GAIN, the Government of the Netherlands, AkzoNobel, DSM, Unilever and Wageningen University launch the Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition
Amsterdam, 27 May 2009 – The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) announced today the establishment of the Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition (AIM). This Dutch public-private partnership is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands, Unilever, DSM, AkzoNobel and Wageningen University. Its goal is to eliminate malnutrition for 100 million people in Africa by 2015.
All partners agree that malnutrition can only be addressed effectively through partnerships. No one sector, neither public nor private, can solve this problem alone. “Malnutrition is a critical problem but one that we can tackle and solve with focus, creative solutions and partnerships” said Jay Naidoo, GAIN Chair of the Board, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of Southern Africa and former South African cabinet minister. “Imagine that the key vitamins and minerals can be provided for less than one US cent a day per person only by adding those micronutrients to the food people usually consume. It is a highly efficient and cost-effective way to fight malnutrition. We must ensure basic nutritional needs are addressed in a better way if we want to make millions of men and women healthier and children smarter”.
Bert Koenders, the Netherlands Minister for Development Co-operation adds: "Achieving the MDGs is a shared responsibility. The goals cannot be achieved by governments alone. Innovative Public-private partnerships are vital to achieve MDG1. More than 10 million people die of hunger and hunger-related diseases every year. Rising food prices could push 100 million people deeper into poverty.
It is our collective responsibility to act, and act now. Through the Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition, Unilever, DSM, AkzoNobel and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs aim to improve the quality of food and attack ‘hidden hunger’, the lack of vitamins and nutrients.” According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008) 963 million people are undernourished.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of undernourished people in the total population - one in three people - or 236 million - are chronically hungry. The Amsterdam Initiative against Malnutrition (AIM) will work on a careful step-by-step basis to reduce malnutrition in six target countries: Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania. AIM will develop effective and sustainable approaches to accelerate the delivery of improved nutrition.
It will result in more low cost - high quality fortified staples and processed products in the market place through innovative marketing and effective distribution channels. In close collaboration with partners at the country level, GAIN’s expertise and the strength of the Government of the Netherlands, combined with the know-how of the food and ingredients producers, the nutritional science of Wageningen University and networks of to-be-identified civil society organizations will provide together many of the ingredients to ensure success.
AIM will reach out to public and private partners to join the effort to end malnutrition for 100 million people in Africa by 2015. “If we are going to ensure sustainability we need to take a new approach where many enterprises and organizations can play a role” says Mr. Naidoo. “This issue cannot be solved in isolation but will take active participation by parties large and small, focused on the goal. We must end this tragedy of malnutrition in Africa”. AIM is launched at the GAIN Business Alliance Global Forum held in Amsterdam on 27 May 2009.
Background information on the partners
GAIN – The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition is an alliance that fights malnutrition to make people and economies healthier and more productive. GAIN mobilizes public-private partnerships and provides financial and technical support to deliver healthier foods and supplements to those people most at risk. Currently GAIN is working in 28 countries. Our innovative partnership projects are improving the lives of nearly 200 million people. When current projects are at full scale, that number will reach 623 million. And our project portfolio is growing.
AkzoNobel is proud to be one of the world’s leading industrial companies. Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we make and supply a wide range of paints, coatings and specialty chemicals - 2008 revenue totaled €15.4 billion. In fact, we are the largest global paints and coatings company. As a major producer of specialty chemicals we supply industries worldwide with quality ingredients for life’s essentials. We think about the future, but act in the present. We’re passionate about introducing new ideas and developing sustainable answers for our customers. That’s why our 60,000 employees - who are based in more than 80 countries - are committed to excellence and delivering Tomorrow’s Answers Today™.
DSM – the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company. Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM’s products and services are used globally in a wide range of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing. DSM has annual net sales of EUR 9.3 billion and employs some 23,500 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information: www.dsm.com
Unilever. As one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies, the social and environmental impacts that Unilever has on the world around us come from our brands. We continue to innovate and enhance the nutritional quality of our food portfolio. Through communication with our consumers we can encourage changes in everyday behaviour resulting in healthier lifestyles and improved diets. Unilever works with partners to achieve long-term solutions to the many health and nutrition challenges facing consumers around the world. This work is coordinated by our Global Health Partnerships team, formed in 2006.
We have been working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) since December 2004 to cut childhood mortality through combined nutrition and hygiene projects in Asia and Africa. In December 2006 we joined the UN World Food Programme in a three-year partnership, “Together for Child Vitality”, to improve the health and nutrition of tens of thousands of school children via WFP’s school feeding program. Unilever is a board member of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and chairs the GAIN Business Alliance. Through this partnership we are exploring a range of fortification initiatives and new business models to combat micronutrient deficiencies. Finally, Unilever is financing the Micronutrients and International Health Chair at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. This is to support research on micronutrient deficiencies and to build academic capacity in the developing world.
Wageningen University, part of Wageningen University and Research Centre, is the leading European university in the Life Sciences. Researchers and students focus on the fields of nutrition, health, nature and the living environment. For the fourth year in a row, Wageningen University has topped the list of 14 Dutch universities in the Guide to Choosing Higher Education. Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) provides education and generates knowledge in the field of life sciences and natural resources. Wageningen UR aims to make a real contribution to our quality of life. To us, quality of life means both an adequate supply of safe and healthy food and drink, on the one hand, and the chance to live, work and play in a balanced ecosystem with a large variety of plants and animals. Media contact. Frédérique Tissandier. ftissandier@gainhealth.org
