Valid Nutrition

LocationMalawi
SectorHeath and Nutrition
Type of investmentGrant
Project stagePilot

A $210,000 grant to test a new food supplement in Malawi that can be made with local ingredients and which is intended to reduce the cost of combating acute malnutrition in children.

1-2 million

Number of avoidable child deaths associated with malnutrition

Local and Ready-To-Use

Reduces costs, extends access and benefits the local manufacturers and farmers

The development problem.

Fifty million children suffer from acute malnutrition, which is associated with between 1-2 million avoidable child deaths every single year.

The innovation.

Valid’s innovation aims to combat malnutrition by manufacturing exclusively in developing countries an affordable, ready-to-use food supplement paste made out of locally grown crops. In partnership with Ajinomoto, a leading Japanese food technology company, Valid aims to reduce production costs and extend access to the life-saving food paste, whilst channelling economic benefits back to local manufacturers and farmers.

GIF’s Investment.

GIF’s $210,000 grant will support an efficacy trial of Valid’s food paste, building upon earlier successful clinical and acceptability trials.

Why we invested

Cost-effectiveness.

If successfully trialed, Valid’s innovation has the potential to be a more cost-effective way to treat malnutrition. Cost-savings could lead development partners to increase the number of children they treat, while local sourcing could also improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Potential to scale.

Valid has significant potential to scale the innovation directly and to spur further innovation and local production elsewhere. The partnership assembled between Valid and Ajinomoto is strong.

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