Nonprofit addressing hunger and poverty through partnership with USAID, Nu Skin and P&G
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK / ACCESSWIRE / January 12, 2023 / The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Feed the Children more than $46 million, including $23 million leveraged from private sector partners, to continue its mission of improving the health and nutritional status of women and children in Malawi. Following the success of the nonprofit's similar activities Tiwalere I and Tiwalere II funded by USAID, the Let Them Grow Healthy (translated as "Akule ndi Thanzi" in Chichewa) will use a multisectoral nutrition programming approach, as recommended by the Government of Malawi and USAID. This flagship project allows the alliance of for-profit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and USAID to support quality nutrition, maternal and child health, water and sanitation, and malaria program coverage for Malawians.
Let Them Grow Healthy will have an emphasis on the first 1,000-days in the life of a child, from conception through the first two years of life. This is a critical period of time where stunting in children occurs. The technical design of the project will build upon the strides made by Feed the Children's previous development work to identify and solve barriers for the uptake of optimal maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and hygiene practices.
The USAID administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide. According to USAID, Malawian women have little control over land, even when it is their own. The lack of access to productive economic resources is frequently cited as a major impediment to gender equality and women's empowerment and is a particularly important factor in making women vulnerable to poverty.
To address this, Feed the Children will bring on Total Land Care and the School of Agriculture for Family Independence as local sub partners who will focus on gender integration and changing traditional Lead Farmer roles. Both organizations will use the household approach to gender in complementarity with the Lead Farmer and Farmer Field Schools approaches to promote women decision-making. The household approach is the recommended approach by government in the promotion of gender equality in agriculture.
Longtime partners of Feed the Children's work in Malawi, Nu Skin and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) will continue to support the nonprofit's mission in its new activity. Nu Skin will provide $16,800,000 under its own initiative, Nourishing the Children, to purchase 93,300 bags per month of a fortified nutrition supplement, VitaMeal®. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation will contribute $4,500,000 to fund the work of the School of Agriculture for Family Independence. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation will also provide $300,000 for 150,000 fruit tree saplings. P&G has agreed to provide for the provision of four million sachets per year, valued at $1,400,000.
"We are so excited to get started on this important work for Malawians," said Bre Jefferson, President of FEED International. "Let Them Grow Healthy is special because the community came together to choose the name. It is important to the community that their kids are healthy and thriving. Through Let Them Grow Healthy, Feed the Children will not only work to provide much-need food to families, but also empower women to create change in their communities. We are very grateful for the support from USAID, the Government of Malawi and our generous private sector partners Nu Skin and P&G."
About Feed the Children
At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships.
Visit feedthechildren.org for more information.
For more information:
Carrie Snodgrass - 405-213-9757
[email protected]
SOURCE: Feed The Children