Islamabad, 11 April, 2017: Engro Foods Limited (EFL), the chair for Scaling up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) Pakistan, and its 20 other key stakeholders, hosted a dinner in the honor of Ms. Gerda Verberg, SUN Coordinator and Assistant Secretary General of United Nations (UN). The primary objective of this event was to strengthen ties between stakeholders of SBN Pakistan and the UN at a national level.

Also attended by representatives of UN World Food Programme (WFP), and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN,) amongst other distinguished guests, the event discussed the importance and necessity of nutrition and food safety in Pakistan and around the globe.

While engaging with the attendees, Ms. Gerda Verberg discussed the reasons for developing a proper milk supply chain, and how nutrition and food safety can be improved by the successful implementation of minimum pasteurization law.

Attendees also discussed the recent acquisition of EFL by the Dutch based Royal FrieslandCampina (RFC), one of the world’s largest dairy companies, and how this relation can be leveraged to raise food and nutrients security to masses, while limiting the pressure on natural resources and the environment.

The meeting concluded with plans to initiate a nationwide school feeding program by providing children with milk and high energy biscuits in collaboration with the WFP.

Speaking on the occasion, Ali Ahmed, CEO – EFL, said, “We need to strengthen research for efficiently producing healthy food, while ensuring the availability of food at affordable prices. This includes improving logistics, infrastructure, and transportation systems to ensure those who need food are supplied with it and that too of the finest quality.”

“Organizations like Scaling up Nutrition unite people from civil society, the United Nations, donors, businesses and researchers in a collective effort to improve nutrition. Only through effective utilization of our combined resources can we realize a world without hunger and malnutrition,” he further added.

Members of SBN Pakistan represent various industries, including fast moving consumer groups, pharmaceutical, salt, rice, confectionary, flour, food commodities, plastics, packaging, agriculture, consumer services and logistics. Geographically, these partners are from different cities of Pakistan, namely Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Attock, Haripur and Rahim Yar Khan.

The SUN Movement was launched in 2010 to scale up nutrition. The SBN is one of the four global networks that support SUN countries (along with UN, Civil Society and Donor Networks). It is convened by GAIN and the WFP and further supported by an Advisory Group comprised of senior business leaders.