Dubai Educational Zone public schools spread nutrition awareness reaching 10,000 students through Nestlé Healthy Kids program.

Dubai, UAE, July 3, 2016:  The Dubai Educational Zone public schools completed their 2015/2016 nutrition awareness program (Nestlé Healthy Kids – Ajyal Salima) reaching to date 10,000 students across 29 public schools since its launch in 2012. 

The Program, which is based on scientific evidences, and aims to enhance nutrition knowledge and encourage better eating habits and physical activity among grade 4 and 5 students, was first launched by the Dubai Educational Zone and Nestlé Middle East in Dubai in 2012 with the support of the Dubai Health Authority.

The programme achieved a remarkable success in the school year 2015/2016, whereby the number of beneficiaries doubled to reach 10,000 students in the 29 public schools in Dubai. This success was possible thanks to the dedication and efforts of the teachers and their positive interaction with kids.

The teachers stressed on the positive impact that the programme has on students’ behavior, whereby the simple interactive format of the sessions and tools help in communicating the information to students in a fun and impactful way. Children are grasping and implementing the information in their daily life by tasting and eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking water more frequently and planning healthy balanced meals.

“The implementation of Nestlé Ajyal Salima for the fourth consecutive year in the public schools in Dubai, is made possible thanks to the efforts and commitment of the Dubai Educational Zone to raise awareness about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle and to make a positive impact in the community at large and on children’s lives specifically” concluded Karine Antoniades Turk, Public Affairs and Creating Shared Value Manager at Nestlé Middle East. “The Programme is part of Nestlé’s commitments to promoting healthy diets and lifestyles in the Middle East.” 

The Program’s curriculum encourages the intake of a balanced and varied diet; fruits and vegetables consumption to five or more a day; breakfast and healthy snacks intake; and regular physical activity; as well as controlling high fat, high sugar foods and beverages intake; and reducing time spent watching television, on the computer or playing video games. 

Additional information on the programme:
Developed by the American University of Beirut to answer to regional community nutrition issues, Ajyal Salima has so far reached over 30,000 students in the Middle East since its initial launch in 2010. 

In addition to Dubai, the Program is being implemented in Lebanon, where it was first launched in 2010 and adopted as part of the Lebanese Education Ministry’s school health unit curriculum following scientific evidence* it significantly enhances children’s nutrition knowledge and improves their eating habits; and a pilot programme was implemented in Saudi Arabia in 2014. The programme was also launched in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 2015 in partnership with The Royal Health Awareness Society and in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. 

Nestlé Ajyal Salima is part of the global program Nestlé Healthy Kids Global programme, running in 83 countries around the world thanks to more than 290 collaborations and partnerships.