Nestle Nigeria
By Vivian Ihechu
Experts say nutrition is a critical part of health and development. It plays a big role in physical growth, mental health, cognitive development, building immunity, giving strength and other diverse necessities
The WHO says better nutrition is related to improved infant, child and maternal health, stronger immune systems, safer pregnancy and childbirth, lower risk of non-communicable diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease), and longevity.
Healthy children learn better. People with adequate nutrition are more productive and can create opportunities to gradually break the cycles of poverty and hunger.
Malnutrition, in every form, presents significant threats to human health. Today the world faces a double burden of malnutrition that includes both undernutrition and overweight, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
With an already stressed need to improve nutritional outcomes to lessen the burden of malnutrition, the challenge becomes increased with the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
With the pandemic, WHO identified a robust and diverse food supply as being an essential part of the health and nutrition response to COVID-19.
Nestle Nigeria, alongside WHO and other partners are providing nutrition and food safety guidance and advice during the COVID-19 pandemic for governments, food businesses, health workers and the general public, advocate maintenance of good health and prevention of malnutrition in all its forms.
Nestle Nigeria is lending its expertise and resources in diverse ways to ensure citizens maintain good health to prevent malnutrition.
This is especially as Nutrition, Health and Wellness is Nestls strategic direction, a path to enable people make healthy choices about food and beverages.
Asides from the donations of products, food items and PPEs to governments, it identifies that good and effective communication is also an important way to make certain that people achieve and maintain good nutrition, health and wellness.
Consequently, in the first two weeks of June 2020, Nestl Nigeria and the Lagos Business School hosted the 2020 Advancing Nutrition, Health and Wellness(NHW).
The virtual media training programme came at a critical time when the public needs to be well informed on nutrition health and wellness to help curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the role of healthy nutrition in supporting the immune system to the limelight and this is very significant in view of the triple burden of nutrition that Nigeria must deal with: malnutrition, under nutrition and micronutrient deficiency.
With many seeking solutions, there has been a proliferation of fake news and false, sometimes dangerous recommendations for building immunity against the virus.
The role of the media in setting the record straight cannot be overemphasized and the intervention of Nestl and LBS to equip journalists to carry out this essential role was therefore timely.
Some of the facilitators at the Advancing Advancing Nutrition, Health and Wellness(NHW) through the Media programme included the LBS faculty, Nestl Nigeria resource persons and health and nutrition experts.
The courses the trained media personnel on the concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV), Data Interpretation, Analysis and Reporting for journalists, Role of Nutrition in Pandemics, Research and Information Sourcing and Ethical Journalism among other current affairs around COVID-19.
Speaking on the importance of the training, Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager of Nestl Nigeria, says: The essence of this training is to provide a platform for journalists to acquire knowledge and skills to improve fact-based storytelling.
This is to help their audiences and consumers get the right information to make the right nutrition and lifestyle choices to promote a healthier lifestyle.
Uwadoka urges the media to apply the learning on research and fact verification in their reporting to set the records straight especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Director of the LBS Sustainability Centre, Professor Chris Ogbechie says: Building the capacity of the media is key to Nigerias achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG3 good health and well being.
This is why Lagos Business School and Nestle Nigeria developed the Advancing NHW through the Media programme to harness the impact the media can have through professional and innovative reporting on Nutrition Health and Wellness issues.
It would be worthy to note that the media training programme was developed in 2019 by Nestl Nigeria and the Lagos Business School (LBS), to bridge the gap in nutrition health and wellness reporting in the media.
It is a key part of Nestl Nigerias media capacity building program in line with progress towards actualising its purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future by providing individuals and families with the right information to make healthier nutrition and lifestyle choices.
Advancing Nutrition, Health and Wellness(NHW) Through the Media is supported by the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Diamond Awards for Media Excellence (DAME).
This is as part of an MOU signed in 2018 to build media capacity through continuous training and the institution of an annual nutrition writers award to recognise and reward best practices.
Nestl believes that, given the right tools and resources, the media is well positioned to help improve access to nutrition health and wellness information for all Nigerians.
In summary, people are in a better position to make good choices when they are well informed, and a key avenue to getting the right information is through the media.
It thus becomes essential for the media to know the right facts as regards nutrition and the indices, positively or otherwise, because nutrition, health and wellness basically define mans outcome in life.
Eating the right food combinations with micro nutrients in instances, as well as water , fruits and vegetables are paramount.
The many benefits to nutrition, health and wellness are entwined; good nutrition improves well-being . Good and healthy nutrition prevents malnutrition and protects from diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke.
It gives energy, helps to increases focus, helps to maintain ones immune system, reduces the risk of chronic disease; healthy eating positively affects ones mood, delays effects of aging and indeed, healthy diets may lengthen ones life.
Food should be for its purpose by making the best eating choices to reduce malnutrition in all its forms, especially as it is cheaper to be healthy than to be unhealthy (NANFeatures)
Source: NAN News