Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Our contribution

More on our contribution

Making a difference to the millions of people around the world suffering from extreme poverty and hunger requires a concerted effort from governments, development institutions, aid agencies and others. Over the long term, business can make a fundamental contribution through wealth creation and economic development. For a company like ours, with a presence in developing countries and developed countries alike, this is the main way in which we can contribute to MDG 1.

A growing proportion of our business is carried out in developing and emerging countries and we expect more of our business to come from these countries in the future. In 2008 our Asia, Africa and Central & Eastern Europe region accounted for 36% of our turnover and we also employ over half our total workforce there. D&E markets in total accounted for 47% of our sales, up from 44% in 2007.

We have worked on two studies to understand our wider impacts in the countries where we operate. Our joint research with Oxfam in Indonesia, for example, found that the potential poverty reduction impacts of a company like Unilever Indonesia are spread across the full breadth of its ‘value chain’: the long chain that links raw materials providers and other suppliers to the manufacturing of our products, then through product distribution and retail outlets to the consumer. A second study, published in early 2008 and carried out for us by Professor Ethan Kapstein of INSEAD, looked at our footprint in South Africa, measuring our impact on jobs using ‘input-output’ analysis.

In 2005 we formed the Partnership for Child Nutrition (PCN), along with UNICEF and Synergos, an independent non-profit organisation, to deliver sustainable local solutions to poverty. In India, the PCN has formed a broad coalition of government, private sector and community-based organisations to find ways to combat child malnutrition in India by 50% by 2015. In 2006, the Partnership convened a group of 30 Indian public and private sector organisations, jointly led by Hindustan Unilever. Rural and urban pilots are ongoing, as a first step towards achieving measurable reductions in child malnutrition.

While we can have limited impact upon eradicating extreme hunger, we are working to make a difference to the quality of nutrition enjoyed by those in developing and emerging markets. In areas of the world where ‘under-nutrition’ is widespread, we are fortifying foods to overcome nutrient deficiencies, such as enriching spreads with vitamins A, D and E and fortifying salt with iodine. We are a board member of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and we chair its Business Alliance. Through this partnership we are exploring a range of fortification initiatives and new business models to combat micronutrient deficiencies. Another way we can make a difference is by providing access to affordable products that meet basic needs for nutrition and hygiene. In many markets, we make our brands available in small pack sizes at low per-unit cost, while maintaining the quality of the product. This brings our products within the reach of consumers on limited incomes and those with only small amounts of cash to spend each day.

We are also working in partnership to achieve greater impact. In December 2006 we joined the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in a three-year partnership, Together for Child Vitality, which aims to contribute to MDG1 and 2 by improving the health and nutrition of school children in developing countries. We are providing funding and product donations for school meals. In 2008 the partnership extended its scope from four to six countries (Kenya, Ghana, Indonesia, Colombia, the Philippines and Pakistan) and delivered 16 million school meals to 76,000 school children.

Providing meals is just the first step; meals must also offer the nutrients that are essential for children's growth and health. Unilever has been supporting WFP in a scientific review of the nutritional needs of school children, as well as a study of the nutrients that school meals currently deliver. This research is expected to lead to innovative product development to improve the nutritional value of WFP's school meals globally.

Unilever has also worked with WFP to develop school nutrition and hygiene education programmes for piloting in Colombia, Kenya and Indonesia.

Unilever Kenya contributed US$ 1 million to help the WFP in the Kenyan emergency operation after the violence which followed the 2008 Presidential elections.

Also in Kenya, Unilever is a partner in a project run by the World Economic Forum’s Business Alliance against Chronic Hunger. Involving other multinationals together with Kenyan companies and banks, the aim is to work with smallholder farmers in a poor region of Kenya to strengthen their businesses and increase their earning potential. The partnership will seek to buy local farmers’ produce, help them find new markets and add value to their produce, thereby generating a sustainable source of income.