Amway India celebrates World Food Day with a national conference in partnership with PHDCCI and Mamta HIMC

- Renowned experts discuss the need for building sustainability and innovation in nutrition interventions

NEW DELHI, Oct. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leveraging its global experience in nutrition and wellness, Amway India, the country's leading FMCG direct selling company, recently commemorated World Food Day through a unique virtual conference, in partnership with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) and Mamta Health Institute for Mother and Child (HIMC). The conference witnessed renowned experts and speakers across the industry come together and discussed the importance of building sustainability and innovation in nutrition interventions.

Photograph: https://lion.box.com/s/zw6qlbjxu9c70btdthyev0xjuc5kik6m

With the ongoing pandemic highlighting the disproportionate access to healthy and nutritious meals, the World Food Day this year has gained more significance.* According to the recent Global Nutrition Report 2020, there is an urgent need to address rising malnutrition across economies fueled by the global health crisis. The malnutrition scenario in our country is in a precarious situation. While the number of underweight children has decreased over the years, it is still high compared to average statistics in Asian countries.

Deliberating on addressing such critical issues through innovative methodologies, present at the conference were Mr. Sudhanshu Pandey, IAS Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution, Padma Shri Dr. Deepa Malik, International para-athlete, Ms. Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, India, UN Women. The event also witnessed addresses by Mr. David Madiol, Global CSR Manager, Amway Corporation, Ms. Simrat Bishnoi, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing Communications and CSR, Amway India along with Dr. Sunil Mehra, Executive Director, Mamta HIMC and Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI and Chairman, Paramount Cables.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Sudhanshu Pandey, IAS Secretary, Department of Food & Public Distribution said, "Over the years, India has been relentless in its fight against hunger and malnutrition. We have the largest food-aid program in the world through public distribution system. We have especially ramped up our efforts to provide food to millions of people from underprivileged communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are further focusing on maternal health, child nutrition and well-being through programmes such as POSHAN Abhiyaan. I commend PHDCCI, Amway India and MAMTA HIMC for bringing thought leaders on a single platform.  I truly believe it is the need of the hour for everyone to join hands and work together to address malnutrition and its underlying causes in all forms."

Talking about the initiative Mr. Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India said, "World Food Day 2020 takes place under exceptional circumstances. In the wake of the ongoing pandemic, the theme for this year 'Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together' is more relevant than ever. Amway has always been committed to support the community by coming forward in the face of adversity. In India, we had introduced the 'Power of Five' in 2018. It is a community-based global campaign to address childhood malnutrition. With this campaign, we aim to use our vast global experience in nutrition and wellness to contribute to the Government of India's National Nutrition Mission to raise the nutrition levels in the country. I am happy to share that we witnessed a tremendous improvement in the nutritional status of the children. The results clearly demonstrate the power of mobilizing and empowering communities at the grassroots level to help them lead a better, healthier life."

Over the last two years Amway, with its Power of 5 programme, has been working persistently to address the cause of malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years. In its pilot phase, the campaign has been conducted in Kirari, an urban slum and resettlement colony of North West Delhi. Since 2018, over 9,750 children were surveyed under the age of five years. Out of these, close to 1,000 were identified for further monitoring through the entire course of the program. The findings have been highly encouraging, highlighting that over 81% of children came out of the 'wasted' category. Similarly, over 70% of children came out of the 'underweight' category and 33% came out of the 'stunted' category.

Talking about the global Power of 5 campaign, Mr. David Madiol, Global CSR Manager, Amway Corporation said, "Multiple studies across the globe have concluded that the first five years of life are critical for a child's development. If they don't receive essential nutrients during this time, they can suffer from health problems that can last into adulthood. To meet this problem head on, we created the Power of 5 campaign. Our goal is simply to give children the nutrition they need to reach their fifth birthday and beyond. In the last few years, the campaign has helped hundreds and thousands of children across 14 countries. I am happy to see the incredible results that our India team has driven in the pilot phase. This has driven us to plan for the further expansion of the programme across regions. I believe, together we can help more children survive, thrive and grow."

Ms. Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, India, UN Women said, "World Food Day 2020 takes place at a time when people across the globe have realized the importance of food security, good nutrition and immunity. Vulnerable people from underprivileged communities, especially women and children, are particularly susceptible to both the virus and the impact of the containment measures. We must work to ensure they have access to nutritious meals, as nutritional resilience is a key element of any society's readiness to combat the health crisis."

Speaking at the event, Padma Shri Dr. Deepa Malik, International para-athlete said, "As an athlete competing at the international level, I understand the importance of nutrition in one's life. Nutrition is important to not just lead a healthy life, but also for optimum mental and physical growth. I believe we all need to work together to create a comprehensive ecosystem that supports and provides access to healthy and nutritious diets to all in society."

*https://globalnutritionreport.org/reports/2020-global-nutrition-report/

About Power of 5 Campaign

Amway launched its globally successful community-based program 'Power of 5' as a pilot in India in collaboration with MAMTA HIMC. The program is targeted at the mothers and caregivers of children under the age of 5 years and aimed to improve the nutritional knowledge and practices inclusive of complementary feeding, hygiene practices, growth monitoring and dietary diversity through extensive educational interventions. The campaign further aims to identify and manage the malnourished children, and those with infections, by developing synergies among the service providers of associated departments (Integrated Child Development Scheme, Health and Sanitation) for improved services and timely referrals. The Power of 5 programme has benefitted over 40,000 beneficiaries including children below 5 years, frontline workers, parents, caregivers and community members. Through various interventions such as training programmes, awareness sessions, nutrition education programmes, Amway and MAMTA HIMC have been raising awareness amongst families about malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years.

About Amway India CSR initiatives

• Amway India's CSR initiatives are based on the belief that social responsibility is much more than the incurrence of a cost or a resource or a charitable/ philanthropic act of social benefit. It is an opportunity to bring in social innovation and change. This belief is articulated in Amway's vision of helping people live better lives. When it comes to commitment to corporate citizenship, Amway India makes a serious and concentrated effort to reach out and help people improve their lives.
• Amway India supports a comprehensive CSR programme covering a gamut of initiatives including a water conservation project to improve the ground water level in 7 villages in the Dindigul district located around the manufacturing plant. Amway supports a village health program targeted at 26 villages in the Dindigul district, to provide quality healthcare to the underprivileged. The treatment includes general health check-up, select pathological tests and medicines at zero cost to the beneficiaries. In a span of over 20 months over 240 free health camps have been organised benefitting more than 50,000 people from local communities.
• Amway India set up a telemedicine centre in the Dindigul district to ensure a consistent healthcare support to the villagers. This program has eliminated distance barriers and improved access to medical services in distant rural communities. The centre aims at providing free medical treatment to over 7,000 patients in a year.
• Last year Amway India launched a Community Health & Entrepreneurship Program in the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to offer livelihood training in Entrepreneurship skills and business fundamentals with the objective to promote self-employment among women and to create awareness on affordable health and hygiene practices.
• Recently Amway India has launched the community-based nutrition education program to improve the nutritional status among children (below 5 years) in the select slum areas of West Delhi. The program focuses on prevention, early detection and improved access to care in line with the National Nutrition Mission, Govt. of India.
• As a key focus area, Amway has taken various initiatives to support the cause of visually impaired. Amway also supports underprivileged children in education, health and hygiene under a project titled 'Sunrise'. Under this project, Amway currently supports more than 15 NGOs across the country.
• Amway India has been conferred with the 'CSR Leadership Summit & Award' in the category of 'Promoting Employment for Specially-abled'.
• Amway India was also recently awarded with the 'Best Corporate' award in the 'Specially-abled' category at the prestigious National CSR Summit & Awards 2018 for its invaluable contribution towards the welfare of visually impaired by CSR Times.