The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called for the introduction of nutrition in the country's education curriculum as an effort to curb non-communicable diseases in the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 9, NCCK said that the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) should introduce and test students on the subject.
"We encourage the Kenya Institute for Curriculum Development, the Kenya National Examinations Council, and all other education standards and examining bodies to include nutrition in their curriculum," it stated.
"It will be very helpful if we build a nutrition-competent nation, as this will cut off more than half of the household and national healthcare expenditure," it added.
According to the council, churches across the country will also create educational forums that will raise awareness and educate congregants and the community at large on proper nutrition habits.
Additionally, NCCK has urged the government to regulate the advertisement of unhealthy foods, those containing a high level of sugar, salt, and saturated fats, which are mainly targeted at children.
NCCK stated that the advertisement of these particular food items using child-like characters should be banned.
Furthermore, the council has emphasised that the advertisement of these 'unhealthy products' should also not be aired during watershed hours when children are most likely consuming the media.
"Let us all protect children from the lifelong effects of Non-Communicable Diseases, whose main risk factor is diet," it stated.
In Kenya, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) data, NCDs are responsible for 31% of all deaths and over 50% of hospital admissions.
"The delegates, who were drawn from Embu, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Nyeri, Laikipia, and Nyandarua counties, observed that it costs a patient close to KSh 150,000 per year to manage a Non-Communicable Disease in outpatient care," it stated.
The council has urged the Health Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, to consider declaring NCDs a national disaster and deploy frameworks to protect Kenyans against the diseases.
Additionally, NCCK has further urged food manufacturers to introduce front-of-pack warning labels to factory-processed foodstuffs, to ensure that consumers are well aware of foods that contain unhealthy ingredients.
"In the same way, we call upon the Ministry of Health to recognise that at a prevalence rate of 27%, NCDs warrant emergency focus. The strain NCDs are exerting on household and national healthcare is immense, and needs to be addressed," it stated.
