Behaviour Change Solutions to Non-communicable Disease Challenges: Empowering Low-income Colombians to Commercialize and Consume Healthy Products via Social Enterprise Micro Franchising

Behaviour change solutions to non-communicable disease challenges: empowering low-income Colombians to commercialize and consume healthy products via social enterprise micro franchising People in poorer areas of Medellin, Colombia eat unhealthy as their diet is dominated by products they can afford: excessive fried foods (often in overused oil), processed products with high additive/sugar/salt content, and low vegetable intake. The result is an unhealthy lifestyle, higher cholesterol levels, increased blood pressure and obesity. These effects are estimated to cause 40% of Colombian deaths. Through a social entrepreneurship approach, low income women, youth and underemployed are motivated to form micro franchises that sell profitable, extremely accessible healthy products at the community level. This bold idea is not only generating sustainable income activities to participants, it is simultaneously combatting inequity and motivates communities to accept and promote healthy food through sense of ownership and economic opportunity.