Improving nutrition through partnerships takes secret sauce and no sugar-coating

Sarah Straatsma and Marina Adamyan say the World Vision, dsm-firmenich public-private partnership to improve nutrition for the most vulnerable is built on a decade of trust and honesty.

20 October 2023

Aid agency programmes to improve nutrition globally do not traditionally look like end-to-end value chain development for Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) capsules in the Philippines, improved local sourcing of maize in Rwanda or improving egg production and consumption in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Yet, these life-changing approaches are the results of ten years of collaboration between global multinational company dsm-firmenich (previously Royal DSM), Global NGO World Vision, and a host of other partners including Sight and Life Foundation and Africa Improved Foods.

In 2013, the leaders of those two organisations signed an agreement to focus on the ‘last mile’, i.e. people hardest to reach, with locally developed business models to improve nutrition for the long term. Corporate support of charities is often donations of funds, goods or services, but from the beginning this was different.

“Being a force for good is one of dsm-firmenich’s company values, we are a purpose-led company,” Sarah explained. “We believe that a business operating on profit also has a responsibility to help address the big societal challenges, including malnutrition.”

Marina added, “Their vision is about locally produced affordable nutrition for the last mile, so it’s not just about producing and selling more nutrition supplements. It’s about solving malnutrition among vulnerable communities and is aligned with World Vision’s nutrition strategy, that is also about improving nutrition among the hardest-to reach children.”

There is a natural complementarity that leads to the two to look beyond traditional Corporate Social Responsibility programmes or donations, and instead sharing networks and a range of assets beyond just funding. This collaboration has resulted in a multitude of innovative business models aimed at being scaled up locally by local actors.

Life-changing business models

In Rwanda, the company initially invested in World Vision mobilising and training 10,000 farmers to produce, store, consume and sell quality maize. World Vision is investing in scaling it 10-fold, increasing the number to 100,000 farmers. As a result, these farmers will have more and higher quality produce and be able to sell more of their harvest in the local prime market, including Africa Improved Foods (a public-private partnership, including among others dsm-firmenich and the Government of Rwanda). AIF buys large amounts of high-quality maize which is processed into fortified porridge for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, and children under 5.

In Indonesia, 87 million people suffer from food insecurity; 15 million women are anaemic and one in every three children is stunted. In Ethiopia 29 million women are anaemic and 37% of children under 5 are stunted. The partnership between World Vision, dsm-firmenich and Sight and Life has resulted in multiple communities benefiting from improved egg production and consumption, ranging from working with chicken farmers to providing fortified grain for the chickens, to promoting egg consumption through Government Health Systems channels.

“We need partnerships to capture the whole value chain like that,” Sarah explained, “Together we can really leverage our competencies and our strengths.” But, she adds, ultimately, the aim is for the business models to be entirely locally led and managed. The vision is always for products to be available, affordable and accessible, for local people to desire and to provide them, for models to be self-sustaining.

Honesty and commitment

This year, 2023, World Vision and dsm-firmenich are marking ten years of their partnership. It could be argued that this NGO-private sector-think tank hybrid is a rare animal. That’s perhaps because it takes years to nurture it.

“If other companies wanted to replicate this partnership, they would have to be in it for the long run; you can’t expect results in six months or a year. The impact of this work isn’t going to appear in your quarterly reporting” Sarah explained.

“Also, you have to be able to build trust between the actors, and that takes time. You won’t have that from the first day.

Marina agreed, saying that the ‘secret sauce’ was unvarnished honesty. “I remember at a very early stage of our collaboration, we arrived at a consensus that we would table any problem at an early stage and would address that issue together—one of the rules for the partnership has been that we would not sugarcoat things if there is a problem that needs addressing.

“Any relationship, any partnership goes through its highs and lows,” Sarah said, “The strength here is that we are able to discuss difficult things and not just focus on successes. It’s just as much about focusing on learnings and failures that we’ve had along the way.”

Those learnings have informed each subsequent project, and now the partnership is trialling a hybrid business model in which MMS tablets will be distributed through public and private channels in four pilot locations in the Philippines, to help increase the availability, accessibility, and affordability of vital nutrition for pregnant women.

To learn more about World Vision's recent presentations its experts brought to the Micronutrient Forum 6th Global Conference click here 

To learn more about World Vision's work to improve nutrition around the globe click here 

Sarah Straatsma is Partnerships Manager for dsm-firmenich. Marina Adamyan is World Vision International's Director, Private Sector Partnerships & Innovation.