2016 Integrated Nutrition Conference Responding with the Private Sector for Greater Nutrition Impact

Malnutrition presents significant threats to human health and economic development. Today, the world faces the double burden of malnutrition — undernutrition and obesity — in both developed and developing countries. Solving this problem is complex and cannot be achieved by any one thematic sector; therefore, multi-sectoral and integrated collaborative actions among actors is needed, with the private sector fully engaged alongside nongovernmental organizations, governments, academia, donor agencies and other actors. These partnerships offer enormous potential to innovate across sectors and leverage resources and capabilities for improving the nutrition of vulnerable populations.

The second Integrated Nutrition Conference aimed to shed light on this increasingly important issue of engaging the private sector in improving nutritional outcomes, especially for the poor and malnourished. This issue had arisen during the first Integrated Nutrition Conference, held in Nairobi in September 2015, which focused on new approaches for integrated strategies to improve children’s lives through the first 1000 days of life. In response to the growing call for greater involvement of the private sector in integrated nutrition programs, the second Integrated Nutrition Conference (INC2016) focused on “Responding with the private sector for greater nutrition impact”—the private sector is willing and eager to engage with other stakeholders. The way forward is to then identify and establish mutually beneficial partnerships that support nutrition outcomes.