Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announced that it has officially endorsed the ‘Roadmap to End Global Hunger’, a comprehensive strategy announced by a broad based coalition of leading humanitarian organizations aimed at addressing global hunger through short, mid range and long term initiatives focused on achieving the Millennium Development Goals of halving global hunger by 2015. 

DSM, as a world leader in nutrition, is proud to be the first company to endorse this strategy, and pledges to continue its work in partnership with humanitarian organizations and governments around the world to find sustainable solutions to the issue of micronutrient deficiency. This endorsement further demonstrates DSM’s commitment to addressing the problem of micronutrient deficiency – or ‘hidden hunger’ as it is also known – a problem that affects an estimated 2 billion people across the world.

The Roadmap to End Global Hunger sets forth a strategy and comprehensive plan for the United States government to lead the international community in alleviating all forms of hunger. It calls for increased allocation of resources to address the challenges of hunger and malnutrition and the creation of a White House Office on Global Hunger and Food Security. 
 
The private sector has a crucial role to play in addressing the problem of hidden hunger in both the developed and the developing world through the development of new business models, and nutritious food and food supplements, tailored to the specific needs of particular population groups. 
 
DSM is for example delivering support to the World Food Programme through donating its
MixMe™ sachets - a single dose sachet of vitamins and minerals that can be sprinkled over food just before serving or eating. So far approximately 250,000 thousand people across Kenya, Nepal and Bangladesh have been supplied with the MixMe™ sachets. For another product, NutriRice™, DSM recently received the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) award for the most important innovation towards addressing micronutrient malnutrition. 
 
On the occasion of the Micronutrient Forum 2009 in Beijing, DSM has started to raise awareness for what is in danger of becoming a forgotten issue and signed a private sector declaration calling for action. DSM took a next step in participating in the Amsterdam Initiative on Malnutrition (AIM), a Dutch public-private partnership, launched at the end of May 2009, aiming at eliminating malnutrition for 100 million people in Africa by 2015. 
 
According to Stephan Tanda, Member of the Managing Board of DSM: ‘It is clear that not one sector – neither public, nor private – will be able to solve the problem of hidden hunger alone. Both public and private sectors will have to work together very closely. We are happy to endorse this important US initiative addressing the challenges of malnutrition.’

He further stated that ’We welcome the measures recently announced at the G8 Summit to
address the problem of food security, and urge the US Administration, in partnership with the
private sector and other stakeholders, to show similar leadership in relation to hidden hunger: the forgotten Millennium Development Goal.’
 
DSM is committed to continuing to work in partnership with the Friends of the World Food
Programme, government, trade associations, corporate stakeholders and other private sector
actors to facilitate further successful public/private partnerships in finding sustainable solutions to hunger issues and furthering the strategic goals set forth in the Roadmap to End Global Hunger.
 
 
DSM – the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company
Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life Sciences and Materials
Sciences that contribute to the quality of life. DSM’s products and services are used globally in a wide range of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive, coatings and paint, electrical and electronics, life protection and housing. DSM has annual net sales of EUR 9.3 billion and employs some 23,500 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on Euronext Amsterdam. More information: www.dsm.com


NOTES TO THE EDITOR
 
What is ’hidden hunger’?
Hidden hunger is about micronutrient (vitamin and mineral) deficiency. Not malnutrition as  classically presented as the starving individual, but malnutrition as it should properly be defined: poor overall quality of nutrition. It means that those 2 billion who live with hidden hunger eat  enough calories to live, but have a basic diet that fails to provide the sufficient levels of crucial  vitamins and vital minerals that allows them to be mentally and physically healthy. 
 
The social and economic consequences of ‘hidden hunger’
The long-term consequences of hidden hunger are truly damaging. On a massive scale, poor  quality of nutrition, leads not only to impaired cognitive and physical development in young  children that will affect them throughout their lives but also contributes to the increasing  prevalence of chronic diseases and overall higher mortality. This ultimately results in a double economic burden - massive health costs together with significantly reduced productivity.
• Vitamin A deficiency and blindness – Worldwide about 5 million children under the age of  five are affected by xerophthalmia, a serious eye disorder caused by vitamin A deficiency.  These children are at risk of becoming blind and are more vulnerable to die of common  childhood diseases. 
• Stunted growth of children – Approximately one third of all children globally do not grow  ‘properly’ because of poor nutrition, meaning they are short for their age, underweight and  have impaired mental and physical development.
• Obesity – As strange as it might seem, hidden hunger is in fact most “hidden” among the  overweight. Poor overall nutrition, and an excess of empty calories, is creating a fat world  - 1 billion adults are currently overweight and studies suggest that the figure will rise by  50% in just 5 years. 
• Economic burden – The cost to a country’s economy from lesser quality of life and dying  earlier is enormous - it is estimated that global health costs and lost economic production  is at least US$19bn per year. The Copenhagen Consensus, developed by a group of  eminent economists, recently concluded that of 30 specific solutions to combat some of  the world’s most pressing problems, addressing micronutrient deficiency among children,  would be the single best investment. Every US$1 spent is estimated to produce US$17 in  return through reduced health spending and improved economic output.
 
Roadmap to end Global Hunger
The Roadmap calls for the:
• Creation of a White Office on Global Hunger and the appointment of a Global Hunger  Coordinator 
• Rebirth of the Congressional Select Committee on Hunger 
• Development and implementation of a comprehensive plan and strategy for addressing  hunger
• Increased allocation of resources to address the challenges of hunger and malnutrition
 
Legislative Agenda  
There are two complementary bills, Roadmap to End Global Hunger (House) and the Global  Food Security Act (Senate), which are designed to further strengthen the effectiveness and  leadership of the US Government in relation to addressing the global problem of Hidden Hunger. Fundamental to both initiatives is the belief that: “to achieve food security for all the world’s people and prevent a reversal of past progress, the US will need to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy that effectively integrates all existing programs, carefully balances short- and long-term responses and adequately funds programs that have proven successful in alleviating global hunger.”