Millennium Development Goals
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The Millennium Development Goals are
eight aspirational human development goals
that all United Nations member states have
agreed to try to achieve by 2015. The goals
(listed below) mark a major commitment
to improve women's and children's health
and unite 192 countries in the fight against
poverty, hunger and disease. In spirit
and in practice, Heineken contributes
to these goals.
The Millennium Development Goals
1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality rate
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development.
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Our local sourcing and sustainable supply chain
initiatives in Africa play a key role in empowering
communities and improving the income of
thousands of local farmers in Africa. Local sourcing
creates a local supply chain, generates jobs and
increases wages, which in turn alleviates poverty
and hunger. We also support farmers in order to
enhance productivity. In 2010, Heineken continued
to expand its local sourcing projects in sub-Saharan
Africa, including a sorghum project in Nigeria and
a rice project in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
maize in Rwanda, sorghum in Burundi and barley in
South Africa. We now have projects covering eight
countries and involving ten thousands of farmers.
Our work on a local sorghum supply chain in Sierra
Leone (see case study on page 48) was recognised
by the United Nations with the 2010 World Business
and Development Award at the Millennium
Development Goals Summit hosted by the UN
in September 2010. See also our section in this
report on Heineken Cares.
Achieve universal primary education
As a beer company, it is more difficult for Heineken
to become directly involved in this goal. However,
through our volunteering programmes and
through our partner networks (e.g. En Classe),
employees are encouraged to support primary
education in the communities where we operate.
Promote gender equality and
empower women
We are committed to equal rights regardless of
gender, race, physical ability, religion or ethnicity.
During 2010, we have codified and formalised our
approach in a new Employees' Human Rights
Policy that will be introduced in 2011. You can
read more about this on page 29.
Reduce child mortality rate/Improve
maternal health
In the area of healthcare, on which three of the
development goals focus, Heineken's actions
are helping to achieve a greater level of provision
of healthcare to those in poverty. The Heineken
Africa Foundation (HAF) uses our EUR20 million
endowment to fund healthcare initiatives across
the continent. In November 2010, for example,
HAF pledged support for three projects with
the Nigerian Sickle Cell Foundation. These
will provide genetic counselling to sufferers,
specialist equipment to help assess the risk
of strokes in children and a fully equipped
haemoglobin laboratory.
In relation to maternal healthcare, the fifth
development goal, a HAF grant, in conjunction with
Nigerian Breweries, has been used to construct
a new facility to treat women with vesicovaginal
fistula. The condition, caused by damage to
internal tissue during childbirth or abortion,
can lead to women being abandoned by their
husbands and ostracised by their communities.
The building, in Northern Nigeria, was officially
opened in July 2010.
Heineken N.V. Sustainability Report 2010
