Nestlé Cameroun has reaffirmed its commitment to providing healthy, affordable, accessible and sustainable food for families in the Central Africa Sub-region.
The leading company in the production of foods and beverages took the commitment during the commemoration of World Food Day, celebrated every October 16.
On the special day intended to celebrate man’s desire and assessing man’s efforts to conquer hunger through food security, Nestlé, announced that through its Nestlé Cares Programme, the company will offer food to help more than 700 underprivileged children in Cameroon and Gabon to enable them grow healthily.
To mark the 75th Anniversary of the World Food Day, Nestlé Cameroun hosted a webinar on nutrition with nutrition experts from Cameroon and Gabon to encourage families to live healthier lives in Central Africa.
The webinar was moderated by Prof. Carl Mbofung, President of Cameroonian Society of Nutrition. It was also spiced by contributions from Nutrition experts like Prof. Modestine Kana, Biochemist and Food Scientist and Nutritionist, from the University of Douala, Prof. Professor Gouado Innocent, Coordinator of the Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Sciences in the University of Douala, Dr Ghislaine Nzang Nguema, from Libreville University Hospital Centre, Gabon.
The food and nutrition experts discussed and shared key recommendations on the topic: “Together, let’s feed well today and tomorrow.”
Commemorating the World Food Day, Nestlé, as the ‘Good food Good life’ company, reaffirmed that it strongly “believes in the power of food to enhance quality of life and that good food respects our planet and protect resources for future generations.
Therefore, through a wide portfolio of products enriched in micronutrients (MAGGI bouillon, NIDO powder milk, infant cereal CERELAC), Nestlé helps more than 1 million individuals to eat healthy every day in Central Africa”.
During the Webinar session, Prof. Mbofung stated that in the world, some 690 million people are malnourished. On the situation in Cameroon, he quoted recent statistics, which states that 5.5 million people in Cameroon are at risk of food insecurity.
Other speakers at the session also stressed on the need for people not just to eat, but to ensure that they consume food in the right quality and quantity.
Dr Ghislaine Nzang Nguema stated that for people to carry out their development initiatives, build strong economies and strong countries, they primarily need to eat good food in the right quality and quantities.
As such, a malnourished or underfed population will find it difficult to carry out its development aspirations.
The food experts also expressed the need for Governments in the Sub-region, to disenclave remote areas by creating farm to market roads, given that about one-third of food is destroyed during transportation, because of bad roads.
The need to build proper food storage and transformative systems was also highlighted as some of the measures that could boost food security in the Sub-region. The experts also noted that the population could also be given proper education on the best ways to handle food, to reduce the quality and quantity of food lost because of improper handling.
Robert Helou, Managing Director of Nestlé Cameroun, noted that “At Nestlé, we will unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. That is why we have chosen to enrich our food with essential micronutrients like iron, zinc, calcium, to help children, individuals and families grow healthy. We have been doing this for more than 50 years today, and we commit to continue this journey to provide affordable, accessible and sustainable food for today and future generations”.
Nestlé in one of its messages called on people to “eat well, now, tomorrow and forever”, and as such their food will be their medicine, because a properly fed body will remain healthy, thus reducing chances of the individual falling sick, since the body is nourished with all it needs, to be in good form and health.
