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Healthy Kids, Healthy Pakistan

To date, the program has educated more than 180,000 children
Healthy Kids, Healthy Pakistan

Shabana, a mother of 3 children has always been preoccupied with her kids’ state of nutrition. Her children were fond of meat but aversive to vegetables, salads and lentils. When the project initially started at her son’s school (The Trust School in Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore), she noticed a change in his eating pattern. Hammad started sharing information about healthy diet, importance of breakfast and hygiene with his siblings at home. He also started exploring more nutritious food options other than chicken and began drinking more water. Days later, she came to realize that some useful information about healthy diet and hygiene was being shared at the school under the Nestlé Healthy Kids Program (NHK).

As shared by Shabana, “The NHK Program has positively affected the behavior of my son towards eating as he has started to eat portions of vegetables, lentils and fruits without us forcing him. He has started drinking water more frequently and ensures hand washing before every meal. These are some of the positive short term outcomes that I have noticed.”

“Taking water to school keeps me hydrated and I drink water whenever I feel thirsty, especially after playing football during the lunch break. It keeps me alert at school. Earlier on, I never took the water bottle to school neither did I feel thirsty during school hours”, says Hammad.

Nestlé Healthy Kids Program (NHK) was launched in Pakistan in 2010. In line with the Sustainable Development Goal 3 (good health and well-being), it aims to enhance knowledge about nutrition and health among school going children, promote physical activity and highlight the importance of hygiene. To date, the program has educated more than 180,000 children in the rural, sub-urban and urban areas and has trained over 800 teachers on nutrition in 250 schools.

The program has a nationwide approach and has covered schools across Punjab, The Federal Capital, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and aspires to reach more areas. The program works in collaboration with 10 educational partners from the development, private and public sector, including Punjab Workers Welfare Board (PWWB), CARE Foundation, Zindagi Trust, The Federal Directorate of Education and Trust for Education and Development of Deserving Students (TEDDS) to name a few. NHK is a curriculum based program, comprising two books (in both English and Urdu) which provide the necessary knowledge on nutrition. The primary beneficiaries are school children between the ages of 6 to 16 year.

Nestlé Healthy Kids program aims to reach more than 220, 000 children by the end of 2019.

To download the e-book version of Nestlé Healthy Kids (Age 6 to 10), go to: https://www.nestlehealthykids.pk/nutrition-book-for-kids-6-10-years.php

To download the e-book version of Nestlé Healthy Kids (Age 11- 16), go to: https://www.nestlehealthykids.pk/nutrition-book-for-kids-11-16-years.php