SUN Business Network Breakfast meeting at the 2016 World Economic Forum – Harnessing Business Solutions to Scale-Up Nutrition

February 23, 2016 - Last update: February 10, 2023

Photo: WFP / Rein Skullerud

On 21 January 2016, the SUN Business Network held a breakfast briefing titled “Harnessing Business Solutions to Scale-Up Nutrition” at the 2016 World Economic Forum with the support of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, DSM, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Unilever. The early morning breakfast event was held in World Food Programme tent and reviewed nutrition in the Sustainable Development Goals. A particular emphasis was given on how the role of business engagement can be strengthened to improve the supply of healthy foods to market, and to create an enabling and receptive environment for nutritious food products.

At the event, key speakers from across SUN Networks discussed how to leverage agriculture systems to improve nutrition security . Participants identified how business, government and other actors, can work together to ensure that nutrition remains a central part of the post-2015 agenda. Key actions needed to deliver the partnerships and new financing models were identified as crucial, in order to realise progress at scale. Participants included David Nabarro, Special Advisor on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Coordinator of the SUN Movement along with three members of the SUN Movement Lead Group: Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of WFP, Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and Rajiv Shah, Administrator of USAID.

During the question and answer session, there was a consensus around the need for stronger communication of nutrition success stories and the need to bring women and mothers to centre stage. Additional suggestions included increasing the scope of the network to healthcare insurance and the need to ensure that workforce policies go beyond the workplace to positively change nutrition behaviours of employees families.

Learn more about this event at GAIN

Learn more about Nutrition at the 2016 World Economic Forum