Fresh Dairy has today launched a school’s program aimed at educating children on nutrition with an inclination towards encouraging the consumption of 1-Yoghurt-a-Day’ as a healthy and nutritious snack at Kitante Primary school.
The schools program which started on 2nd July is scheduled to run the entire 2nd Term and will be held in 350 primary schools in Kampala, Mukono and Entebbe.
The prevalence of malnutrition in children under 5 years of age in Uganda is persistently high with over 38percent of them suffering from chronic malnutrition (stunting), 16 percent being underweight (low weight-for-age) and 6 percent are suffering from acute malnutrition (wasting, or low-weight-for-height).
Informed by this background, Fresh Dairy has launched an intervention school’s program that uses edutainment in form of an engaging show, theatre, song and dance to educate children on nutrition and the benefits of consuming 1-Yoghurt-a-Day.
Oliver Mary, Marketing Director Fresh Dairy said, ‘One of our key priority areas at Fresh Dairy is Health and Nutrition. We do this through:
- Promoting healthy nutrition through educational programs and services for both parents and healthcare professionals.
- Establishing common goals to measure improvement in dietary habits and improvement of short and long term health.
- Investing in scientific research in the field of nutrition, and working with healthcare professionals to develop innovative solutions to help improve the health of current and future generations.
Oliver Mary further said, ‘We also realize that Yoghurt being one of the products we produce is a signature of a healthy diet and lifestyle for children. To this end, Fresh Dairy will through the school’s program front Yoghurt as a healthy snack, through which we will reach out to over 280,000 learners across 350 schools on the need for a balanced diet, while communicating the importance of having dairy products as part of a healthy lifestyle and diet.’
The Head teacher Kitante Primary School, Ms. J.F. Ssemugooma thanked Fresh Dairy for choosing to launch the program in her school, and also noted that the initiative will go along-way in helping children learn more about the benefits of having a balanced diet, and more especially, the importance of including dairy products as part of their daily meals.