Elisa Desbordes-Cisse, our COO, spoke at a UNICEF event on food and nutrition for young children.
West and Central Africa accounts for 13.5% of the global number of children with stunted growth – mostly due to the unavailability, inaccessibility and unaffordability of nutritious food, but also due to the lack of education and information.
The UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa, together with ECOWAS, organised a conference in Dakar, Senegal to address this issue.
Elisa Desbordes-Cissé was one of the speakers at the event. She said: “It is critical to rethink the food system to get children’s first diet right. But this won’t be enough if we don’t inform, sensitise and educate mothers, parents and everyone about the vital impact that food has on the healthy development of children. To get the food right in children’s first two years, we must ensure that this message goes beyond just those sitting in this room today, so that it reaches everyone everywhere.”