NCCK ADVOCATES FOR HEALTHY MEALS IN SCHOOLS TO REMEDY NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES.
BY VICTORIA MOVINE
The forum that ended on Wednesday 22nd, was able to bring together Chairpersons of County Coordinating Committees, NCCK representatives on County Education Boards, Church Education Secretaries, Secondary School Principals, NCD survivors and other stakeholders in the education sector. The participants were drawn from Kakamega, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu, Nakuru, Nyeri, Meru, Kiambu, Kitui, Mombasa and Nairobi counties.
According to observations noted by the NCCK leaders concerning the rising trend of adolescents contracting Non Communicable Diseases, the probability of a young person dying early from an NCD stands at just over 18%.
Considering the statistics from the Kenya Adolescent Health Survey of 2020 indicated that 1.4% were diagnosed with high blood pressure, 0.9% with asthma, 0.6% with cancer, 0.4% with diabetes, and 26.8% with sickle cell. This raised an alarm that NCDs are now a major health concern for all school learners.
It was also noted that one of the reasons causing young learners to contract the NCDs, is unhealthy meals in school. This was termed as a result of high cost of foodstuffs, weak implementation of existing laws and guidelines on nutrition, and ignorance-driven attitude that focuses on filling the stomach rather than nutritional value. Additionally, cultural practices was also noted to be one of the reasons for unhealthy meals in schools.
To curb the situation of unhealthy meals in schools, the council came up with strategies that could help remedy the situation. Firstly, the government was urged to make a deliberate decision to focus on the nutritional value of the meals served to learners in schools. The government should also appoint nutritionists at the sub-county level with mandates to work with schools to ensure that they serve food that is healthy to learners and relevant to social-cultural settings.
Secondly, the County Education Boards to include monitoring of the health status of learners as a standing agenda. This will enable them to track the trends in the prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases and other health conditions and to proactively take remedial actions.
Thirdly, School Boards of Management to adopt the procurement of food and composition of meals served in their schools as key focus areas. This will enable the Board to adequately support the Principal in ensuring foods procured and meals served are of the right quality and composition.
Fourthly, parents and communities to inculcate healthy eating habits in children from the time they are weaned. They should also educate their children on the nature and risk factors surrounding Non-Communicable Diseases.
The council furthermore committed to use their platforms, especially the pulpit, to promote healthy eating and to create widespread knowledge on Non-Communicable Diseases, as they work to promote the development and implementation of policies aimed at streamlining the procurement of food in all schools. Additionally, the council urged everyone to promote healthy eating as one of the strategies for risk factor reduction.
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