USCIB played an important role in marking this year’s World Food Prize, which was presented last week in Des Moines, Iowa

USCIB’s President and CEO moderated a panel on public-private partnerships to improve global nutrition

The World Food Prize is the foremost international honor recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. This year’s co-winner, Dr. Lawrence Haddad, brought the issue of nutrition to the forefront by using both economic and medical research to convince development leaders to make child nutrition an urgent priority in the global food security agenda. USCIB has partnered with Dr. Haddad’s organization, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) to promote and strengthen public-private partnerships to help achieve global nutrition goals.

(Click here to read a Devex interview with Dr. Haddad.) A video of the event is posted below:

As part of this year’s World Food Prize celebration last week in Des Moines, Iowa, the 2018 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium convened an impressive array of international leaders; policy makers; farmers; executives from agribusiness and non-governmental organizations; and scientific, academic and development experts to address the most critical issues facing global food security.

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson moderated a panel discussion with Dr. Haddad to highlight the importance of public-private partnerships in achieving optimal nutritional outcomes, framed by the GAIN-USCIB Guiding Principles of Engagement between Governments and Business to Improve Nutrition.The panel featured Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, PepsiCo Senior Vice President for Research and Development Dr. Ellen de Brabander, and Jane Nelson of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative.

The future of food continues to be one of the most pressing global challenges, with malnutrition profoundly affecting every country. Progress towards the ambitious 2030 SDGs is too slow; the scale and complexity of the problem underscores the need for deepened collaboration and renewed commitment to improving nutrition outcomes for all, especially the most vulnerable. Countries cannot achieve their SDG goals without an aligned, motivated and incentivized private sector as a key partner. Improved dialogue and collaboration between government, business, civil society and international organizations is crucial for guiding engagement and focusing efforts where they can have the most sustainable impact and long-term success.

Global food and agriculture constitute a $7.8 trillion industry, employing up to 40 percent of the working population in many countries. In recognition of the essential role played by the private sector, a dialogue was convened in October 2017 in New York by the USCIB Foundation and GAIN. This event developed a draft set of “Principles of Engagement” between the public and private sectors to help guide and promote greater positive collaboration.

A second high-level dialogue will be convened next month in Rome to explore practical, tangible ways to implement and scale coordinated initiatives to put the draft Principles into practice. The program will focus on both under-nutrition and the rise of overweight and obesity, as well as the associated diet related non-communicable diseases. Those invited to contribute to this dialogue will include leaders of governments, development agencies and the private sector, from a wide range of countries, with a particular focus on developing countries with high burdens of malnutrition.