School nutrition conference highlights importance of good diet

Speakers shared their experience of successful school nutrition programmes from Mexico, Nigeria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia among other countries with an audience of invited guests. The school nutrition conference was organised by Tetra Pak and the ministry of Public Health and Population in Yemen and aimed to bring like-minded entities together at one platform to explore the possibility of a nutrition programme for Yemeni children. The conference was attended by Ministers, educators, NGO representative, embassy representatives and the general public and the media.

"Our most valuable resource is our youth," said Dr. Ahmed Makki- Representative Yemen's Minister of Health. "Yemen can only benefit from any programme, such as the World School Nutrition programme, that is aimed at laying strong and healthy foundations for our children to build on in the future."

The conference was coordinated by Tetra Pak Arabia , which supports school nutrition programmes across the world, including China, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Mexico, Philippines and GCC countries, provided details of the logistics and outcomes, impact on children's health and educational benefits of the early uptake of a nutritious diet that included milk and dairy products.

In his welcome address Amar Zahid, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Arabia, said that the company's experience showed that the best way to promote sustainable, social and economic development was to work in partnership with governments, development agencies, NGOs and the private sector.

"This is a great opportunity for us to ensure the health and well being of children in a real and meaningful way," said Dr. Ali Al-Modhwahy - General Director - Family Health at the Yemen ministry of health commenting on the conference. "We are committed to this valuable project which will benefit everyone. Laying the foundations of good health is a privilege."

Citing Saudi Arabia as a local success story, Jesus Ortega, Dairy Category Manager, said that the company had, through the Ministry of Education, celebrated the "World School Milk Day" in all 42 educational regions across the Kingdom for three years. "In 2006 alone, over 600 000 students nationwide took part in the school milk programme and we look forward to working with the Yemen government in laying healthy foundations for success in the future."

Tetra Pak International last year signed a cooperation agreement for three years with the International Osteoporosis Foundation to promote awareness on how individuals can take responsibility for their bone health by healthy eating, staying active, and being aware of risk factors for osteoporosis. The IOF identifies milk and other dairy foods as being among the richest and most readily available dietary sources of calcium, an essential nutrient in building bones.