Yaw Ansah, GNA
Accra, Oct. 20, GNA – To
promote healthy eating habits and lifestyles among children, Nestlé Ghana,
Chiefs Association of Ghana, and Ghana Education Service (GES) has organised a
day’s cooking demonstration to mark the International Chefs Day (ICD).
The ICD is a day set
aside to celebrate Chiefs, use the opportunity to make a positive change in
their local communities and to make a difference in a young person’s life.
As part of the day’s
celebration, the children at the Asafo Agona East District Assembly Basic
School in the Central Region were grouped based on their career aspirations and
were guided by Chefs to prepare recipes with local, familiar and healthy foods.
They were also taught
basic healthy eating habits to guarantee them to reach their dreams, which
includes, Doctors, Journalist, Teachers, Farmers, Athletes, and Artistes.
Under the theme,
“Healthy Foods for Growing Up”, the children were given different recipes to
cook for their parents at home.
In a speech delivered
on her behalf, Mrs Philomena Tan, Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana explained
that nutrition was key to securing a better future for our children
“We can only build a
better future for our children today if we take their nutrition and wellbeing
seriously. A healthy child today is an asset to society. Through the Nestlé for
Healthier Kids Program and our fortification agenda, we are contributing to
fulfilling our 2030 global ambition to help 50 million children lead healthier
lives”, she added.
“This is one way we
bring to life our purpose of enhancing the quality of life and contributing to
a healthier future”.
Mrs Tan said the 2017
Ghana Micronutrient Survey indicated that 35 per cent of children in Ghana were
anaemic with concurrent iron deficiency, while vitamin A deficiency affects
about 25 per cent of pre-school children.
Touching on the
initiative to complement government efforts to address the situation, she said
the company through Nestlé for Healthier Kids (N4HK), a non-branded program
under Nestlé’s Creating Shared Value Concept was empowering parents, caregivers
and educators to foster healthier eating, drinking and lifestyle habits among
children 3-12 years of age.
In Ghana, Mrs Tan
stated that N4HK over 25,000 children have been reached with models such as
Healthy Hydration, Nutrition Quiz, Vegetable Gardening, and Physical Activity
since its inception in 2011.
The Managing Director
said the N4HK contribution to good health and well-being of children were
fundamental goals for parents and caregivers as well as an indicator the
Sustainable Development Goal.
Madam Felicia
Akyempon, School Health Education Coordinator at the Agona East District of the
GES said the N4HK initiative being run at five schools in the district had
helped increase enrolment in the various schools.
Comparing the
enrolment figures before and after she said the some of the classes at the
Asafo Agona East District Assembly Basic School had only five pupils but it had
now increased to more than 20.
Madam Akyempon noted
that regular absenteeism of student as a result of ill health in the school had
ceased adding that the program had made pupils active in physical education
activities.
Mr Elijah Addo, a
member of Chiefs Association of Ghana, noted that healthy dietary and lifestyle
patterns from an early age could positively impact on people’s nutrition and
health throughout their adult lives, and enhance the increase in productivity
of individuals.
Each year, he said,
the Association developed recipes with locally sourced food crops to educate children
to eat right.
“Our focus is to use
local materials to cook. It is our conviction that we have a crucial role to
play in helping and accelerate the effort of the country and the world as a
whole to ensure healthy kids, fighting poverty and hunger by 2030,” he added.
GNA