When I first heard of Plumpy Nut I was touched by
the dedication of the doctors and food processing engineers who came up with
this simple yet nutritional 3.2oz packet that will essentially save precious
lives. This is wonderful! Let’s stock up
ships and trucks and start saving lives.
Not so
easy.
With focus on Somalia, infant and maternal
mortality rates are among the worlds highest. The “under five” mortality rate
is a staggering 225 per 1,000 live births. The main causes of death are diarrheal
diseases, respiratory infections and malaria. In the living conditions and lack of food for
the mothers, they are unable to provide a natural supply of milk for their own
babies and that leads to sickness and eventually death.[i]
Plumpy Nut has been introduced to these children’s
diet and has immensely decreased mortality under age five, the most vulnerable
years. As of 2011 there were 26 million
children in deteriorating health conditions, 2 million children have gotten
Plumpy Nut and have moved past the “under five” danger zone.
You may ask, why are only 2 million children
getting this magical paste that is effectively saving lives? In 2005 there was only one factory processing
Plumpy Nut. This factory was located in
France owned by Nutriset. Logistically
this was creating a barrier to get the life saving nutrients to children who
needed it most. Once produced, it took
at least 8 weeks for Plumpy Nut to arrive at the port of Mombasa. Faced with paperwork, customs clearance,
backlog, and potential disruptions moving past the port to the distribution
centers, this delay caused panic for those who had babies battling life and
death.
UNICEF, the world’s biggest buyer of Plumpy Nut
worked on motivating manufacturers to open factories in Africa and other
countries which needed a steady supply to meet the high demand for Plumpy Nut.
In 2010 the first and only factory opened in Niger which has given millions of
children a chance at life. Creating a
forecast and planning projections to meet supply for demand is the most
important step in the logistical and distribution stage of any product delivery. With UNICEF’s persistence and the living
truths behind Plumpy Nuts effectiveness, decreasing the time from production to
distribution saves millions of lives yearly.
I got to a store knowing I will purchase my cold
medicine or my son’s allergy medicine, I never worry it will not be available
or that I will have to travel for hours to another store hoping to get it. I am
lucky. In sensitive cases of distribution for supplies such as Plumpy Nut, why
are there so many restrictions and barriers?
Removing the logistical lag has proven to save lives, is there a way to
move forward and be more innovative to ensure not only Plumpy Nut but other
emergency supplies can be readily made available in a shorter time if not immediately
after manufacturing?
References:
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