According to statistics from the World Health Organization, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity form the main risk factors for Non-Communiabe Diseases, which contribute to the development of a significant percentage of disabilities in Kenya. County First Ladies Association has formed a partnership with Non-communicable Disease Alliance that will see a program for free milk rolled out to school children.
Counties in arid and semi-arid regions are the main targets of the program since the children therein are more vulnerable and likely to suffer from non-communicable diseases (NCD). The initiation of the program will begin with a pilot phase that will focus on the counties of Garissa, Makueni and West Pokot.
The program will also focus on areas that are poverty stricken with children who are exposed to unbalanced diets. The move of the program was announced by the First Lady of Makueni County, Nazi Kibwana, who is also the Chairperson of the First Ladies Association.
Ms Kibwana indicated that the primary goal of the initiative was the eradication of non-communicable diseases in addition to the implementation of NCD-prevention strategies. She was speaking at Makueni Boys during the launch of “Start a Library” program. During the occasion, Makueni County Education and ICT official Damaris Makau indicated that they had already engaged in meetings with various school heads over the subject matter. “We had stakeholders meeting where we made consultations on the schools to target.” she said.
Makau communicated that the county was focussing on schools in areas that are considered the driest. It was also revealed that they will conduct a health review of the pupils prior to the launch of the free milk program. Constant reviews will also be made after every three months to evaluate the progress and its outcomes.