Since most people get a large portion of their food from the private sector, private-sector companies can play a key role in improving nutrition by bringing more safe and nutritious products to market, in forms that are appealing and affordable to consumers. This is ever more important in Nigeria today, where annual food inflation in December 2023 reached 28% - putting healthy diets beyond the reach of many lower-income consumers.
Around 130’000 school children in Tanzania are benefiting from eating fortified nutrient-dense meals through an initiative led by the Global Alliance of Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to help address the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in the countryWith a population of 64 million, Tanzania suffers from high rates of micronutrient deficiencies with one-third of children deficient in iron and vitamin A. Lack in such micronutrients for teenagers and young adults could impair their growth, learning capacity and development, and put them at risk of non-communicable diseases with consequential impact in later life.
Vending food products in flexible quantities (i.e., loose, as opposed to in packages) is commonly used worldwide in both traditional and formal retail outlets. While it has other advantages (e.g., reducing packaging materials), the main advantages from the affordability perspective are the ability to buy very small amounts (at lower cost) and to not have to pay the costs of packaging.
The global community is dealing with multiple and interconnected crises. 735 million people faced hunger in 2022, while two in three women have at least one micronutrient deficiency. At the same time, overweight and obesity are rising (1, 2). Over 3 billion of us – 42% of the global population – cannot afford a healthy diet
From the consumer perspective, product costs can include not only monetary costs but also time and effort costs of acquiring, preparing, and consuming foods: for the consumer, these jointly shape the product's effective affordability. The cost of time and fuel to prepare food is not insignificant in many low- and middle-income countries.
One of the simplest ways to alter affordability is simply to sell products in small package sizes. This is probably the most common strategy used for reaching lower-income consumers across product types and contexts.
In a cross-subsidisation model, one product is sold with a larger margin, with the excess profit used to subsidise another product sold at a smaller margin (e.g., by covering all or most company fixed costs with the higher-margin channel). BMR’s systematic review found several examples of companies using this strategy with the same product sold in different forms or settings to different groups of consumers.
Delegates numbering more than 5,000 and representing over 90 countries converged to explore strategies to harness Africa's vast potential in expediting the development of regional, national and sub national food systems that would not only benefit the continent but also the entire world.
[We, the African Heads of State and Government, commit to] redoubling our efforts to boost agricultural yields through sustainable agricultural practices, to enhance food security while minimizing negative environmental impacts. But perhaps there's more cause for optimism here than first meets the eye.
Imagine a classroom filled with eager young minds, ready to embrace the world's opportunities. Now, picture these same children and adolescents, their potential stifled not by lack of ambition, but by an invisible adversary – hidden hunger.
