Podcast Summary
Planet Hope, Perpetual Planet Initiative: Partnerships between leading experts and innovators through initiatives like The Times' Planet Hope podcast and Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative are making a significant impact in addressing global threats to our planet and critical issues like hidden hunger.
Hope remains a powerful force, even in the face of global threats to our planet. Through partnerships like The Times' Planet Hope podcast and Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative, leading experts and innovators are supported in their missions to find solutions to protect the planet and address critical issues like hidden hunger. Felix Brooks Church, the co-founder and CEO of Sanku, is one such individual making a significant impact in East Africa by providing fortified food to over 10 million people daily. Through the addition of essential vitamins and minerals, Sanku's work is helping to eliminate hidden hunger and improve lives, demonstrating that hope and innovation can make a meaningful difference.
Hidden Hunger: Malnutrition isn't only about food scarcity but also lacking essential vitamins and minerals, leading to weak immune systems, stunting, and health issues in less wealthy regions. Fortifying staple foods can help address this gap and improve overall health and productivity.
Malnutrition isn't just about having too little food, but also about lacking essential vitamins and minerals, a condition known as hidden hunger. This issue affects people in less wealthy nations, particularly in East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The common staple foods in these areas, such as maize porridge, may fill bellies but lack necessary nutrients. As a result, people suffer from weak immune systems, stunting, and various health issues. To address this gap in fortification, organizations like the one discussed in the conversation focus on reaching rural communities and ensuring their staple foods are fortified with essential nutrients. By doing so, they aim to improve overall health and productivity, ultimately contributing to the development of nations.
Felix Brooks Church's invention: Felix Brooks Church invented the dossifier, a machine that adds micronutrients to local food supplies, reaching over 1,000 mills in East Africa and impacting 10 million people daily, aiming to reach 100 million by the end of the decade.
Felix Brooks Church's journey began in Cambodia in 2006 when he was inspired to make a difference in the lives of street kids. This experience ignited a passion in him to help prevent issues before they became major problems. Growing up in a family of activists, he was no stranger to the concept of doing good and giving back. The challenges faced by low-income countries due to hidden hunger, such as micronutrient deficiencies, were brought to light. To address this issue, Felix invented the dossifier, a machine that doses concentrated powdered nutrients into food, which attaches to local mills. By neutralizing the cost for millers to use the machine, Sanku, the organization behind the dossifier, has been able to reach over 1,000 mills in East Africa, impacting 10 million people daily. The goal is to reach 100 million people by the end of the decade.
Food Fortification: Food fortification is a cost-effective and scalable solution to address hidden hunger by adding essential nutrients to commonly consumed staple foods, benefiting both consumers and millers, and ensuring affordability for people on a tight budget.
Food fortification is an effective, cost-effective, and scalable solution to address hidden hunger in the short term. Food fortification involves adding essential nutrients to commonly consumed staple foods, such as flour, which is already part of people's diets. This approach requires minimal behavior change and does not depend on the availability or accessibility of fruits and vegetables year-round. The cost of fortifying flour is very low, and the millers who produce flour benefit from the sale of empty flour bags, which offsets the cost of the nutrients. This business model ensures that fortified flour is available to consumers at the same price as unfortified flour, making it an accessible solution for people living on a tight budget. The use of a social enterprise model also allows for the neutralization of the cost of fortification, ensuring that people do not have to pay more for healthier food options. Overall, food fortification is a practical and sustainable solution to reducing malnutrition and improving health outcomes in the short term.
Fortified Flour Business Challenges: Despite initial struggles, focusing on empty flour bags and establishing their own nutrient-premix factory allowed Sanku to overcome cost barriers and make their business model successful.
The journey of fortifying flour with essential nutrients in developing countries has faced numerous challenges, from combating myths and misconceptions to dealing with cost barriers. The initial business model of selling nutrients directly to millers did not succeed due to the unwillingness or inability of consumers to absorb the additional cost. However, the team behind Sanku discovered that by focusing on the empty flour bags and using the savings to fund the nutrient additives, they could make the business model work. Another challenge was securing funding for expansion, leading the team to establish their own nutrient-premix factory in East Africa, which significantly reduced costs and provided a new revenue stream. Being named a Rolex Awards for Enterprise laureate in 2021 was a huge honor for Felix and the Sanku team, recognizing their work and inspiring them to continue their mission to improve the health and wellbeing of communities through fortified flour.
IoT and social impact: Partnering with tech companies and using IoT for real-time monitoring significantly reduces costs, increases efficiency, and provides valuable insights in social impact initiatives, especially in food security and nutrition.
Technology plays a crucial role in scaling up social impact initiatives, particularly in the areas of food security and nutrition. The use of IoT and remote monitoring in the work of Sanku, a social enterprise that fortifies flour to combat malnutrition in East Africa, has significantly reduced costs, increased efficiency, and provided valuable insights into the impact of their work. By partnering with tech companies like Vodafone and using SIM cards to monitor production data in real-time, Sanku has been able to reach more communities and improve the lives of millions of people, while also reducing their carbon footprint. This innovative approach to using technology to address social issues is a powerful example of how the private sector can support and amplify the work of non-profits and NGOs.
Food fortification: Food fortification through supplements and fortified foods can significantly improve health and development of malnourished individuals, particularly children. Investment in nutrition and support through donations and awareness can make a difference.
Food fortification through supplements and fortified foods can significantly improve the health and development of malnourished individuals, particularly children. The speaker, who has personally witnessed the transformation of her son, advocates for this solution and is expanding her social enterprise to reach millions in East Africa. Governments and donors are encouraged to invest in nutrition, and individuals can support the cause through donations and raising awareness. Despite the challenges, the speaker remains hopeful for the future and believes that with collective effort, it's possible to improve people's health while also preserving the natural world.
Focusing on personal impact, compounded change: One person's focus on making a difference in their own sphere can lead to positive change for millions, with compounded impact when more people take action.
Despite the challenges and uncertainties of the current world, there is reason for hope. The speaker, a social entrepreneur named Felix Brooks Church, shared his personal experience of contributing to positive change in the last 10 years, resulting in 10 million people gaining access to a basic human right. He emphasized the importance of focusing on what one can control and making a difference in their own sphere, while also recognizing the potential for compounded impact when more people take action. This conversation took place on the Planet Hope podcast, which is produced by The Times in partnership with Rolex and its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Rolex, known for its support of pioneering explorers, is now focusing on helping protect and preserve the natural world, inspiring generational hope for a perpetual planet.