The Aliko Dangote Foundation has pledged to invest a whooping 100 million US Dollars in the fight against malnutrition in Nigeria.
The pledge was made at the recently concluded Global Nutrition Summit held in Milan, Italy.
In a press statement issued by APO Group on behalf of the Foundation and made available to The Next Edition, the Managing Director and CEO of the Foundation, Zouera Youssoufous, said, “Nigeria’s high malnutrition rate is undermining progress towards improving child health and survival and putting the brakes on economic development. By investing in nutrition, we aim to directly improve the lives of Nigerian families and to empower our citizens to reach their full potential.”
Nigeria is believed to be home to the highest number of malnourished children. Statistics reveal that almost half of the one million children who die yearly in Nigeria, die of malnutrition as the underlying cause.
According to the statement, the Global Nutrition Report launched at the Summit showed that in spite of progress, 155 million children globally are still stunted and the world is off track on meeting internationally agreed nutrition targets.
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It quoted Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations as saying, ” The global nutrition crisis endangers the physical and mental wellbeing of present and future generations. Progress in tackling both undernutrition and obesity is possible with targeted commitment, like those made here today. We need further urgent investments so that people, communities and nations can reach their full potentials.”
The Aliko Dangote Foundation’s investment will be spread over a period of five years. The Foundation says it is on a mission to reduce the prevalence of undernutrition by 60% in the most needy areas of Nigeria specifically the North East and North West.
The Global Nutrition Summit is the global forum of the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016 – 2016).
Other participants at the Summit include; U. K’s Department for International Development, World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Kofi Annan Foundation, the International Coalition on Advocacy for. Nutrition among others.
About 3.4 billion US Dollars was galvanized at the Summit to tackle malnutrition.
