- As part of the commemoration of Children's Day, the president of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, Ovidio Claros Polanco, and the First Lady of the District, Carolina Deik, sealed the initiative called Mission Nutrition Bogota.

- Thanks to this alliance, actions will be developed to help reduce child malnutrition in Bogota, starting with the following 4 localities: Kennedy, Suba, Bosa and Fontibón, which concentrate 15 of the 19 neighborhoods with malnutrition levels above 15%.

- In addition to adding as pioneer donors of surplus food to giants such as Grupo Éxito, Alquería and Corabastos, a call was made to other potential donors, who will have a donation certificate (issued by Abaco, Red Cross or Banco de Alimentos de Bogotá, as appropriate), and will bear the CCB seal.

- A network of foundations and the logistical support of Rappi and the Red Cross will be available. The latter will also serve as a collection channel for cash donations that will make it possible to deliver markets to the prioritized populations through the Bogota Food Bank.

- The pilot plan will begin in May in the town of Kennedy, where donations of a basket of mainly non-perishable products will be promoted

- The allied entities invite companies and citizens to join this initiative by sending an e-mail to gestionsocial@alcadiabogota.gov.co Bogota, April 2024. In view of the food insecurity situation in some localities of the capital, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB) and the First Lady of the District today launched 'Mission Nutrition Bogota', an initiative that seeks to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of early childhood. This initiative arises as part of the commitment between the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota and the First Lady to generate spaces to foster partnerships for social development, seeking to promote access to decent, healthy and consistent food to the most vulnerable populations.

This is expected to complement the efforts and strategies currently in operation, to reach a greater number of children, reduce the prevalence of cases of chronic and acute malnutrition, as well as diseases related to malnutrition.

The initiative will be supported by organizations such as Grupo Éxito, Alquería, Corabastos, Rappi, Abaco, Banco de Alimentos de Bogotá and the Red Cross Bogotá and Cundinamarca Sections. Fundación Gastronomía Social and Fundación Social por Bogotá, among other non-profit organizations, are also participating. The CCB, the First Lady of the District and allies signed a commitment for nutrition, to provide sustainable logistics solutions for the collection and redistribution of food, reducing the carbon impact of transportation and distribution, promoting nutrition education, combating hunger and promoting responsible consumption practices in Bogota.

According to the latest report of the United Nations World Food Program, 1.5 million people in Bogota are food insecure. Colombians in 2023 entered the list of countries with acute food insecurity, according to the annual report of the Global Network Against Food Crisis (Gnafc) in collaboration with FAO and other UN agencies.

It will start with a pilot plan in Kennedy, one of the four localities prioritized by level of food insecurity, according to data from the Mayor's Office of Bogota. Kennedy is the second most populated locality of the capital, with 1,230,539 inhabitants (13.7% of the city's population) and 3,859 hectares. The other three (3) prioritized localities are Suba, Bosa and Fontibón. Ovidio Claros Polanco, president of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are pleased to work together for food security in Bogota. We invite all companies in the food sector to join us, so that together we can reduce the challenges we face on the road to ensuring healthy and sustainable food, a purpose that undoubtedly unites us all”. Carolina Deik , First Lady of the District, thanked the Chamber of Commerce for hosting this initiative “which demonstrates once again that the union between the public and private sectors is the best way to combat malnutrition and, in general, to create a city, because together we are more.” Matías Laks, Rappi's General Manager in Colombia, said “From Rappi, we are proud to join initiatives such as Misión Nutrición Bogotá, led by the First Lady of Bogotá, Carolina Deik. As a company, we are aware of the importance of collaboration with governments and authorities, both district and national, in the development of more sustainable communities and cities. Therefore, we seek to generate a positive impact that goes beyond our ecosystem. Today we are making our fleet of delivery trucks available for the collection and redistribution of food as part of this project”. The Secretariat of Health emphasizes that the problem of child malnutrition is a priority to be addressed with a territorial and intersectoral approach, and the District Development Plan 2024-2028 sets as a goal to reduce the risk of acute malnutrition in children under 5 years of age, which stands at 1.6%. In addition, from the Bogota Health Care Model “MAS Bienestar”, the commitment is to work to overcome inequity gaps, based on the analysis of social determinants and also linking other actors, such as academia, the private sector and the community, and thus together fulfill the Nutrition Mission. It is expected that more donor companies will be involved in order to continue advancing in this purpose. In the four priority locations alone, there are more than 7,400 food production, processing and marketing companies that could join this important cause. Companies that contribute food will be awarded the Misión Nutrición Bogotá seal.