The following release was sent out by the Global Health Advocacy Project:
BRIDGETOWN, 7 Sep 2022 – As Caribbean students start to return to
the classroom across the region, an ambitious campaign promoting nutritious
food in schools hopes to get them healthier. The six-week digital
campaign, ‘#ActOnFacts - The Food in Schools Matters’, encourages
public and policymaker support for the introduction of policies limiting the sale
and marketing of foods full of sugar, fats and salt in and around schools,
while increasing the availability of healthy foods and drinking water.
Spearheaded by
the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), the campaign brings together a raft of
partners: UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Organisation
of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, the Caribbean Public Health
Agency (CARPHA), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados (HSFB), the Heart
Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ), the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) with the
technical collaboration of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
Children spend
much of their time at school where unhealthy food and sweet drinks – more
available and often cheaper than their healthy counterparts – are heavily
marketed. Eating habits established when young can last a lifetime and one in
three Caribbean children is already living with overweight and obesity.
Over consumption of unhealthy food is also the number one driver of
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Urgent action needed
UNICEF
Representative for the Eastern Caribbean Area, Pieter Bult noted, “Urgent
action is needed to protect the present and future health of our children.
Investing in healthy diets in school gives children the best start in life and
will help them flourish both physically and intellectually, setting them on the
path to achieving their full potential.”
“The vulnerable economies of the Caribbean simply cannot sustain the
health and security threat posed by the increasing tide of overweight and
obesity among children,” remarked Dean Chambliss, PAHO’s Subregional
Programme Director for the Caribbean, “PAHO/WHO is working with regional
governments to support the implementation of a comprehensive package of
interventions to combat childhood obesity, including regulating the sale and
marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages in school settings.”
CARPHA reports
that the Caribbean has some of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the
world. Executive Director, Dr. Joy St. John, cautioned, “We can no longer
afford inaction on regulating school environments. Ultra-processed foods have
no place in our schools which are meant to be environments which support
physical and mental health.”’
According to
Dr. Didacus Jules, OECS Director General, “Healthy school policies
present an opportunity for food manufacturers and distributors to explore
healthier options.”
Regional food security a priority too
The campaign
also supports the regional food and nutrition security agenda, calling on the
Caribbean to move towards growing what we eat and eating what we grow.
Dr. Renata Clarke, FAO Subregional Coordinator, emphasised that, “Farm
to school programmes which link farming communities/farmers to school meals
programmes not only expose children to local indigenous produce but also
contribute to sustainable farming livelihoods and support food and nutrition
security.”
Some Caribbean
countries have moved ahead with national policies which regulate the
availability of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in schools including Trinidad
and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and, most recently, Grenada. Both Barbados
and St. Lucia have similar policies in process.
Sir Trevor
Hassell, HCC President, noted that more was needed, “Despite the increasing
policy momentum, the pace of action does not match the urgency of the
situation. The pandemic has highlighted our deep fragility underscoring more
than ever the need to build resilience. The health of our region is the
wealth of our region. We need to invest in prevention policies which target our
most precious resource - our children.”
The campaign –
which encourages parents to push for healthy school nutrition policies –
uses largely monochrome imagery: playing on the concept that the link between
our children's health and diet is simply 'black and white'.
It will be
supported by a number of activities led by HCC’s youth arm, Healthy Caribbean
Youth. According to the campaign’s Youth Champion, Pierre Cooke Jr, “This
campaign sends a powerful message that schools must not be dumping grounds for
unhealthy ultra-processed foods. We have a right to nutritious food and good
health. Caribbean Governments have an obligation to protect this right. The
evidence is unequivocal – ‘#ActOnFacts! - The Food in Schools Matters’ campaign
WILL make a difference.”
Campaign
website: https://www.healthycaribbean.org/the-food-in-our-schools-matters/
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