Tiger Brands recently launched a multi-million-rand child nutrition programme, Isondlo, to help address the challenge of malnutrition amongst children aged five and under across South Africa. Recent reports indicate that the number of hunger-related deaths within this age group is on the rise with KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape worst affected. Poverty and lack of household food security are cited as the biggest contributing factors to the challenge.
“As Tiger Brands, we see it as a moral obligation to help improve food security within communities and we will certainly not be an onlooker in the battle against child hunger in South Africa. Our children will determine what a future South Africa will look like, and we must play our part in contributing to a better future for them: a future in which our children are resilient and in which they are able to live to their fullest potential because we collectively acted when they were young,” says Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, chairman, Tiger Brands.
Isondlo, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund as an enabling partner, will support 10 000 children aged five and under and their families across South Africa, with a monthly food hamper. The food hamper will support a family of four. This is in addition to the 35 000 food hampers Tiger Brands distributes monthly as part of its existing food nutrition programmes.
The Isondlo food package contains items carefully selected to satisfy the critical nutritional needs of children aged five and under. Identified as food insecure, the children and their families will receive a monthly food hamper for a period of nine months. In addition to the monthly food hamper, each family receives a once-off vegetable garden starter kit to encourage sustainable nutrition. This aligns with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund’s sustainable livelihoods programme to address the poverty issues of the communities where children are located. “In 2021, Tiger Brands celebrated its centenary, and what better way to mark this milestone than by giving back to our community and strengthening our commitment to deliver on our purpose to nourish and nurture lives every day through Isondlo,” says Noel Doyle, CEO, Tiger Brands.
To reach those most in need, Isondlo will harness the resources, infrastructure and skills of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and their 19 grassroots implementing non-profit organisations in 17 districts across South Africa.
“The Fund has partnered with Tiger Brands as part of our Child Survival Development and Thriving Programme aimed at improving the mortality rate and the development of children under five through various interventions.
Isondlo will allow us to ensure that children in this age group get the proper nutrition that they need in order to grow and develop optimally” says Dr Stanley Maphosa, interim CEO, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
Number of Beneficiaries per Province
For more information on our work, visit https://www.tigerbrands.com/sustainability/social
Source: Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2022(25th edition)
