Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has pledged to invest $100 million over 5 years to tackle malnutrition in Nigeria’s worst affected regions.
The Managing Director and CEO of the Dangote Foundation, Zouera Youssoufou, disclosed this at the just concluded Global Nutrition Summit held in Milan, Italy.
The event, which was attended by leading global corporations, civil society organizations, government officials, foundations, and international agencies, aims to accelerate the global response to malnutrition, an underlying cause of nearly half of all global child deaths.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 20: Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive of Dangote Industries Limited answers a question as Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo and Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp take part in the Bloomberg Global Business Forum on September 20, 2017 in New York City. Heads of state and international business leaders met to discuss global issues and challenges to economic growth. The inaugural year of the forum was held concurrently with the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
“Nigeria’s high malnutrition rate is undermining progress towards improving child health and survival and putting the brakes on economic development. By investing in nutrition, we aim to directly improve the lives of Nigerian families and to empower our citizens to reach their full potential,” Youssoufou said in a press release.
The Dangote Foundation, which Aliko Dangote founded in 1993, makes social investments in health, education, economic empowerment and disaster relief. By making this $100 million commitment, the Aliko Dangote Foundation plans to reduce the prevalence of under nutrition by 60% in the most needy areas of Nigeria, specifically the North-East and North-West.
Aliko Dangote is currently worth $13.7 billion.