Monsanto Fund, in partnership with Africare, has pledged $5 million over a five-year period to improve nutrition and access to healthy food for women and young children in Turkana County, Kenya.
Africare, based in Washington, D.C., works in partnership with African people to build sustainable, healthy and productive communities. With support from the Monsanto Fund, the new Improved Approach to Community-based Nutrition in Turkana (IMPACT) Project will provide increased access and availability of diverse and nutrient-rich food to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children.
The initiative, which is aligned with the Kenyan government’s Big 4 Agenda to address food insecurity, will also improve access to quality health services while sharing information about the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.
Turkana County is located more than 450 miles north of Nairobi, Kenya. According to a report released last month by the Kenya National Bureau Statistics Office, Turkana County is the poorest among the nation’s 47 counties; 88 percent live below the poverty level compared to 45 percent nationally. Record malnutrition rates, erratic climate and a disruption of traditional food sources have led the World Health Organization to designate Turkana County as an Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis area.
The IMPACT project is expected to reach 27,000 children who reside within the county’s 7,800 households.
“Every family should have access to a balanced meal,” said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. “However, such access becomes difficult when there is limited availability to healthy and nutritious food options.”
In 2016 the Monsanto Fund introduced a new strategic platform aimed at partnering with specific organizations to address global malnutrition and food insecurity. The first investments were for programs launched in St. Louis and in Petrolina, Brazil. The IMPACT program in Turkana County, Kenya, is the third site.
For more information, visit www.MonsantoFund.org and review Monsanto Company’s 2017 Sustainability Report at monsanto.com/investors/reports/sustainability-reports/.
