Nestle has launched a plan to engage parents in nutrition education and encourage them to help their kids to be physically active.
The aim is to help Kenya address rising nutrition issues such as under nutrition and obesity in the country.
The programme dubbed Parents and Guardians Nutrition Training targets parents, guardians and caregivers of over 420,000 children in different counties, among them, Nairobi, Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu, Kakamega, Embu and Kirinyaga.
Speaking during the launch at St Benedict Primary School Nairobi, Ciru Miringu, Head of Nestle East Africa, said they have decided to involve the parents as the critical stakeholders in the nutrition education agenda and the decision makers who often choose what is available for the children to eat or drink. The training will compliment the current teachers and kids training which has been successful in mainstreaming nutrition education in primary schools in the country.
Nestle is seeking to roll out the programme by partnering with 500 schools through such forums like Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meetings to carry out the nutrition education training and counseling.
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In order to fight the problem, the parents will be trained on topics like nutritive value of food found in their localities, the nutrition requirements for kids’ growth and development and how to use free space in their homesteads for kitchen gardens.
This programme is aiming to spend Ksh10 million this year to support children and families through nutrition education and behaviours change programmes.
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