In Focus: Reducing childhood malnutrition through partnerships

Tell us a little about yourself 

I am the founder and CEO of Hearts for Africa, a Community Interest Company. My research is based on effectiveness of fermentation on soybean supplements for management of malnutrition. I am passionate about transferring academia into direct benefit to communities. I am trying to do this through enterprises and collaborative engagements with SMEs.

What got you interested in nutrition? 

I grew up with an interest in the human body for which I decided to study nursing to learn more about anatomy and physiology. But those studies made me realize that the human body has the capacity to look after itself through adequate nutrition. 

What do you work on, and how does it relate to public private engagement for nutrition? 

I am dedicated to improving nutrition in women of childbearing age, children and teenagers at periods of increased growth and high nutrients demand. I am keen to implement soy-foods in enriching nutrient-poor meals specially to benefit people in low- and middle-income countries where malnutrition is driven by the lack of nutritious and affordable foods. At Hearts for Africa, we are implementing the “David Neven; development sustainable food value chain model” which has five interconnected pathways: enabling environment, return on assets, salary income, customer benefit and taxes. All the pathways – and the stakeholders within them – work together to reduce poverty and hunger. I have come to realise that collaborative charities, non-governmental and private organisations are more effective at making an impact on nutrition because they are more focused on the need for sustainable solutions “today, not tomorrow”.

What is exciting about your work? 

My work promotes sustainability and wellbeing through plant-based nutrition. Childhood malnutrition is a disaster that is preventable and my work is contributing to the solution by creating local availability and affordability of nutritious foods. It is incredible that fermentation in processing plant protein elevates such protein to more sustainable and health promoting food. Take fermentation’s ability to reduce soybean natural poisonous substances called toxins which if not treated by fermentation prevents nutrients absorption in humans and cause harmful effects in the body.  It is by application of natural fermentation that soy-based foods can be effectively used as complementary foods for young children.

What is challenging about it? 

Logistics, funding and time are constraints in delivering solutions and achieving set goals. You believe that the problems and challenges of malnutrition is so much in the fore and that everyone understands the urgency to tackle it but the reality is, this is not quite the case. The slow response to calls to help leaves you feeling “alone”.

 
What’s the latest news or a recent success? 

Collaboration with the right organisations and individuals. We are engaging with agronomists, soil scientists and SME farm holders to understand the best agronomic practices. We have concluded one Soybean Management with Appropriate Research and Technology (SMART) soybean varieties trial, which has allowed us to obtain useful information in understanding of the soil and the whole Agri-ecology system in the region. This means that in time the SME farm holders working with us will have access to improved soybean varieties to plant, access to better farming practices and improved livelihoods. Our partners who have provided technical assistance in this work include Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), Illinois USA and SIL Pan-African Soybean Variety Trial (PAT) program expertise to guide us.