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Assessing the private sector's contribution to nutrition in Kenya and Tanzania

Why conduct assessments in East Africa?

The Nutrition transition in Africa is intricately linked with the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and persistent issues of malnutrition. Traditionally, African diets relied in large part on locally sourced, whole foods rich in nutrients. However, economic development, urbanisation, and globalisation and the rise in modern retail growth, including retail and fast-food outlets, has led to increased availability of processed foods and shifts in consumption towards more processed, energy-dense foods higher in fat, salt and sugar. Health consequences are linked to the triple burden of malnutrition; undernutrition and hidden hunger persisting alongside a growing prevalence of overweight and obesity.

Statistics shared by UNICEF in a report in 2019, identified that an alarming 38 million children under 5 years old were overweight, globally. Regional trends indicate that the prevalence of NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and certain cancers is increasing. This is also partly due to dietary changes and sedentary lifestyles. The 2024 World health statistics report states that in 2022, an estimated 50% of the burden of malnutrition in the African Region was due to obesity.

Specifically, malnutrition in both Tanzania and Kenya pose a substantial risk for children under five, with current statistics highlighting high rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight . Addressing these challenges requires multifaceted approaches that promote access to nutritious foods, encourage healthier eating habits, and mitigate the impacts of urbanisation and globalisation on dietary choices.

The Access to Nutrition initiative (ATNi) is focused on expanding its work at this critical intersection to monitor the private sector’s role in more markets in low- and middle-income countries, including in East Africa. More specifically, ATNi aims to carry out their assessment in Kenya & Tanzania based on the growing triple burden of malnutrition, increasing consumption of processed foods, and private sector opportunities in the two countries, and donor interest. This project aims to complement ongoing projects such as ATNi’s CEO Pledge and investor engagement activities.

Research Objectives
  1. Conduct food market environment assessments in Kenya and Tanzania to complement existing research and methodologies and to include a specific lens on the private sector and food retail, focusing on tracking the use of fortified staples as ingredients in packaged foods by food and beverage manufacturers.
  2. Update/adapt an existing version of the HSR model (HSR+) to assess product healthiness with a
    specific focus on micronutrients and fortification.
  3. Understand if unhealthy processed foods are being fortified and marketed (e.g. fortified biscuits).
  4. Develop a contextualized version of our existing company policy and commitment methodology to
    assess companies’ nutrition practices and policies (tailored to national and regional context).
  5. Map the current investment landscape in both countries and the materiality of fortification.
Outcomes

The results of the EAMA are projected to reach and engage with governments, the private sector and investors in Kenya and Tanzania on a national scale, by providing evidence and information on:

  • the state of packaged foods being sold in the two countries
  • the extent to which they address micronutrient deficiencies
  • the influence the food and beverage manufacturers are having and could have on food
    fortification supply chains
  • the current investor landscape for the food sector

Research Approach

 

Private sector lens food environment mapping:

  • analysis of existing and ongoing research and methods for food environment mapping
  • establish a methodology with a private sector lens
  • stakeholder consultations and country visits

Company selection, corporate policy and commitment assessment:

  • top 10 largest national food and beverage companies
  • streamline and adapt a version of an existing Index methodology
  • conduct stakeholder roundtables with government, academia, industry associations, CSOs, and NGOs

Assessment of product healthiness and micronutrients:

  • utilise ATNi’s Nutrient Profiling System, an adapted version of the Health Star Rating model, to assess the healthiness of products being sold
  • focus on micronutrients to track the use of fortified ingredients
  • co-design the tool with university/research institute

Corporate profile assessment:

  • Conduct an assessment on nutrition-related policies, practices, and procedures
  • Information will be taken from what is publicly available, and companies will have the opportunity to provide supporting data

Data analysis, report writing, and launch:

  • Product data will be analysed to determine the mean healthiness and sales of the company’s
    product portfolios
  • Companies’ corporate profile assessments will be analysed, and peer reviewed
  • Results will be displayed in the form of rankings, tables and reports and published.
  • A final multi-stakeholder roundtable event will be hosted to launch the results in partnership with stakeholders
Funding

This project is funded by the Waterloo Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Timeline

The projected timeline for this project is April 2024 – March 2025 for Kenya and October 2024 – July 2025 for Tanzania.

Contact Information

For more information linked to the project, please reach out to: 

Bo-jane Woods, Partnerships Manager: bo-jane.woods@atni.org 

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