The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has urged the County and National governments to regulate the advertisement of unhealthy foods, especially those targeted towards children in the media and other public advertisement platforms.
In a statement on Thursday, March 27, Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich, the Chairman of NCCK North Rift Region, said that the government should block the placement of advertisements for unhealthy foods near schools or during hours when children are likely to be consuming media.
Additionally, the chairman further said that the government should also ban the use of child-like characters in advertisements of unhealthy foods, those containing high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fats.
The bishop asserted that shielding children from these foods will be fundamental in protecting the country's future generations from Non-Communicable Diseases(NCDs).
"We are especially distressed to note that on all media and public platforms, more than 75 percent of food-related advertisements are for unhealthy foods. It is more troubling that these advertisements are primarily targeted at children, thereby exposing the country to a very heavy burden of management of Non-Communicable Diseases in the next one to two decades," he said.
Additionally, NCCK has pointed out that the government should swiftly adopt a law that will ensure that food processors include front-of-pack warning labels to ensure consumers are cognizant of foods that contain unhealthy ingredients.
"It is our considered position that the information manufacturers hide in the hard-to-read back-of-the-pack labels does not communicate to the consumers and is largely irrelevant. In contrast, Front of Pack Warning Labels will ensure that Kenyans know when they are about to buy unhealthy food products," he stated.
According to NCCK, the consumption of unhealthy products in the country has been a catalyst in the accelerating rate of NCDs, which have been a major threat not only in the country but also in the global health ecosystem.
The main types of NCDs include cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets, and air pollution all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.
According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) data, NCDs are responsible for 31% of all deaths and over 50% of hospital admissions.
NCCK has urged the Ministry of Health to consider declaring NCDs a national emergency so as to halt the rapid acceleration in the country.
"The government has a responsibility of ensuring that adequate attention and resources are directed at addressing this threat to health," it stated.
NCCK demands to politicians
On the political side of the churches, it has been said that religious leaders should refrain from supporting or opposing political leaders in their line of duty and should instead remain objective and treat everyone the same.
Furthermore, NCCK has emphasised that monetary contributions made by politicians in the church should be treated as offerings and should not be announced to the congregation.
Additionally, NCCK has emphasised that politicians should only address people outside the church building after the service and not inside.
