The MERIEM project

In Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, quality manufactured fortified food products have strong potential to prevent malnutrition in young children and their mothers, by providing nutritional value suited to their needs. As part of the MERIEM project, a stakeholder coalition made up of professionals from NGOs, research and consultants working with the private sector is testing innovative marketing solutions with Sahelian businesses with a view to responding to a major public health issue in the sub-region: malnutrition.

More information on nutrition in the Sahel

Context

In the Sahel countries, malnutrition affects the development of young children and their mothers over the long term. In Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, one in two women has anaemia and at least one third of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Although the prevalence of malnutrition is lower in cities than in rural areas, the population in Sahelian cities is rapidly increasing and precarious neighbourhoods in peri-urban areas have very high rates of malnutrition. In addition, cities are confronted with the coexistence of acute and chronic undernutrition, nutritional deficiencies and excess bodyweight, which affect all levels of society.

Quality manufactured fortified food products have strong potential to prevent malnutrition in young children and their mothers, by providing nutritional value suited to their needs. However, Sahelian businesses have difficulties producing and distributing quality fortified food products in a market they perceive as complex and unfavourable. A local supply exists, but it is rarely of good quality and is insufficient to sustainably meet the needs of families living in cities. Imported products are inaccessible for the majority of the population, and humanitarian nutritional programmes, which depend on international assistance, are only occasionally aimed at the most vulnerable populations.

In Ouagadougou, Bamako and Niamey

6% to 19%

of children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition, and rates are higher in peri-urban areas

45% to 46%

of women of childbearing age are anaemic

only 14%

of local sales outlets supply locally produced fortified food products for young children in Ouagadougou (ICI, 2019)

Activities

By generating adherence among public and private nutrition stakeholders, and with sustainable market mechanisms, it is possible in the Sahel to expand supply of quality manufactured fortified food products that are widely accessible. To meet the challenge of reconciling social objectives and economic profitability, a multi-stakeholder coalition made up of professionals from NGOs, research and consultants working in the private sector is implementing the MERIEM project in three Sahelian capitals.

The MERIEM pilot project:

develops quality fortified products, produced locally with selected Sahelian businesses;
tests distribution and promotion innovations and deploys these on a large scale. In parallel, it supports the public sector in its missions to raise the awareness of populations and regulate businesses’ actions;
evaluates, capitalises and shares the results of the innovations tested. In this way it informs research and generates adherence among stakeholders on the role that the private sector can play in the fight against malnutrition.

More information on marketing nutritional solutions

Stakeholder coalition

The MERIEM project brings together a pool of experts seeking to reconcile social objectives and economic profitability to contribute to the prevention of malnutrition. 7 partners from NGOs, the world of research and consultants working in the private sector are working in collaboration with local stakeholders (Ministries, businesses, research institutes, NGOs, community groups). Together, they are striving to demonstrate how marketing solutions can contribute to preventing all forms of malnutrition in urban areas.

Co-management

Technical partners

Financial partners

Questions and answers

Transparency is a fundamental principle of the MERIEM project. Below we publish 5 answers to the questions we are most often asked about the project.

Why work in cities rather than in rural areas where rates of malnutrition are higher?

Precarious neighbourhoods located in peri-urban areas in large cities have high rates of malnutrition, high rates of under-nutrition and a rapid increase in rates of excess bodyweight. Despite these challenges, very few stakeholders in the fight against malnutrition are working in urban areas. Yet it is via cities, where the greatest number of people consuming manufactured products live, that new practices can emerge and spread in a society. This is why the MERIEM project is testing innovative solutions in large Sahelian cities.

Why not target solely poor populations with low incomes?

To develop an affordable product range and remain profitable, consumers need to be able to purchase the products in large quantities on a regular basis. Otherwise, we know there is a possibility that the product range may not be sustainable over the long term. As part of the project, fortified food products will be accessible to the vast majority of the population, mainly in the intermediary category (quintiles B to D) and poorest (E) socio-economic levels, representing people targeted by food and nutritional assistance programmes.

Why propose quality fortified food products?

These food products make it possible for future mothers to improve the quality of their diet, in particular via intake of vitamins and minerals, and thereby to contribute to protecting their baby during pregnancy. Quality fortified food products also have the advantage of providing all the nutrients necessary for the nutritional requirements of young children (as a complementary food), in volumes adapted to suit their small stomachs, while also being affordable and quick to prepare. They are in line with international and national quality standards, and comply with legislation on marketing (according to the World Health Organisation Code). They are attractive and correspond to food uses in cities.

Can quality fortified food products suffice to prevent malnutrition?

Malnutrition has multiple direct (inadequate diet and illnesses) and underlying causes. Marketing of fortified food products is therefore not the sole response to the problem of malnutrition. It is inseparable from actions conducted by the public sector to raise awareness on better practices in terms of eating, hygiene and healthcare. This is why, although the MERIEM project seeks primarily to understand how marketing fortified food products can be one sustainable solutions to contribute to preventing malnutrition, it also includes a component focusing on support for the public sector to implement dans awareness-raising campaigns and a regulatory and legislative framework.

Why work with the local private sector?

The MERIEM project considers that the local private sector has strong untapped potential to contribute to sustainably preventing malnutrition in the Sahel, as imported products are not affordable for the majority of the population. It intends to open up economic opportunities for manufactured fortified food products, provided they are of good quality and affordable for the majority of people. Fortified food products will be produced using local raw materials, and encouraging local agriculture in so far as possible.