Valliappa Foundation launches 'Anadhanam' to solve global hunger

Bengaluru: Non-profit Valliappa Foundation on Tuesday launched a digital platform called Anadhanam that aims to address malnutrition and hunger through technologies that would reduce global food waste and enhance redistribution efforts.

The platform was launched on the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction, recognising the fundamental role that sustainable food production plays in promoting food security and nutrition.

There are nearly 795 million people hungry in the world today. India accounts for the largest share, with 200 million people. In the World Hunger Index, India ranks 102 among 117 countries. Nearly 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, according to the United Nations. This wastage is a whopping one-third of the total amount of food produced. The UN notes that this amount of food could feed more than four times the number of people who go hungry every year.

Chocko Valliappa, the managing trustee of Valliappa Foundation and the Sona Valliappa Group, launched 'Anadhanam' that would connect NGOs and government agencies globally with commercial and retail food waste sources - the stakeholders in the surplus food recycling movement.

"Anadhanam has a central 'hunger hotspots' and Below Poverty Line (BPL) map, and provides a central database of national volunteers through web and mobile applications to NGOs," he said in a statement.

The platform has been developed by the Valliappa foundation with an aim to provide a robust technology backbone that would amplify the efforts of both the private NGOs and institutions, as well as government agencies.

'Anadhanam' will not only identify hunger hotspots and BPL zones but will also help government agencies quantify efforts geographically. The platform will boost NGO efforts by supporting them and connecting them effectively to each other and to other agencies.

In India alone, there are more than 25 national NGOs and numerous other regional agencies working in the food recovery and redistribution area, the foundation said. If their connection to each other would be well established, the collective efforts would be much more effective and seamless across all areas, they added. "This platform is also capable of effectively creating cause-driven campaigns and events to spread awareness and raise funding," Valliappa said.