IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed a multi-year partnership with global NGO Action Against Hunger aimed at combatting food insecurity.
Action Against Hunger, a global humanitarian organisation founded in 1979, works to prevent, detect, and treat hunger. Its screen, treat, and sustain programme is active across East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Europe.
According to IHG, it will help support and fund Action Against Hunger’s nutrition programmes, with a specific focus on screening initiatives designed to spot early signs of malnutrition in children and provide potentially lifesaving treatment through local community outreach programmes.
The hotel company will also launch an awareness and donation campaign whereby its guests can donate IHG One Rewards points to the cause.
Through the campaign, every 10,000 points donated is enough to screen approximately 124 children for malnutrition.
On average, 7,500 points can support a malnourished child with nutritious food for six weeks, it was shared.
According to a recent UN report on food security, last year, 28.9 per cent of the global population—2.33 billion people—were moderately or severely food insecure. The report also outlined that progress on fighting global hunger has been set back 15 years.
Speaking on the Action Against Hunger partnership, Elie Maalouf, CEO, IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “Food sits at the heart of our hotels and hospitality, nourishing people and communities, and yet sadly we know it remains in desperately short supply for millions of people, despite enough being produced to feed everyone on the planet.”
Adding: “This is a problem the world can solve if societies, organisations and businesses work together.”
Ashwini Kakkar, Chair, Action Against Hunger International Network, said that for the first time in human history, the world has the ability to end chronic hunger for everyone, for good.
“Realising that vision will take bold action and we are grateful for IHG’s will, wisdom and leadership in advancing this vital cause. Hunger makes it harder for hundreds of millions of people around the world to learn, work, dream and realise their full potential. IHG’s generous support will help advance our work to create a world where every life is well nourished,” added Kakkar.