LEAF Project: ADM and Concern Worldwide partner to tackle malnutrition in Kenya and Ethiopia

24 Oct 2019 --- At the heels of World Food Day, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has entered a partnership with Concern Worldwide, a Dublin-based international aid and humanitarian agency. ADM’s charity arm ADM Cares will donate US$1 million toward the creation and implementation of the Lifesaving Education and Assistance to Farmers (LEAF) Project. The 18-month initiative aims to provide immediate and longer-term responses to chronic malnutrition and hunger for people in extreme poverty living in Kenya and Ethiopia.

“At ADM, we fundamentally believe that providing access to nutrition has the power to solve many of the world’s challenges,” says Juan Luciano, ADM Chairman and CEO.

“In partnership with Concern Worldwide, we are unlocking the power of nature to save lives today and enrich them tomorrow. We’re hopeful that by leveraging our collective knowledge, expertise and perspectives, we can help make a difference in the dire nutrition situation for thousands of residents in Ethiopia and Kenya, while being good stewards of the environment,” he adds.

The program will feature intervention at three levels—food systems, behavior change, and public health—and is predicted to directly benefit nearly 50,000 individuals. Kenya and Ethiopia are ranked in the “Serious” category on Concern’s newly released Global Hunger Index.

The LEAF project is a global initiative seeking to provide lifesaving nutritional treatment for acutely malnourished children and pregnant or lactating women, as well as “agricultural transformation” to reduce chronic malnutrition in both countries. 

“The LEAF project will have lasting impact on some of Kenya and Ethiopia's most vulnerable communities, and will set an important example for the global corporate sector,” says Colleen Kelly, US CEO of Concern Worldwide.

International institutions and humanitarian and development organizations are unanimous that achieving zero hunger will not be possible without private sector partnerships, such as LEAF, Kelly further states.

 “If children eat poorly, they live poorly,” states UNICEF’s Henrietta Fore. The global burden
Across the world, at least one in three children under the age of five is malnourished and not developing properly, according to UNICEF statistics released on World Food Day. The organization identifies the “triple burden” of undernutrition, hidden hunger and obesity as the main threats to the survival, growth and development of children, young people, economies and nations.

Despite growing technological advances to address health and nutrition, the world has lost sight of what UNICEF’s Executive Director Henrietta Fore deems “the most basic fact” – if children eat poorly, they live poorly. “Millions of children are not living on healthy diets because they simply do not have a better choice. It’s not just about getting children to eat enough; it’s about getting them the right food to eat. That is our common challenge today,” she explains.

Members of poor urban households may be willing to pay a premium for more nutritious flour, new research has found. The study, led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), outlines that enriching staple foods with commodities rich in vitamins, iron, zinc and minerals is key in tackling malnutrition. 

In addition, the researchers suggest that this appetite for enriched foods may also boost the demand for individual agricultural commodities used for enriched products, bringing more income to farmers.

DSM, in this space, has been working with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for several years to fortify rice. The innovation offers the potential to combat micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in Asia, where it is a staple. The milling process that produces white rice removes the fat, as well as the nutrient-rich bran layers. As such, fortification can replenish micronutrients lost in the milling process, alongside adding other essential vitamins and minerals.

Meanwhile,  SIG Combibloc (SIG), under its charity arm Way Beyond Good Foundation, has launched a flagship project in Bangladesh providing underprivileged children with healthy school meals using excess crops that would otherwise go to waste. The project's first meals created using a unique mobile filing unit are already being distributed to BRAC schools in impoverished communities in Dhaka, where many children drop out of school because they need to work to feed themselves and their families. After use, the empty cartons will be recycled at a local facility.

By Benjamin Ferrer