Increasing Nutritional Autonomy: PlumpyField Strengthens
Access for at-risk
populations to new nutrition solutions increases with the PlumpyField network
strengthening and expanding.
New factories in Niger and Madagascar, others about to start
production in Tanzania and India, additional equipment in Ethiopia or DRC,
etc.: thanks to the PlumpyField network, the process of developing local
capacity in nutrition supplement production is dynamic and new steps towards
tackling malnutrition are made constantly.
In Niger, a member since 2005, a new factory was opened in May, which has succeeded in doubling the national production capacity. The expansion of current factory in Ethiopia will double the production capacity and in the near future enable the production of Supplementary Plumpy® for treatment of moderate malnutrition. Augmentation of the factory in the DRC was completed to include installation of sachet packaging line for production of Plumpy’nut® in order to fulfill the national protocol agreement of a reduction of the prevalence of malnutrition. Successful inspections by major purchasers (UNICEF and MSF) were completed in Ethiopia, Niger, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
New partners
In 2009 there were four new partners welcomed into the PlumpyField network of which Madagascar and the USA are already in productions and India and Tanzania are to start early next fall. In 2010, there is already one new member of the network. Project Peanut Butter in Sierra Leone was already a small-scale RUTF manufacturer operating in Sierra Leone and by joining the network they will benefit from Nutriset’s support in order to move into a more industrial phase and increase production.
Further expansion and strengthening of the PlumpyField network are expected in the coming months. Discussions with potential partners in Uganda and Haiti are ongoing; both countries are already manufacturing RUTF but would like to join the network to benefit from the strong technical support it can provide through sharing of know-how, sustainable development and compliance with international standards. Overall, in 2010, combined production from PlumpyField members should exceed 8,000 MT, more than double last year's volume.
