Massey University Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan to advise Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan is heading to London this week to assist the Gates Foundation. Photo / Kim Sargent

A Kiwi protein expert from Massey University is helping the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation find ways to feed malnourished mothers in the developing world.

Distinguished Professor Paul Moughan, Riddet Institute Fellow Laureate, has been invited to advise the Gates Foundation in London on alternative proteins for maternal nutrition this week.

Moughan is one of the principal investigators at the Riddet Institute hosted by Massey University in Palmerston North.

Although he is an authority on protein and nutrition, he says the request to attend the two-day workshop came as a surprise.

“The invitation came out of the blue. It was nice that our international standing in the field was recognised and it is great to be able to contribute.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation workshop will focus on the potential of alternative or low-cost proteins as part of the foundation’s maternal nutrition work. A small group of global experts will attend.

Moughan says the meeting is about raising mothers out of poverty and malnutrition.

“It’s to give high-level advice to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. They have a massive influence on the developing world and nutrition.

“That’s what it’s about – bringing better nutrition to the developing world.”

Maternal nutrition is the key to improving the lives of families in poor countries.

The workshop aims to reduce the undernourishment of pregnant and lactating women across South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, via affordable nutrition options.

Moughan has also been asked to chair the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s sponsored Dietary Protein for Human Health International Symposium at Utrecht, in the Netherlands, in September.