Leading Margarine Spread, Blue Band, from the stable of
Unilever Nigeria’s food brands, in a bid to encourage proper growth among
children through optimal nutrition has announced the start of the Blue Band
National Growth Challenge in Nigeria. The objective is to draw attention again
to school age nutrition and emphasize the role of adequate nutrition for growth
amongst school children. The idea is to create some consciousness around growth
and promote comprehensive nutrition education among the school children.
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L-R: Nutrition and
Health Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Mr. Victor Ajieroh; President, Nutrition
Society of Nigeria, Professor Ngozi Nnam, represented by Lagos State Nutrition
Officer, Dr. Abimbola Ajayi; Enugu State Nutrition Officer, Mrs. Henrietta
Ugwu; and Tea and Spreads Category Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Ms. Vivian Ihaza;
during a Press Conference organized by Blue Band Margarine announcing the
commencement of the Blue Band National Growth Challenge which held at the
Unilever Nigeria Head office, Oregun Lagos, today October 7th, 2013.
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The Growth Challenge, done in partnership with the Children
of Africa organization and in collaboration with the State Primary Education
Boards, Ministries of Health and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria will be
carried out across 400 primary schools in Lagos and Enugu states.
Key activities taking place in schools will include nutrition
education programmes, an art competition on growth, taking anthropometric or
height measurements and assessing cumulative growth in children across 400
schools over the period of the campaign. The campaign will also educate parents
especially mothers, custodians and caregivers, and scholars on the significance
of providing the right nutrition – healthy, varied and adequate diet – for
their wards in order that they grow optimally and, demonstrate that when fed
the right nutrition, children grow adequately.
Speaking at a press briefing attended by members of the
Nutrition Society of Nigeria, the State Universal Basic Education Board,
amongst others, David Okeme, the Marketing Director, Unilever Nigeria, said
that Unilever is proud to be driving the Growth Challenge because “initiatives
like this provide an opportunity for us to teach the children who are leaders
of tomorrow the right nutrition habits that will help them develop mentally and
physically.
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L-R: President,
Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Ngozi Nnam, represented by Lagos State
Nutrition Officer, Dr. Abimbola Ajayi; Enugu State Nutrition Officer, Mrs.
Henrietta Ugwu; and Tea and Spreads Category Manager, Unilever Nigeria, Ms.
Vivian Ihaza; during a Press Conference organized by Blue Band Margarine
announcing the commencement of the Blue Band National Growth Challenge which held
at the Unilever Nigeria Head office, Oregun Lagos, today October 7th, 2013.
|
Unilever has established a goal of improving the health and
wellbeing of one billion people globally and this initiative can contribute to
this goal which aligns with our vision of creating a better future everyday. We
believe that every child deserves the nutrition he or she needs to develop to
their full potentials.
Explaining the rationale behind the campaign, Vivian Ihaza,
Tea and Spreads Category Manager, Unilever Nigeria, said “Experts agree that
for children, Blue Band margarine contributes to their growth as it contains
essential fats and vitamins. The right amount of nutrients in Blue Band such as
the Vitamins A, D, E, the B vitamins, niacin, and folic acid in soft fat medium
contributes to meeting children’s daily nutrient needs. This is why it has
remained consumers’ most popular choice over the years as a tasty addition to
main meals as well as with snacks to enliven children’s lunch boxes. She
further added that adults are not left out as it is used also as a nutritional
and tasty ingredient for eating, cooking and baking. Ihaza stated that the
Growth Challenge will be an exciting platform for parents and children to learn
about proper nutrition and its implication to their overall health.
Victor Ajieroh, the Unilever Nutrition and Health Manager for
West Africa noted that while the brand carries out a lot of intervention to the
nutrition of children under five, paying attention to school age children is
also important, in the context of nutrition through the lifecycle, and
neglecting their nutritional needs can compromise their growth and development.
He reiterated that the Blue Band sponsored National Growth Challenge will
promote the right knowledge and behaviors for adequate nutrition and growth
among school children.
The Blue Band National Growth Challenge which is the first of
its kind in Nigeria has being carried out in other African countries such as
Ghana and Kenya, and will be overseen by nutritional experts in Nigeria. The
campaign would reach about 100,000 children, creating nutrition awareness for
growth and development.
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