Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme helps teachers in Nigeria

The Nestlé Healthy Kids Global Programme extends to Nigeria to help teachers educate schoolchildren about nutrition.

The worldwide initiative – launched in the country last month – aims to improve the nutrition, health and wellness of children aged 6-12 years old by promoting nutrition education, a balanced diet, greater physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.

As part of the official launch of the Programme, Nestlé Nigeria led a workshop for teachers to illustrate how they can play a central role in raising awareness to schoolchildren.

The workshop has now equipped teachers with useful insights and learning tools to promote nutrition, health and wellness to their students, which will start at the beginning of the school term this October.

Iquo Ukoh, Consumer Maximisation Manager for Nestlé Nigeria, said: “The project aims at looking at the future of a child where they will learn and use that information to improve the health status of his/her family in adulthood.”

She also addressed the teachers to stress that the Nestlé Healthy Kids Programme is more than a short-term educational tool and continued: “Go beyond teaching them to pass their exams. Teach them to use the knowledge acquired to make an impact on their own lives and that of their communities.”

Supported by the Centre for Health, Population and Nutrition (CHEPON) in Nigeria, the initiative was also backed by the Nigerian Lagos State Government.

Khadijat Gbolahan-Daodu, Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Government Universal Education Board, believes that the Programme will provide an effective platform to improve diets and nutrition-related behaviour.

Speaking at the launch, Mrs Gbolahan-Daodu said: “We are confident that the Nestlé Healthy Kids programme will be a catalyst for change to support healthy eating and active lifestyles.



“Indeed, school health programmes such as the Nestlé Healthy Kids initiative can help children and adolescents attain full educational potential and good health by providing them with the skills, social support and environmental reinforcement they need in order to adopt long-term healthy eating behaviours.”

The launch was also attended by Prince Folusho Onagoruwa, Sports and Exercise Science lecturer at the Tai Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-Ode, in the Nigerian state of Ogun.

He explained to teachers how regular physical exercise can help the process of digestion, blood flow, emission of waste products, the development of brain power, coordination of various parts of the body, and encouraging fair play in sport.

Another 22 workshops in selected schools will take place in the coming months to further extend the Programme in Nigeria.

The Healthy Kids Global Programme – which was launched in April 2009 – will be extended to all countries where Nestlé has direct operations. By the end of 2011, it is expected to reach to a total of 80 programmes worldwide.

Well-established programmes already include Nestlé Brazil’s ‘Nutrir’, Nestlé Russia’s ‘Good Nutrition’ and Nestlé France’s ‘EPODE’ (Ensemble, Prévenons l’Obésité Des Enfants – Together Let’s Prevent Childhood Obesity).