Private sector playing crucial role in making nutrition aspirational for public

private-sector-playing-crucial-role-in-making-nutrition-aspirational-for-public

Wientjes said that it is a common belief among the masses that when it comes to food, they have a notion that all the good players are with the government and the bad players are in the private sector

In a tête-à-tête, Fokko Wientjes, Vice President – Global Malnutrition, Partnerships & Programs at DSM and Vinita Bali, CII, National Nutrition Committee and Global Chairperson of GAIN (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) discussed the topic ‘Role of the Private Sector in Addressing Nutrition’ as part of the CII National Nutrition Conclave 2020.

Opening the conversation, Wientjes said that it is a common belief among the masses that when it comes to food, they have a notion that all the good players are with the government and the bad players are in the private sector. Meeting nutritional needs and building immunity of the masses is not possible to be met by one entity only, be it the government or the private players. They all rather need to come together to fight the greater worry i.e. malnutrition and keep the nourishment factor of the citizens in check.

“India still has stunted growth problem which is associated with lack of proper nourishment. That is why the private sector’s role is important given that there is an opportunity to get the masses healthy and also create largescale employment opportunities. We cannot keep saying that public health is the public sector’s responsibility. There is a lot of opportunities that fun products can be taken forward in a nutritious way. That is the role wherein private players can help. Being aspirational and widely available is the crux,” he adds.

Speaking on ways how DSM as a private player helped people combat malnutrition, Wientjes elucidated, “34 per cent of the children have stunted growth. It is huge and one entity doesn’t have the magic bullet to tide over this crisis. We looked into the home fortification. We made micronutrients available in sachets which could be mixed with the food at homes.” As a private player, he focuses that their aim should be to make a path-breaking product available and then look at the smooth distribution of it to reach the maximum people. “We have to look at institutionalising the product. Nudging the beneficiaries to look at nutrition as an important aspect is what we strive for, as a part of which we are working with the World Food Programme. Rice fortification is an important step, given the reach potential of 35 mn people with improvised products.”

Citing an example of PPP to make nutritious food accessible to the masses, Wientjes expressed, “Agrifood is now one word and not ‘agri’ and ‘food’ separately. If we tie food and agri together, we give more stability to the farmers by offering more demand for supplies. The farmers know that there will be demand. For example – Aflatoxin, a mould found in Africa causing liver cancer was found in the grains distributed through PDS that impacted the majority of the citizens. With the logistics in place and working with the farmers actively, we could drastically bring down the level of the food transmitted disease there.”

Bali asked Wientjes, as the current pandemic stir has wreaked havoc in the global nutrition system, where does he think organisations like DSM can engage with food companies and non-food companies to communicate the message of the importance of nutrition?

To this, Wientjes replied, “Healthy people will propagate the good message always. In the end, we will not be successful in a society that will fail. The first and foremost thing is to feed your employees properly. Bring in a nutritionist to design the meals from a nutritious perspective that is also tasty. If my company could find a solution to fortify peri peri mix, many other companies can do a lot together. Micronutrients are the best immunity boosting defence against Covid. This is a challenging period, but we made sure that we make micronutrient supplements available for our staff working from home to help them stay healthy both mentally and physically. It creates a feeling of care. I would invite organisations to think about how do I reach people at their homes. Impact for Nutrition is the agenda and let’s just accelerate it.”

Bali further asked that there is an intent that the centre will be moving ahead with the distribution of fortified rice through the PDS. She sought Wientjes’ views on what are the things to consider and which should not be.

“Maintaining the right standards of fortification is the must. Which nutrients and how much nutrients, etc., must be looked at diligently. Fortified rice is a very promising staple that we must be looking at for fortification given that it goes unnoticed by the masses that they are consuming something nutritious and healthy,” concluded Wientjes.

 

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