Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Nutriset Group has mobilized all its resources to ensure the safety of its employees while strengthening its production capabilities and the agility of its operations. The goal is to provide its partners mobilized on the ground with continued support.
Questions to Adeline Lescanne-Gautier, Managing Director of the Nutriset Group
How did the Nutriset Group cope with the Covid-19 pandemic?
Since the beginning of this health crisis, the Group has put in place all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of its staff while ensuring the continuity of its activities and the agility of its operations, in support of the programmes of our partners who deliver care to the most vulnerable populations affected by malnutrition.
" The continuity of our activities was imperative because it was quickly clear that this unprecedented health crisis would massively increase the risk of malnutrition in the countries where our humanitarian partners operate. "
Adeline Lescanne-Gautier - Managing Director Nutriset Group
So we had to secure our capacity to respond to all requests. Mid-March, a dedicated team was set up within the Group to pilot a business continuity plan, taking into account the French government's guidelines and the evolution of the epidemiological situation.
Nearly half of the employees at our Malaunay site (Normandy, France) switched to telework and continued their activity. We decided to close the production unit for fifteen days from March 20th to April 5th, in order to prepare necessary adjustments and produce safely. As soon as it reopened, it was a matter of being very responsive to the urgent orders from international organizations. Everyone is mobilized and I thank all the employees for their commitment.
What is the response capacity of the Nutriset Group today?
The Group is fully mobilized. Our French site in Malaunay, with all its partners and suppliers, has secured upstream and downstream supply chain, from procurement to international shipping logistics.
Production capacity has been adjusted to meet high levels of demand. Our pre-positioned stocks in strategic geographic areas have been supplied. All local producers of the PlumpyField network are also very mobilized within the constraints of their respective countries.
What are your thoughts about this unprecedented crisis?
First, that it is the result of an unprecedented situation on our planet, that of globalization where the unprecedented growth of trade can yield economic, cultural and societal benefits, but can also worsen situations by reinforcing inequalities and triggering health crises like the one we are currently experiencing.
Hence my deep conviction, which drives our Group: to get by, the world needs a real revision of the way it operates and its priorities.
The fight we have been fighting for more than thirty years goes in this direction. For us, the number one cause of inequality on our planet today is the issue of malnutrition. 820 million people are chronically undernourished. 113 million acute food insecurity. 155 million children are stunted and 52 million are emaciated. 19 million children under the age of five are at risk of severe acute malnutrition, which causes about 400,000 deaths each year. We must recall these figures at a time of crisis.
And this crisis, as we know, will worsen this already tragic situation.
The World Food Programme has warned that, with the Covid-19 crisis, the number of people facing a food and nutrition crisis could double to 265 million, an increase of 130 million from 2019.
Nutrition is key for our health, at all ages and in all situations. So there is a great urgency. And the entire Nutriset Group is mobilized to deal with it.
