Building on an existing pact formed in 2007, the partnership will continue to build on previous efforts with raising awareness for improved nutrition and nutritional food accessibility for vulnerable people key priorities.
“If food fails, everything else fails,” comments Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze, DSM Co-CEOs.
“This partnership is an opportunity to further combine the strengths of DSM and the WFP in order to make a difference to the millions of people whose lives are affected by the lack of good nutrition. Because it is up to all of us to take action.”
‘Improving nutrition, Improving lives’
The partnership, which was further extended in 2018, follows the mantra of ‘Improving nutrition, Improving lives,’ and so far, is said to have affected 35m people per year with nutritious products improved through the partnership.
During the 15 years of working together, both parties have helped fight nutritional deficiencies which caps the potential of 2bn people around the world, crippling their growth, and threatening lives.
Under the pact, DSM offers the WFP its technical and scientific expertise in nutrition as well as its financial assistance, to improve the availability and affordability of foods for people in need.
“As rates of hunger skyrocket around the world, partnerships like the one with DSM are critical because they help the WFP reach millions of vulnerable people with the nutrition they need to survive – and thrive,” comments David Beasley, WFP Executive Director. “Together, we are saving and changing lives.”
Public-private partnerships
Support from the private sector has been key in driving WFP’s ability to deliver nutrition to those that need it the most.
WFP public-private partnerships include those with Unilever and organisations such as the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), which have gone on to develop products such as micronutrient powders.
Other products produced as a result include, Super Cereal Plus (a nutritious porridge), fortified dates, ready-to-use foods that do not need water (often a source of contamination) and rice fortification.
In 2021, DSM launched specific and measurable food systems commitments, which include a target to help close the micronutrient gap of 800 million people by 2030.
“The DSM-WFP partnership will play a vital role in contributing to this aim by strengthening sustainable food systems and improving resilience by increasing access to, demand for, and consumption of more nutritious foods – particularly among the most vulnerable,” DSM adds.