Held by DSM and the World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger, the seminar “Micronutrients: Contributing to Childhood in Brazil” brings together government, companies, universities and food chain entities to discuss public policies. for food fortification in Brasilia.
It is noteworthy that the debate on population nutrition is increasingly present in global discussions on hunger. And among the most discussed issues is the importance of proper nutrition in the first thousand days of a child’s life, when access to micronutrients is crucial for the individual’s physical and cognitive development, and its lack is responsible for problems that often, the person will carry for life, such as poor immune system, poor school performance, malnutrition, predisposition to the development of non-communicable diseases (which are not directly transmitted from one person to another), among others.
Against this background and with the objective of discussing alternatives to address or minimize the problem of micronutrient deficiency associated with malnutrition, such as the need to enrich food, the DSM and the World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger, linked to the United Nations (UN), promote the seminar “Micronutrients: contributing to childhood in Brazil” on November 7, at Mercure Brasília Líder Hotel (SHN Q 5 bl 1 – Asa Norte, Brasília – DF). Those interested in participating should apply at the link: bit.ly/2WlLGVg.
The UN report “State of Food and Nutrition Security in the World 2018” points out that Brazil is among the 51 countries most susceptible to the prevalence of malnutrition with around 5.2 million undernourished people in 2017. At the other end, another alarming fact is mentioned in research conducted by the Ministry of Health, 2018 (VIGITEL), which points out that about 55.7% of the Brazilian population is overweight. These nutritional deficiencies represent public health problems with relevant economic and social impacts.
“The effects of malnutrition are clear: according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the lack of micronutrients costs to the global economy 3.5 trillion dollars a year. On the other hand, a recent UN survey showed that investing, annually, 1.2 billion dollars in micronutrient supplements, food fortification and biofortification of staple crops for five years would generate benefits of 15.3 billion dollars. These data show that companies of all sizes and segments, together with governments, universities and other sectors of society should be involved in this problem and act as soon as possible to make a positive impact on the world”, says Maurício Adade, president of the DSM for Latin America.
The director of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger, Daniel Balaban, adds that “it is extremely important to promote discussions on best nutritional practices so that we can be part of and support the establishment of public policies that help the Brazilian population on its process of decision making about the food they will consume”.
The seminar aims at promoting dialogue and information sharing on the potential benefits of food enrichment, especially in the context of public policies on food and nutrition security directed at children. To achieve this goal, the seminar will bring together specialists in public food and nutrition policies, representatives of the Brazilian government, academics, researchers, nutritionists, food buyers, enriched food companies, among others.
In addition to the president of DSM Latin America and representatives of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger, the following are among the confirmed institutions: the Ministries of Health and Citizenship of Brazil; the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA); the Federal District government; representatives of the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) of the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE); the Kayros Institute and the parliamentary fronts for Food and Nutrition Security, Food and Health and Advocacy for Supplemental Nutrition Health.
Child Malnutrition Scenario
Currently 151 million children under the age of 5 are below the desirable height value due to malnutrition in the world. On the other hand, we are living with the global obesity pandemic, whose rates reach about 19.8%, according to the report published in the journal EAT Lancet, which assessed anthropometric measurements of weight and height and the Body Mass Index (BMI). of about 130 million people over the age of five (31.5 million people between the ages of five and 19 and 97.4 million over the age of 20) in the period 1975 to 2016.
DSM is a relevant partner of the WFP and has been the world’s largest provider of food aid against hunger since 2007. WFP feeds and nourishes an average of 90 million people in over 80 countries every year.
The vitamins and other ingredients that DSM supplies to the industry are used to fortify food through public policies developed in many countries. In this area, it is a sector that reaches 350 million people in Latin America (53% of the population), considering fortification of milk (children up to 12 years old), rice, flour, folic acid + iron and margarines, which are enriched. for some additional supplementation or mandatory fortification (when there is determination for some food). In Brazil, more than 130 million people are benefited by food fortification programs. In Costa Rica, for example, where per capita rice consumption is approximately 150g per day (which means 30% of a person’s caloric intake), all rice for human consumption is enriched with folic acid, vitamins E, b1, b2, b12, selenium and zinc. Since the introduction of the rice-enriched food enrichment program, anemia in the country has decreased by 71% among children aged one to six.
DSM – Bright Science. Brighter Living. ™
Royal DSM is a global, purpose-led science company active in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living. The goal of DSM is to create brighter lives for everyone. DSM is driving economic prosperity, environmental progress and social advances by creating sustainable value for all stakeholders; customers, employees, shareholders and society in general. DSM provides innovative business solutions for human nutrition, animal nutrition, personal care and aroma, medical devices, green products and applications, and new forms of mobility and connectivity. DSM and its associated companies have annual net revenues of around 10 billion euros with approximately 23,000 employees. The company was founded in 1902 and is registered in Euronext Amsterdam. More information is available at www.dsm.com/latam.
World Food Program Centre of Excellence against Hunger
The World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence against Hunger is a global forum for South-South policy dialogue and learning on school feeding programs and food and nutrition security. The Centre of Excellence is the result of a partnership between the WFP and the Brazilian government. It was created in 2011 to support governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America in developing sustainable solutions against hunger. The CentRE provides policy and program advice, technical assistance, opportunities, and brings together nations from the southern hemisphere and helps them develop their own solutions to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 which aims to achieve a world without hunger by 2030. More information on Center are available at: https://centrodeexcelencia.org.br/
