FAO trains trainers on nutrition education for primary schools in Sofala
In the city of Beira, a 'training the trainer' course on nutrition education for primary schools is taking place until next Friday (22/01). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has promoted the course, which is part of the activities of the Organization's Millennium Development Goal 1c (MDG 1c) Sub-Programme. The course participants will go on to provide training for primary school teachers within the intervention districts selected for the Sub-programme.
The overall aim of these activities is to equip teachers with adequate knowledge and tools, such as the FAO manual "Let's Eat Nutritious Food", so as to enhance school children's knowledge about good choices and eating habits so that they lead healthier lives.
In the opening session, the Provincial Director of Education and Human Development of Sofala, Manuel Armindo Chicamisse, stressed the importance of targeting children, reasoning that "the process of behaviour change encounters more resistance among adults than children. The latter are still in the learning process and easily assimilate information".
Talking to the participants, FAO nutrition and food security consultant, Ruth Butao Ayoade, said that "to promote children's health now is to establish a solid foundation for their health in future as well as for their children's and the future generations health".
For 5 days, 17 technicians are taking part in the training, among which are nutritionists, teacher trainers and extension workers. The participants will gather information on the nutrition situation in Mozambique and on chronic undernutrition, as well as on the different methodologies of integrating nutrition issues in primary school programmes. The approach they will take will include such fields as education and health as outlined in the Government Multisectoral Action Plan for the Reduction of Chronic Undernutrition in Mozambique (PAMRDC).
These technicians come from Nhamatanda and Gorongosa, pilotdistricts in Sofala for the implementation of the provincial nutrition education aspect of the Department of Nutrition and School Feeding of the Ministry of Education and Human Development (MINEDH). Similar activities have been carried out in the provinces of Manica and Zambézia in 2015.
Nutrition education in schools, based on enhancing the knowledge of nutrition and good eating practices, offers a comprehensive introduction to healthy eating habits, contributing to a significant reduction of food and nutrition insecurity in the intervention districts of the MDG1c Sub-programme.
The nutrition education approach adopted by FAO in the manual "Let's Eat Nutritious Food" is in accordance with the National Programme on School Feeding (PRONAE), especially the Programme's pillars 2 and 3, which promote food and nutrition education in schools and the development of capacities for agricultural and livestock production, respectively.