Youth advocates hungry for National School Nutrition Policy

More than 200 students from schools across Jamaica have signed an open letter to the Ministry of Education and Youth, urging it to hastily finalise and implement a national school nutrition policy.

The proposed policy, which is currently awaiting Cabinet approval before it can be implemented, provides a national framework that encourages and facilitates healthy eating habits through nutritious and cost-effective meals in schools for students. It also restricts access to, and marketing of, unhealthy foods in and around the school environment.

The open letter, which is to be presented to Minister of Education Fayval Williams, was shared during yesterday’s Hope for the Future event, a gathering of youth health advocates championing the need for a comprehensive school nutrition policy, at the Wolmer’s Girls’ School in Kingston.

“For far too long, we have been waiting around for action. It has now been two years since consultation sessions concluded and, despite the valuable input provided by parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and the youth themselves, we have seen no significant progress,” stated Natalia Burton, a member of the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN).

“The silence from both the Ministry of Education and Youth and the Ministry of Health is not only disheartening but, frankly, detrimental to the well-being of our children,” she added.

More than 75 per cent of students receive one meal at school.

The policy aims to have unhealthy food and drink banned in schools and at least 200 metres from the school gate, and includes the use of more locally grown produce for meals and snacks.

It also underscores the need for the provision of meals to meet nutrition standards, which involves the use of recipe manuals to create nutritious meals using local produce. Additionally, the policy calls for the marketing of unhealthy foods in schools to be controlled.

A national school nutrition policy also ensures that the amount of exercise that students up to Grade 13 get is increased. Further, students would get regular health checks and counselling, with schools providing adequate clean, safe, drinking water.

Finally, the policy aims to have nutrition education and healthy lifestyles included in the current curriculum, and for teachers to be trained.

“Every day of inaction compromises our future and undermines publicly our efforts. We feel short-changed and overlooked. We are here today to demand accountability,” Dashawn Carter, a member of JYAN, declared.

The education ministry, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, is responsible for the development of the national school nutrition policy.

Shannique Bowden, executive director of JYAN, is optimistic that the government will follow through on this commitment.

“My hope is that the things that our policymakers are saying aren’t just to dissuade us from continuing to call for ... but they’ll actually mean it when they say the policy is coming and that they are working on it,” she said.

Stating that she is inspired by the support this initiative has garnered over the years, Bowden is hopeful that the implementation phase will commence by January.

“My hope for our future is that our children are safe in an environment at school where they can have access to healthy food, where they have safe places to play, where they can learn about harmful nutrients that some products may have, and they can get healthier products for themselves and be in an environment that sustains them beyond childhood,” she said.

A similar view was shared by Rosanna Pike, advocacy officer at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica.

“Good nutrition is the life blood of the next generation, and our children deserve better, especially in an environment where they spend most of their day, and we know that the school environment plays a key role in shaping habits,” she said.

In the meantime, Olga Isaza, country representative, UNICEF Jamaica, noted that the availability of unhealthy food, excessive marketing and inadequate food labelling, represent real barriers for children, students and their families to make healthy food choices.

She stated that the displacement of nutritious foods in the diet with ultra-processed foods high in unhealthy fat, sugar and sodium is a major cause of the growing health crisis of childhood obesity and non-communicable diseases.

According to her, approximately nine per cent of Jamaican children under five are overweight - one of the highest levels in the region. Since 2010, she shared, obesity rates have doubled among adolescent boys. For girls, obesity has increased by almost 50 per cent in ages 13 to 17.

She highlighted, too, that Jamaican children continue to face pockets of under-nutrition and deficiencies, noting that 25 per cent of women and girls ages 15 and older are anaemic.

“These realities undermine children’s nutrition and health and violate their fundamental rights. Healthy, well-nourished children and adolescents have more capacity to learn and thrive, and, later as adults, they are equipped to lead a more productive life. Availability and equitable access to healthy foods is critical for children and adolescents,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com