Call for EOIs: UNICEF First Foods Africa Initiative

UNICEF First Foods Africa intends to:

• Incentivize local production of nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable first foods in Africa, by Africa and for Africa’s young children.
• Shape policy environments to protect, promote and support access to nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable first foods by the most vulnerable children in Africa.
• Stimulate adequate consumption of nutritious first foods through large-scale social marketing and social and behaviour change programmes.

UNICEF FFA will work closely with national governments in selected countries to support the creation of policy environments that protect and promote access to nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable first foods. Governments will play a pivotal role in shaping regulatory frameworks, providing incentives for local food production, and facilitating partnerships to address child food poverty and malnutrition.

Aims

• The initiative aims to address the pressing need for nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable foods tailored for young children (6-59 months) in Africa.
• UNICEF FFA aims to respond to child food poverty in early childhood. It builds on UNICEF’s expertise and experience with local and regional production of ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF). FFA is guided by the UNICEF Nutrition Strategy 2020–2030 and UNICEF’s vision on Food Systems for Children. FFA is a central component of the UNICEF Africa Strategy, contributing to Africa’s development agenda.
• By aligning with national development strategies and policies, FFA aims to ensure a cohesive and sustainable approach to improving children’s nutrition.
• First Foods Africa aims to increase access and consumption of nutrient dense foods that young children – especially vulnerable ones – are missing in their diets.
• First Foods Africa aims to support selected food companies to access catalytic investments and strengthen technical capacities to produce nutritious, safe, affordable first foods, targeting underconsumed food groups in alignment with the latest WHO Guideline, and in compliance with the highest national or regional quality standards, best practices, and latest evidence.
• It aims to change production priorities, policy frameworks, and consumption practices so that every child receives the nutritious diets they need. First Foods Africa will contribute to sustainably reducing the prevalence of child food poverty and malnutrition in Africa, for Africa and by Africa.

Support

• UNICEF First Foods Africa will support selected food companies to:
  • Access tailored capital and high-quality business advisory services to enhance the production and distribution of nutritious, safe, affordable, and sustainable first foods that meet the specific needs of young children.
  • Strengthen first foods quality systems and ingredient supply chain management through tailored technical assistance, including: training, mentorship, advisory services, and knowledge sharing.
  • Support to reformulate first foods products and creating innovative, low cost, sustainable options that meet demand and comply with the highest safety and nutritional quality standards for young children.

Eligibility Criteria

• UNICEF First Foods Africa initiative is open to companies that align with UNICEF and National Governments targets to reduce child food poverty and malnutrition. UNICEF does not engage with industries that violate the Code of Marketing for Breastmilk Substitutes or those whose core business is the production and distribution of ultra-processed foods and beverages (UPF). UNICEF has several exclusionary criteria for private sector partnerships, many of which are standard across the UN system, preventing engagement with certain companies (details available upon request).
• UNICEF First Foods Africa will engage with companies that are majority-owned by African people, based in one or more of the 14 selected countries, and actively engaged or with strong interest in developing and marketing healthy nutritious food products that cater to the nutritional needs of young children.
• UNICEF First Foods Africa will primarily engage with companies that prioritize sourcing raw materials locally, thereby strengthening local economies while promoting sustainable and climate-friendly agricultural, farming, and fishing practices. Additionally, UNICEF First Foods Africa will prioritize companies that streamline the nutrition value chain from production to consumption and create meaningful employment opportunities for women and youth.
• Ideal candidates have a solid market presence, and offer products made of food items belonging to those food groups that are mostly missing in children’s diets and are essential for optimal growth and development: animal source foods – including meat, fish, or eggs; fruits and vegetables; and pulses, nuts, and seeds. Eligible companies must also align with national and regional priorities for child nutrition and food security. This includes compliance with local policies and regulations, and active engagement in government-led initiatives that promote sustainable agriculture, food safety, and child nutrition or with a strong interest in the initiative.

For more information, visit UNICEF.