USAID, JICA and Ajinomoto Sign MOU on Weaning Child Nutrition Improvement in Ghana

This partnership between Japan, JICA, and USAID, which will utilize their combined expertise, will be a platform on which to build future public-private sector activities across numerous stakeholders on nutrition in Ghana.

4 June 2012 --- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Ajinomoto) signed a memorandum in Accra, the capital of Ghana, confirming collaborative efforts to increase the nutritional well-being of children during the weaning period. The signing of the Memorandum for Collaboration is a historic moment between the Governments of Japan and the United States, as it marks the first time that the Japanese and American Governments have come together with the private sector to improve nutritional status.

This will be the first time for a Japanese company to work collaboratively on the basis of a Global Development Alliance (GDA) scheme with USAID. This is also the first time a memorandum on a public-private partnership has been signed by all three parties, including JICA. This partnership between Japan, JICA, and USAID, which will utilize their combined expertise, will be a platform on which to build future public-private sector activities across numerous stakeholders on nutrition in Ghana.

The MOU outlines the three components:

1) Ajinomoto, in collaboration with a local food company and the University of Ghana, will produce samples of "Koko Plus." Koko Plus is a nutritional supplement that should be added to the traditional porridge made of fermented corn (called koko). The base of Koko Plus is locally produced soybeans, but it is fortified with vitamins and an essential amino acid (Lysine) to improve the nutritional values of the food for children. Ajinomoto will provide funding to test a community-based distribution model and evaluate its effectiveness in improving the nutritional status of children.

2) USAID will provide funding and technical expertise to implement a private sector approach to the distribution of Koko Plus. USAID will also spearhead efforts to evaluate the model and offer expertise to conduct a study to establish a distribution model for promoting and increasing the usage of the nutritional supplement.

3) JICA will provide on-going assistance to develop a business model and a business plan for Ajinomoto's nutritional supplements in Ghana through the Preparatory Survey for Base of the Pyramid (BoP) Business Promotion (from March 2011 to March 2014).