Three Partners Fighting Against Malnutrition

Rotary, the German company BASF and a Nigerian entrepreneur are working together to achieve a common purpose: they want to provide mothers and newborns in Nigeria with essential nutritional supplements.

by Matthias Schütt, translated from publication in www.rotary.de

Since the mid-1990s the issue of „Mother and Child Health“ has been the main focus of former Governor Robert Zinser, RC Ludwigshafen-Rheinschanze and the Rotarian Action Group for Population & Development (RFPD). Information campaigns about contraception as well as the improvement of medical care have contributed to a reduction of maternal and newborn mortality rates. This approach has now been extended by adding an important element: the provision of essential nutritional supplements. Five health clinics in Enugu State that participate in the project have now been provided with these supplements for the first time.

The clinics will receive 15 vital micronutrients including vitamin A, iron, iodine and zinc. According to UNICEF, the nutritional supplements are vital but very often not available in poverty stricken areas or disaster and refugee camps. These nutrients come in the form of a colourless powder in small bags, so-called sachets, and stirred into a meal.

Approximately two billion people – nearly one third of the world’s inhabitants – do not receive all important nutrients that they need, says Doctor Andreas Blüthner, leader of the Food Fortification Initiative at BASF in Ludwigshafen. He is working on the production part of the partnership with Robert Zinser. BASF is the world’s largest chemical company and leads the world on consultation about how basic foods such as milk, flour, oil and sugar can be enriched with vitamin A. As a starting signal for the cooperation between BASF and Rotary, BASF recently donated the first batch of 10,000 vitamin sachets to the project hospitals. 

It did not end there. In addition to another delivery of 10,000 sachets, RFPD is now looking for Rotary Clubs to provide another 25 project hospitals with sachets through a global grant. „There is a chance“, says Zinser, „that the participating Nigerian States will adopt the quality improvements in obstetric care that Rotary introduced into their own health care systems. This may include the provision of nutritional supplements as well.†The government of Benue State already understands the benefit of the sachets and announced the distribution of sachets to certain poverty groups as well.

Donations are always helpful but they are not the long-term solution. For this reason, Zinser and Blüthner are searching for options that could work as solid, sustainable solutions for the poor of Nigeria. Within a three year process, a company was set up that produces the sachets locally. This was made possible with the support of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

„The company Bioorganics Nutrient System Ltd. in Lagos is the only producer in Africa so far,“ Blüthner emphasizes. „At BASF, we are always looking for solutions that connect economic benefits with social benefits. This on-site company has been successfully built through the cooperation of BASF, Rotary, and the local producer.“ Although the manager emphasizes the social responsibility of BASF, he sees only a small benefit in using donations to fund the program: „Distributing gifts leads to non-sustainable behavioural patterns. We do this when there is no other alternative. Otherwise we focus on finding solutions on the basis of market oriented structures.â€

The sachets weigh one gram and cost a few cents. „To provide a school with nutritional supplements for a year, maybe a few hundred dollars are required,“ Blüthner estimates. However, the success depends on the permanent availability of the micro-nutrients. Sustainability can only be achieved when the receiver develops an awareness for healthy nutrition. In this respect, the distribution of the sachets must go hand in hand with information and training campaigns.