Health ministry launches ‘Eat for our Health’ campaign |16 October 2021

The Ministry of Health officially launched its ‘Eat for our Health’ campaign yesterday alongside a donation of local fruits, vegetables and root crops from students at the National Institute for Health and Social Studies to the North East Point Home for the Elderly.

The donation was in line with celebrations of World Food Day which is being celebrated today under the theme ‘Our actions are our future ‒ Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life’.

It was the nurse-in-charge of the Home for the Elderly, Mirena Souris, who accepted the donation of food on behalf of the home’s residents.

The ceremony was attended by deputy chief executive of the Health Care Agency, Kathleen Cecile, health officials, students of the National Institute for Health and Social Studies (NIHSS) and elderly residents.

Isha Valentin, a student at NIHSS, explained that the donation was an initiative of the nutrition technician students at the school who felt that there was a lack of healthy local foods available to residents at North East Point.

“We thank the NIHSS team for its donation because we know that this is the type of food that the elderly used to eat although the meals they receive from Skychef tend to lean more towards European style. The food will help the residents with their nutrition. We would also like to thank Apas (Agricultural Producers' Association of Seychelles) as well for their donation of root crops and food that were much appreciated,” stated Ms Souris.

This was followed by the launch of the ‘Eat for our Health’ campaign by Mrs Cecile, a campaign which encourages Seychellois of all ages to eat healthy to stave off chronic diseases.

Mrs Cecile noted that the students’ donation of fruits and vegetables was a significant and symbolic gesture as the donation fell on the same day the Ministry of Health launched its campaign to educate and coach the population on how to eat better for their health.

“This is why we are marking World Food Day by having a World Food Week so as to allow our messages to reach our nation as deeply as possible. We just have to start eating better and responsibly in order to combat our growing rate of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and also to put a halt in the increase in the incidence of obesity in our nation,” stated Mrs Cecile.

The campaign will see the introduction of ‘My Healthy Plate’, a balanced plate showing the ideal portions of food that should be consumed.

This concept coincides with the launch of the new food based dietary guidelines by the nutrition unit of the Ministry of Health earlier this year.

The public will be encouraged to cook and post photos of their version of a healthy plate.

Other activities in this campaign include TV and radio spots, newspaper articles promoting healthy eating, poster competition for schools and a training session for educators.

The accompanying photos show highlights of the ceremony yesterday.

Elsie Pointe