Nov. 28, 2023 (RHODE ISLAND) — This Giving Tuesday, Edesia announced the Make Malnutrition History matching campaign to raise critical funds to help save 10 million children every year from acute malnutrition. The match challenge, part of a larger gift from the Bezos family, means every gift to Edesia, up to $10 million, will be doubled through December 2025.
“The need is urgent: every 11 seconds a child dies from malnutrition. Plumpy’Nut, a nutrient-packed food, can cure malnutrition in children in as little as six weeks — but the world hasn’t been able to produce enough of it to meet demand and millions of children are suffering as a result,” says Navyn Salem, Edesia founder and CEO. “With this matching gift, we have an opportunity to turn the tide, doubling both our Plumpy’Nut production and the number of lives we save every year. We hope people will hear the call and join us in making the most of this rare opportunity. Together, we can make malnutrition an issue covered in the history books, not the nightly news.”
Mike Bezos adds, “Childhood malnutrition is a big problem. But it is also a solvable problem if we join forces. We hope this challenge gift unlocks more support for ending childhood malnutrition. Each gift to Edesia, no matter the size, results in more life-saving product reaching more malnourished children. The time to join is now.”
With the funds raised through the match, Edesia will:
1. Make more nutrition-packed food to save lives. Edesia will double its capacity and lower prices by expanding its facility in Rhode Island to include more storage capacity, rail access, and production lines. Edesia will also add a minimum of 50 new jobs.
2. Champion a focus on preventing malnutrition. Reaching children earlier, before they become severely malnourished, is critical. We cannot wait until children are weeks away from dying. Edesia will advocate for critical policy and protocol changes, invest in innovative new products, support research around prevention, and add production lines.
3. Urge governments to take the issue of malnutrition seriously. When the war in Ukraine cut off major food supply chains, it was a major wake-up call for many governments around the world. Climate change, conflict, and poverty impact food security every day. Edesia will continue to push global leaders to invest in sustainable and long-term approaches to meeting this challenge.
To learn more about the Make Malnutrition History matching campaign, please visit edesianutrition.org/make-malnutrition-history.
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About Edesia
Edesia is a nonprofit social enterprise with one goal: to end malnutrition. Our team of 150 people from 25 countries around the globe works night and day to produce life-saving foods for malnourished children in partnership with humanitarian agencies working in emergency and conflict zones. To learn more, visit edesianutrition.org.