Micheal Campaign on healthy food in schools, while in some Poor Countries No Food at all!
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| Her first lady Micheal Obama |
The First Lady Micheal Obama, initiated a better plan for future generations healthy food in America But the majority of the children attending public schools in Africa still remain under-nutrition, if only we will have enough food for our children who often go to school empty stomach. We support the Micheal's Initiative 100% and that's why we have created our empowerment project for the poor children in Africa/AsiaMicheal Campaign
Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the
First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a
generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able
to pursue their dreams.
the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:
- Creating a healthy start for children
- Empowering parents and caregivers
- Providing healthy food in schools
- Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
- Increasing physical activity
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| Let's move now in schools |
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| Chating with a kid in school |
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| Lets give to the poor and educate them with full stomach! |
To create a pave-way for mother and child, good health for child and self reliant for the mother
To ensure every child benefits from our free education project
To assist in developing and encouraging parents with skills to join our movement to ensure a greater impact and sustainability is achieved
To promote healthy and nutrition in public schools including private
To introduce various courses and programs about safe and healthy choices of life.
To promote healthy water and food at schools
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| IIMAC children at school after a healthy Lunch. |
Lets give to the poor and educate them with full stomach!
Majority of public schools in
Nigeria don’t give children healthy food , thereby inducing malnutrition, now
posing a serious threat to education, particularly in developing countries,
including Nigeria. Malnutrition causes poor growth in children, leading to
impaired mental development, poor scholastic and intellectual development.
A report by the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), describes these effects as the most serious
long-term results of malnutrition.
Although several organizations
worldwide, governmental and private, have made efforts to combat and stop
malnutrition, not much have been achieved in this direction.
Malnutrition is caused by a
deficiency in the intake of nutrients by the cells of the body. A combination
of two factors can be responsible.
These are: (i)
insufficient intake of proteins, calories, vitamins, and minerals, (ii)
frequent infections. Sickness like measles, malaria, diarrhea (frequent
stooling) and respiratory disorder cause loss of nutrients in the body.
They
reduce appetite and food intake, contributing invariably to malnutrition.
Children suffer
malnutrition most because they are in a period of rapid growth that increases
the demand for calories and proteins.
UNICEF said that a deficiency
of vitamin A affects over 100 million small children in the world and causes
blindness. It also weakens the immune system, making them vulnerable to
infections. For children who survive malnutrition, the consequences can follow
into adulthood.
"The depletion of human
intelligence on such a scale - for reasons that are almost entirely preventable
is a profligate, even criminal, waste," UNICEF stated.
It added that, "more
than 3/4 (three quarters) of all the malnutrition-aided deaths are linked not
to severe malnutrition but to mild and moderate forms."
UNICEF submitted in the state
of the world’s children thus. "It is implicated in
more than half of all child deaths worldwide-a proportion unmatched by any
infectious disease since the Black Death. Yet, it is not an infectious disease.
It ravages extend to the millions of survivors who are left crippled,
chronically vulnerable to illness, and intellectually disabled. It imperils
women, families and, ultimately the viability of whole societies." Malnutrition is linked to a
variety of illnesses - from under-nourishment as a result of lack of one or
more nutrient - such as Vitamin and mineral deficiencies to obesity and other
diet-related diseases. Regarded as by far the most lethal form of malnutrition
is Protein - Energy Malnutrition (PEM).
The World Health Organization
called PEM "the silent emergency" whose major victims are children of
school age. It declared that PEM "is an accomplice in at least half of the
10.4 million child deaths each year."
Furthermore, malnutrition is
said to cast long shadows, affecting close to 800 million people - 20% of all
people in the developing countries. In other words, 1 out of every 8 people in
the world suffers from malnutrition.
Ordinarily, malnutrition is
the lack of food. But at the centre of it all is poverty, which affects about
80% of Nigerian population, weakening productivity and capacity of children to
learn properly in school.
In 2004 -Vanguard Education
Weekly investigation showed that, the Lagos state government attempted to
tackle malnutrition among school children, when it launched a plan to provide
free meal for pupils of less-privileged parents who do not enjoy balanced meals
in their homes.
The government said it
allocated N1 billion for its free meal programme in all its 913 primary
schools. It was part of the school
health scheme meant to enhance the nutritional intakes of pupils. The first
phase (pilot stage) was to begin with primary one, while pupils of the other
classes would follow as government expected assistance from international organizations
like, UNICEF and other donor agencies which had shown interest in the scheme.
But the programme seemed not
to have taken off the ground, as malnutrition wreaks havoc in the school
system. Most children attend classes with empty stomach, leaving their homes
with little or no food. The proposed free mid-day meal would have been the
saving grace for these undernourished children.
While the Nigerian government
has not shown concern for the nutrition of school children in this country, the
situation in neighbouring Ghana can be instructive.
The Ghanaian government has
just announced a five-year plan to reduce hunger and malnutrition among pupils
in schools across that country. An amount of $347.4 million (three hundred and
forty-seven million, four hundred thousand dollars) have been earmarked for the
programme; which will be in pilot phases. Children will be given one balanced
meal a day for five days.
By this, short-term hunger
and malnutrition among children will be reduced.
Except in Nigeria, in many
other countries, government and private organisations have initiated food
supplementation schemes for school children.Communities can help in
stemming the devastating tide of malnutrition by providing mid-day meals in
schools, provide nutritional education programmes and safe drinking water
supply.Malnutrition has been
identified as a big problem afflicting developing nations, especially school
children from poor homes.
According to UNICEF, "a
lack of access to good education and correct information is also a cause of
malnutrition," adding: "Without information strategies and better and
more accessible education programmes, the awareness, skills and behaviours
needed to combat malnutrition cannot be developed."
Lack of food reduces, in
turn, a person’s health and ability to get a better education.
While it has been agreed that
there is more than enough food for all, the problem is that food is neither
produced nor distributed equitably.
The World Health Organisation
(WHO) pointed out that, "all too frequently, the poor in fertile
developing countries stand by watching with empty hands - and empty stomachs -
while ample harvests and bumper crops are exported for hard cash. Short-term
profits for a few, long-term losses for many."
A recent study by the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) showed that the richest fifth of the people
on the planet eat 45% of all the meat and fish, the poorest fifth get just 5%.
As attested by Encyclopedia Britannica, "the provision of an adequate food
supply and nutritional education to all people, however, remains a crucial
problem.".
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