The Coronary heart Basis of Jamaica (HFJ) has launched a mass media marketing campaign underscoring the significance of well timed implementation of the Authorities’s proposed Nationwide College Vitamin Coverage.
The marketing campaign is being applied in partnership with the Ministry of Well being and Wellness; Ministry of Training, Abilities, Youth and Data; United Nations Youngsters’s Fund (UNICEF); Pan American Well being Group (PAHO); Caribbean Institute for Well being Analysis (CIAHR); Medical Affiliation of Jamaica (MAJ); Jamaica Youth Advocacy Community (JYAN), and Paediatric Affiliation of Jamaica (PAJ), amongst different companions.
Talking through the current launch on the Terra Nova All-Suite Lodge in St. Andrew, HFJ Govt Director, Deborah Chen, cited findings from the 2017 World College-Primarily based Pupil Well being Survey, which revealed that greater than 23 per cent of Jamaican adolescents, aged 13 to 17, are chubby or overweight.
She famous that 77.3 per cent of deaths in Jamaica are attributable to non-communicable ailments (NCDs), reminiscent of coronary heart illness, diabetes and stroke – situations that always start with poor vitamin in childhood.
“Lots of the meals and drinks generally out there in and round our colleges are excessive in sugar, sodium, saturated fat and refined carbohydrates, contributing to unhealthy diets and elevated threat of weight problems, hypertension and different non-communicable ailments,” Mrs. Chen added.
The Govt Director mentioned the traits underscore the pressing have to implement the coverage as a public well being crucial – one which fosters more healthy faculty environments and locations kids on a path to lifelong well-being.
In her remarks, UNICEF Jamaica Nation Consultant Olga Isaza reaffirmed that the Conference on the Rights of the Baby enshrines each youngster’s proper to entry nutritious, secure, and ample meals.
She shared that the UNICEF 2025 Baby Vitamin Report warns that, for the primary time globally, childhood weight problems has surpassed underweight – pushed by meals environments flooded with ultra-processed meals and sugary drinks.
Mrs. Isaza famous that whereas Jamaica has made some features in defending and fulfilling kids’s rights underneath the Conference, children are nonetheless susceptible to the impacts of unhealthy meals environments.
“Jamaica’s colleges provide a strong alternative to reverse these traits. With most college students consuming lunch from faculty sources, colleges can mannequin wholesome consuming and reshape habits for all times,” she said.
The media marketing campaign has been totally endorsed by the Paediatric Affiliation of Jamaica.
“This marketing campaign couldn’t be extra well timed or extra pressing. Throughout Jamaica, our youngsters are immersed in an surroundings the place ultra-processed meals, sugary drinks, and sedentary way of life have develop into the default, and the result’s unmistakable,” mentioned President, Dr. Ludrick Morris.
He emphasised that the price of inaction is measured not solely in healthcare {dollars} however in misplaced potential, diminished vitality, and compromised futures.
The marketing campaign is being broadcast throughout tv and radio, featured in newspapers, and promoted by means of social media and outside promoting.
Jamaicans are inspired to share messages in regards to the marketing campaign on social media utilizing #TheTimeIsNow, #OutOfOurSchools and #ProtectOurChildren.
