Britannia Nutrition Foundation : Charter

The Britannia Nutrition Foundation
What it is:

An independent, Autonomous, non-profit body that leverages the strengths of Britannia’s wide stakeholder network to address Child Malnutrition through scientific knowledge building and dissemination, driving awareness and education, and creating a platform for action.

Why BNF?

Commitment to Health & Well-Being of most vulnerable population of India i.e. children (33% population below 14 years) and being aware that child-under nutrition is not an isolated phenomenon, but linked to maternal under-nutrition, in vitro under-nutrition, and to under-nutrition of adolescent girl
To demonstrate the strength & durability of Britannia’s commitment to health and enable the brand to play a significant civic role in social community through concrete action
BNF will enable BIL to reach the vulnerable sections of society with products/solutions of public health relevance

Mission

The foundation provides information, guidance and support and a platform for action to help secure every child’s right to growth and development through driving thought and action about "Right 2 nutrition"

Our Promise

BNF proactively works towards securing every child’s right to growth and development through catalyzing thought and innovative action about nutrition

Proactively

BNF is all about the future. We therefore prefer to be proactive rather than reactive, to look forward rather than look back. We believe in moving towards our goals in a sustained, planned manner, and in taking one step at a time in order to reach our objectives.

Every child

BNF’s approach is inclusive and unbiased. Our goals encompass children from rural as well as urban environments, disparate socio-economic backgrounds, and vast geographical spread. The work we do will impact the lives of all Indian children, regardless of caste, creed, and gender .

Growth and development

BNF makes a distinction between growth and development while fully recognizing that both happen simultaneously

We view growth as physical wellbeing, a subset of a child’s overall development. Growth is important – from growth, a child derives the energy and stamina required to stay busy, curious, and productive.

Development, as we see it, also involves the achievement of age-appropriate mental, emotional, and social milestones. It is a holistic measure of health and wellbeing.

BNF recognizes that growth and development are inseparable. In the absence of all-round development, growth is meaningless; in the absence of healthy growth, a child may lack the ability to discover and achieve her true potential.

Catalyzing

BNF sees itself as a catalyst, precipitating change and initiating action while retaining its own integrity. We see ourselves as the fulcrum for all stakeholders in the arena of child nutrition in India, the single platform on which they can come together to share ideas, pool resources, and work cohesively towards mutually defined goals.

Thought and action

BNF places equal emphasis on thought and action. Action without thought can be destructive; thought that is not followed by action fails to make any impact. We value ideas, and back up coherent thinking with concentrated implementation efforts and clarity of purpose.

Our Goals

To play the catalyst role in driving thought and action about children’s nutrition, within the context of inter-generational cycle of malnutrition
To grow into a credible authority on child nutrition matters in India
To attract leading national and international experts to form partnerships to support child nutrition programs in India
To support research in areas of child nutrition
To create social awareness and educate at risk populations about child nutrition

Our Identity

BNF sees itself as a credible forum for all stakeholders working in the arena of child nutrition and allied fields

For not-for-profit organizations within India and outside of India to advance the field of child nutrition in India
For bringing together expertise in nutrition for the growth and development of children in India
For providing accessibility to all consumers and stakeholder groups, including the international fraternity thus creating a platform for action
For providing a forum for organizations and experts in diverse fields who share the same conviction, to find business models and solutions for the multi dimensional nutrition challenge
For disseminating nutrition knowledge and best practices to various stakeholders
For driving nutrition awareness among the general public, especially at-risk population like children, adolescent girls & women

Core Activities

In order to accomplish its goals, BNF engages with stakeholders at every level of the child nutrition spectrum, from the general public, to scientific experts, to social scientists, to doctors, to government and development agencies and NGOs. Our activities span three core areas:

Scientific knowledge building & Dissemination
We will focus our efforts on developing partnerships designed to support long-term research in child nutrition and health, piloting research studies that focus on specific nutritional interventions for children in the context of the inter-generational cycle of malnutrition
We will create an annual symposium on child nutrition and health in developing countries featuring national and international experts.
We will create awards and rewards programs for promising students for advanced studies and research in the field of child nutrition and health
Education and awareness building BNF believes that education is a crucial first step to improved child nutrition in India. We will do everything in our power to spread nutritional awareness, including developing and disseminating educational content on specific topics in child nutrition and health to the grass roots, and utilizing online and offline media to publicize events, circulate information, and advance knowledge about nutrition. We will also work closely with NGOs and government agencies in initiatives targeting underprivileged rural & urban children, and associate with schools to bring nutrition awareness programs, teacher training programs and seminars directly to nutritional influencers and decision-makers.
Creating a Platform for Action BNF will create a forum wherein experts from multiple disciplines like Nutrition, Medicine, Social Science, Industry, Development sector etc will come together in a dialog with government and policy makers. BNF will play the role of catalyzing both thought and action by raising issues of importance with a relevant set of stakeholders and creating collaborative action plans.

Structure and Functioning

BNF is organized as an independent entity and funded by BIL and grants/donations. The board members are recognized experts in their field. They work in the areas ranging from nutrition policy / decisions making, nutrition research, child health and social sciences. BNF board is supported by scientific advisors and partner organizations and other experts for specific programs or throughout as seen appropriate. The composition of BNF board is available under the section "BNF Board"

The Britannia Nutrition Foundation What it is: