Nigeria partakes in Africa’s first nutrition forum, offering $82mn investment opportunity
Nigeria has joined other African countries in the campaign to improve nutrition and food security on the continent as the world marks food day.
Focusing on Nigeria is important considering underweight prevalence (children who are too thin for their age) increased from 24.2% to 31.5%, stunting prevalence (children who are short for their age) increased from 34.8% to 43.6% while wasting prevalence (children who are too thin for their height) increased marginally from 10.2% to 10.8%.
These figures reflect the statistic for the country in a survey carried out in 2016/2017 by the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), in collaboration with the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) as part of the global Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) programme.
Leading business leaders, policy makers and prominent development campaigners joined over 200 delegates to launch the first ever Nutrition Africa Investor Forum in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday. The forum hopes to explore $82 million worth of investment opportunities available to over 60 fast-growing small and medium (SMEs) enterprises, which often face challenges accessing affordable finance.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), a Swiss Foundation, and Royal DSM a science-based company in nutrition, health and sustainable living are co-hosting this drive to generate greater investments to improve nutrition in Africa.
As part of the initiative, organisers partnered with the United Nations’ World Food Programme to hold the first Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network Pitch Competition on the continent. The finals, held at the forum, saw 21 companies showcasing their work to tackle nutrition following national competitions in Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Zambia involving 450 businesses.
Opening the Forum, Jakaya Kikwete, former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, described as a leading member of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement working to end malnutrition across the world, encouraged greater public, private and third sector collaboration to address this pressing challenge in Africa.
“The nutrition agenda is a key driver of development, dealing effectively with malnutrition and its attendant problems is a cardinal development imperative. Nutrition related problems have a direct bearing to economic growth and development of a nation. If there is no change or improvement in stunting and wasting among children and, anaemia among women, and also iodine deficiency, then a nation is bound to lose a lot in future productivity,” said Kikwete.
“Governments have to develop good agriculture, nutrition and food security policies, as well as take appropriate measures and actions to ensure implementation of those policies,” he added
Lawrence Haddad, executive director, GAIN, stressed that Malnutrition is a massive problem in Africa and businesses have to be part of the solution for malnutrition in Africa.
“The big problem most businesses face, especially the small and medium-sized ones when it comes to engaging in the market, is that they lack access to finance. GAIN works with businesses to develop their deal flows and their business case and then link them to investors. This is the first real effort within Africa to make it easier for businesses to provide nutritious food by making it more readily available, affordable and accessible.”
Highlighting the importance of unlocking investments across the nutrition value chain, Fokko Wientjes, vice president Nutrition in Emerging Markets said, “With 30-40 percent stunted children in Africa, there is an urgent need to make nutritious foods widely available, affordable but most importantly aspirational in the eyes of the consumer.”
ANTHONIA OBOKOH