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Annual report 2019-2020

When every life counts, every day counts: driving better nutrition for all

Nutrition International stands at the crossroads of the health system and the food system and we're passionate about tackling one of the world’s greatest health issues: malnutrition. The right nutrition at the right time builds the capacity to dream, fuels the power to achieve, and lays the foundation upon which to build a better world. We hope you enjoy these highlights from our fiscal year 2019-2020 and join us in our mission to end malnutrition.

About Nutrition International

We nourish people to nourish life.

For over 25 years, we have focused on delivering low-cost, high-impact, nutrition interventions to people in need.

Recognized as global nutrition experts, we work with governments and partners around the world to deliver low-cost, high-impact solutions to those who need it most. We integrate nutrition across sectors, strengthen local ownership and develop innovative approaches to scale.

Nutrition International combines research, technical assistance, advocacy, and partnerships to improve policies, programs and to increase resources for nutrition. We serve as a force multiplier across the development ecosystem, using our unique combination of capabilities to help countries overcome barriers to scaling up nutrition, domestic resource mobilization as well as local government capacity and ownership. We use nutrition as a pathfinder, by adding value through packages and double-duty actions rather than single interventions, and by welding nutrition onto other platforms and sectors where it is missing.

Nutrition International is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and has regional offices in New Delhi, India to oversee Asian operations, and in Nairobi, Kenya to oversee African operations.

Interventions

Transforming lives through better nutrition.

In our core countries, we deliver interventions to help improve nutrition, especially for newborns, children, adolescent girls and women.

In Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal and the Sahel, and Tanzania, we implemented a combination of these interventions over the last year: vitamin A supplementation, salt iodization, food fortification, nutrition education, zinc and oral rehydration salts for treatment of diarrhoea, iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements for pregnant women, weekly IFA for adolescents, infant and young child nutrition, and birth packages (including kangaroo mother care and early initiation of breastfeeding).

From the President and CEO

Fighting malnutrition has never been more important

Nutrition International’s President and CEO, Joel C. Spicer, has a message about this year’s report and the unusual times we find ourselves in.

Impact and progress

Our leading-edge investment case

Good nutrition is the foundation for human development. It is the critical ingredient every one of us needs to survive and to thrive. By 2030, Nutrition International aims to transform the lives of one billion people – especially women, adolescent girls and children – by improving their nutritional status.

More on our investment case

Launched in 2018, our Strategic Plan, the first of two six-year plans to achieve that goal, details our approach, interventions and outcomes. The accompanying Investment Case, the first for a nutrition organization, will finance the scale-up of proven high-impact, low-cost nutrition interventions.

COVID-19 has presented a significant threat to this progress, but we are still on track to reach the health, human capital and economic targets by 2024. We also believe that Nutrition International’s work in the fight against malnutrition is more relevant than ever as COVID-19 strains economies, health systems, and pushes people living in poverty to the breaking point.

Impact at a glance

Our reach in 2019

173.9M

children received two doses of vitamin A

539.3M

people gained access to adequately iodized salt

233.4M

people gained access to fortified foods

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1.4M

children with diarrhoea received the recommended course of zinc and oral rehydration salts

3.7M

adolescents received nutrition education

5.3M

adolescent girls consumed the recommended scheme of weekly iron and folic acid supplements

1.9M

pregnant women consumed at least 90 iron and folic acid supplements

309K

newborns received timely initiation of breastfeeding

87K

supervisory staff, educators and private sector partners were trained

73K

health workers were trained

These impact numbers were calculated using Nutrition International’s Outcome Modelling for Nutrition Impact (OMNI) tool. OMNI incorporates program coverage of nutrition-specific interventions and calculates the estimated consequent health outcomes.

Impact at a Glance

Our impact in 2019

323K

births were protected from neural tube defects

$8.5B

in future economic benefits were gained

1.4M

children gained a year of education**

12.2M

IQ points were saved

161K

deaths were averted

778K

children were protected from stunting

2M

cases of anaemia were averted

92K

cases of low birth weight were averted

These impact numbers were calculated using Nutrition International’s Outcome Modelling for Nutrition Impact (OMNI) tool. OMNI incorporates program coverage of nutrition-specific interventions and calculates the estimated consequent health outcomes. ** Actual years of education gained per child is between 0.73-1.59 years, resulting in 1.4M child years of education.

Program highlights

Global influence and leadership

Nutrition International is a global organization focused on action – and we achieve impact thanks to the drive, creativity, leadership and skill of our people and partners. Within this report are just a few key highlights from areas of our work.

Vitamin A

Increasing child survival with vitamin A

Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness and increases the risk of death from common childhood illnesses, such as measles and diarrhoea.
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Increasing child survival with vitamin A

Food fortification

Population-level impact with fortified staple foods

Nutrition International is supporting this strategy through a number of fortification programs, including salt iodization and grain and oil fortification.
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Population-level impact with fortified staple foods

Adolescent nutrition

The second window of opportunity

Globally, adolescents – particularly girls – are greatly affected by malnutrition, partly due to their specific biological needs. However, they are often missed by health and nutrition interventions.
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The second window of opportunity

Technical assistance

Building capacity to fight malnutrition

Nutrition International delivers technical assistance to help governments reduce malnutrition and improve the health of their populations.
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Building capacity to fight malnutrition

Innovative financing

A new model for delivering nutrition

Through this new model governments can set national priorities and invest in nutrition for their populations.
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A new model for delivering nutrition

Maternal and newborn health

Quality care for pregnant women and newborns

With the right nutrients, women are healthier, have safer pregnancies and deliver healthier babies.
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Quality care for pregnant women and newborns

Evidence generation and gender equality

Leading expertise for high-quality programming

Since its inception in 1992, Nutrition International has evolved to become a global centre of technical excellence in nutrition. Our global team blends research, technical assistance, advocacy and partnerships to improve policies and programs and to make more resources available to the people we serve. Underpinning all of our work is a focus on gender equality, bringing a gender lens directly into our projects, programs and partnerships.

Gender

Mutually reinforcing to achieve gender equality.

Nutrition International believes that good nutrition and gender equality are mutually reinforcing – improving nutrition is critical to achieving gender equality and vice versa.
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Mutually reinforcing to achieve gender equality.

Evidence generation into action

We put people at the centre of our program design

We put people at the centre of our program design, in a way that allows these programs to be both scalable and sustainable.
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We put people at the centre of our program design

About us

Nutrition Champions

Through our Board of Directors, our partners and our generous donors, we work to deliver the greatest nutrition impact at the lowest cost. Whether conducting cutting-edge research, influencing policy, improving delivery, or integrating nutrition into new platforms, Nutrition International is a global leader in nutrition.

Board of Directors

Governance to deliver on nutrition interventions around the world

Nutrition International is fortunate to have a global and high-level Board of Directors who share their knowledge and expertise in nutrition, global health, gender equality and other key areas.
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Governance to deliver on nutrition interventions around the world

Partners and Donors

Delivering impact through partnerships and in-kind contributions

Nutrition International is deeply grateful for the support of our trusted partners and generous donors.
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Delivering impact through partnerships and in-kind contributions

Financial Highlights

See highlights from our financial statement

Summary of consolidated expenses and financial position as of March 31, 2020.
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See highlights from our financial statement