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Nestlé Healthy Kids programme is launched in Burkina Faso

Nestlé Healthy Kids programme is launched in Burkina Faso

Nestlé Burkina in partnership with the Burkinabe Ministry of Education and Literacy launched the Nestlé Healthy Kids programme in the municipality of Arbolé.

This programme aims to improve education in nutrition, health and wellness of school-age children through the sharing of expertise and key strategic guidelines in line with government strategy.

Nestlé Healthy Kids is an initiative of the Nestlé Group, which provides school age children with the opportunity to adopt early, good eating habits, to adopt good hygiene practices and to understand the importance of physical activity. The objective is to encourage behavioral change by promoting healthful lifestyles in schools.

"Nestlé has launched the Healthy Kids programme worldwide, working closely with local partners to adapt to the needs of each country. We are pleased to implement this program in Burkina Faso and enhance our commitment to work and to nutrition, health, and wellness, "says Giacomo Chiocca, Country Manager of Nestlé Savanna.

In sub-Saharan Africa, malnutrition, particularly among the youth and school age children, represents a major challenge, and Burkina Faso is not exempted. Nutrition education and regular physical activity have been identified as an effective solution to address this situation.

Three public schools and 1055 children aged 6 to 12 in Arbolé will benefit from this program in the pilot phase, which will last first three years. These students will receive courses on nutrition and health during the school year which will include sports sessions.

A teacher training session was conducted by trainers of the Faculty of Biology, Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Ouagadougou before classes started. Parents will also be sensitized to ensure a holistic approach to the project.

At the end of each year, Nestlé will provide an annual activity report and evaluation. It will highlight the strengths, improvement areas, and the relevance of the topics covered in the pilot phase.

According to Mr. Samandou Coulibaly, Minister of Education and Literacy: "With this programme, Nestlé is supporting the actions of schools whose role it is to train the future of the nation, by helping to become healthy adults that will contribute to development."

Today Nestle Healthy Kids has been implemented in 73 countries with the support of over 294 partners. In 2014, 7.6 million of children benefited from the programme and the objective of the Nestlé Group is to cover 80 countries by the end of 2015.

www.nestle-cwa.com

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