in conjunction with complementary foods and breastfeeding, to improve the nutrition of infants aged six to 24 months. Millions of sachets have been sold. Studies are under way to sharpen understanding of how they can be best used to bring maximum nutrition benefit to vulnerable households. The Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition (AIM) is a coalition of Dutch public- and private-sector organizations, which joined with GAIN in order to end malnutrition for 100 million people in Africa. The coalition includes AkzoNobel, DSM, GAIN, the Government of the Netherlands, Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation, unilever and Wageningen university. The first AIM project will be implemented in Kenya and will explore a number of options for fortifying the milk consumed by Kenyan children. As it enters its second decade, GAIN is playing an increasingly important brokering role, bringing governments, the private sector, international organizations and academia together in innovative partnerships that can make a real dent in global malnutrition. To find out more, go to GAIN s website: