Nestlé Kenya has rolled out its nutrition education programme in Kiambu County as the it intensifies efforts to help Kenya address nutrition issues among school going children. Nestlé announced the addition of 100 primary schools drawn from areas already benefitting from its rural development initiative commonly known as Nescafé Plan.
Children aged 6 to 12 years whose parents are members of New Gatukuyu and Gitwe Farmers’ Cooperative Society now stand to benefit from the global ‘Healthy Kids Programme’. “Our Nescafé Plan project empowers the parents (farmers) by teaching them good agricultural practices that helps increase their coffee yields hence boosting their livelihoods while Healthy Kids programme will promote the well-being of the children via nutrition education and encouraging physical activity at school,” said Christine Masta, the Public Affairs Manager at Nestlé Equatorial African Region.
Nestlé Kenya will spend about Ksh2million in implementing the programme in the selected primary schools. The money will go into providing essential nutrition education material including interactive posters and teaching manuals, helping teachers involve the children in interactive lessons about healthy eating, physical exercise, hygiene and sanitation.
“The Programme is aligned to the Kenya school curriculum and is a supplement for Social Science classes. We have already trained over 150 teachers from Kiambu County, who will in turn train their colleagues and help reach the pupils in the selected schools,” said Christine Masta.
Nestlé launched the Healthy Kids Programme globally in 2009 with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of good nutrition and an active lifestyle among school-age children. At the end of 2014, the Healthy Kids Programme had reached 7.6 million children in 73 countries worldwide.
“While Nestlé’s expertise in nutrition is at the heart of the Healthy Kids Programme, in Kenya as well as in other countries, the programme has capitalised on multi-partnership approaches and is designed in collaboration with education authorities,” said Christine Masta.
