Nestlé Trains Ogun Health Workers

Nestlé has trained no fewer than 35 Ogun State Health workers on nutrition as part of the efforts to impact positively on the Nigerian economy.

At a two-day nutrition academy organised by the Nestle Nutrition Institute Africa (NNIA), in collaboration with the Ogun State Ministry of Health held in Abeokuta, the NNIA Regional Manager in-charge of Central and West Africa, Mrs Chioma EmmaNwachukwu, who spoke on the theme: “Nurturing a healthy generation of children” disclosed that the event was put together in line with the set vision to curb children from dying young. She said the nutrition academy which was expected to train 500 health workers in both 22 West and Central African (11 Anglophone and 10 Francophone) countries chose Ogun State to train 35 health workers that would retrain others on the importance of nutrition on children and family units.

In her remarks, the Head, Paediatric department, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), IdiAba, Abeokuta, Dr Morufat Ogundeyi, noted that nutrition plays important roles in the health development and growth of a child.

According to her, malnutrition does not only affect a child but the entire family unit.

“If a child is malnourished it would affect the entire family unit. Malnutrition causes cognitive impairment which affects the way of thinking and reasoning of a child. It will affect his or her education and will fall into the category of the unemployed in the society that are burdens.

“Thus, economically, a malnourished child will affect his or her contributions to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) which is an instrument to determine the growth and development of a country”, said Ogundeyi.