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As a follow up to the recent meeting of the CGF’s Latin America Board, which was attended by the First Lady of Colombia , the CGF welcomed the First Lady Maria Juliana Ruíz Sandoval and Carolina Salgado, the High Counsellor for Youth and Adolescents, in Paris on 29th June to discuss how the industry can deliver concreate actions on health and positively impact the people of Latin America.
During the meeting, the CGF’s Healthier Lives Director Sharon Bligh and the First Lady, who were also joined by the CGF Managing Director Wai-Chan Chan and Saul Morris, Director of Programme Services at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, agreed to work together on an ambition to cement nutrition as a key development topic in the region to ensure better nutrition across Latin America. Discussions also emphasised the important work of the Grand Alliance for Nutrition in Colombia. The Alliance works with communities and in companies to help drive impact on health with a common purpose. It aims to deliver results by eradicating malnutrition, improving food security and putting nutrition at the centre of the national cause. The attendees agreed to look at how similar models could work in other countries in Latin America.
Discussions also covered the work of the Collaboration for Healthier Lives Coalition, where CGF members are collaborating to change in-store environments and supporting childhood nutrition, and the Workforce Nutrition Alliance, as workforce nutrition also continues to be a key area of focus. The First Lady emphasised that business has a clear role to play in the prevention of diet-related health issues and was pleased to see how CGF members were now leading the way. However, more was still needed. It was also important to see how we can drive sustainable development via nutrition, she said.
The First Lady then offered her own support to help act as a convening power in Colombia and across the region, using her own First Ladies Network to support the drive.
Since the meeting, actions have continued in the region with the hosting of a webinar on workforce nutrition, with a focus on Latin America, and the Workforce Nutrition Alliance. The webinar showcased how to build a workforce nutrition strategy, highlighted concrete examples from industry frontrunners, and introduced tools and resources that are available through the Workforce Nutrition Alliance.
The First Lady participated in the online session, where she highlighted the importance of working together with the different actors and presented the achievements of the Great Alliance for Nutrition in Colombia, as a sign of multisectoral power in the country. She then invited the private sector to continue promoting environmental and social awareness because “corporate social responsibility today has to be aware of the employee and the environment”.
You can also read the summary of the First Lady’s participation on the Government of Colombia’s website.
For more information, contact: Eva Kritharelli, Manager, Health & Wellness, The Consumer Goods Forum, [email protected]; or Juanita Mesa, Health & Wellness Manager, LatAm, The Consumer Goods Forum, [email protected].
