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The announcement was made by DSM CEO, Feike Sijbesma, at a joint session on nutrition at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The donation will help to lay the foundations for introducing fortified rice into WFP’s food basket, with the aim to improve the nutrition of 4 million people in several Southeast Asian countries.
Feike Sijbesma, Chief Executive Officer/Chairman of the Managing Board of DSM commented: “Today’s donation represents another step forward in our partnership with WFP, which will help scale-up rice fortification. By joining forces, and focusing on cost-effective, sustainable, solutions, we can make a real difference in tackling the global nutrition challenge and improving lives.”
Poor populations who rely on rice as a staple food often show high levels of malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. Malnutrition devastates lives, threatening health and economic development.
“DSM’s philanthropic vision of enhancing nutrition for the hungry poor is inspiring,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. “We are proud to work with a partner that continues to bring such innovation into the fight against hunger. With almost one billion people going to bed hungry every night, it is more important than ever before that we leverage private sector expertise to provide vulnerable populations with the right food at the right time.”
The USD 1 million, which will support rice fortification policy and programme development, will also include an in-kind donation of NutriRice, a fortified rice kernel containing essential micronutritients which can be mixed in with regular rice, with no change to taste or color.
About the WFP-DSM partnership
The DSM (dsm.com) and WFP partnership ‘Improving Nutrition, Improving Lives’ which has been running since 2007 has reached more than 10 million people to date through innovative programs which combat malnutrition. The partnership’s aim is to deliver improved nutrition to at least 80% of the WFP’s beneficiaries. In addition to direct financial support, and micronutrients in kind, DSM also brings to the table private sector innovation and technical expertise.
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