In its effort to fight iron deficiency and anaemia in Nigeria, Knorr recently educated more people through its Knorr Green Food Steps campaign with thousands of mothers and their teenage daughters coming out to participate in the different activities.
Knorr, a flagship seasoning brand of Unilever Nigeria Plc initiated the campaign with the aim of creating awareness for iron deficiency amongst the Nigerian populace and use the opportunity to champion nutritious cooking through a behavioural change programme.
The campaign at its commencement in 2015 successfully reached and educated 26,650 mothers and teenage daughters in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State and Amaigbo, Imo State on iron deficiency anaemia.
This year, the campaign was taken to the middle belt region with selected schools in Abuja, Nasarawa, Benue and Kogi states, from which many mothers and their teenage daughters were trained on simple and easy ways to cook nutritious meals that will help them fight iron deficiency anaemia by following the three simple Knorr Green Food steps – Toss green vegetables into every stew; Stir it all together and Crumble in iron enriched Knorr cubes.
Following the successful training sessions, the brand organised celebration events in each school to evaluate the impact of the training on mothers and their teenage daughters who demonstrated the knowledge garnered by engaging in cooking and dancing competitions after which the best students and their mothers were rewarded by the brand.
Mrs. Aderinto Margaret, Principal of Government Secondary School, Bwari, Abuja, one of the participating schools, while speaking on the campaign, lauded Knorr for its effort in fighting deficiency anaemia. In her words, “most of our typical diet in Nigeria is low in iron-rich foods, but with Knorr simple steps to nutritious cooking, every household can achieve iron-rich meals,” she said.
Aisha Yakubu, one of the students who participated in the campaign thanked Knorr seasoning for educating them on iron deficiency as she didn’t know about the importance of iron to the body until the initiative; she stated that she will be able to increase her iron level through the knowledge garnered from the campaign.
Speaking further on the initiative, Mrs. Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe – Brand Building Director, Foods, Unilever Nigeria Plc said, “adequate iron intake during adolescence is crucial to decreasing iron deficiency anaemia in Nigeria which is why Knorr embarked on Knorr Green Food Steps campaign to champion nutritious cooking through a behavioural change programme by making nutritious meals a priority, easy to achieve and more desirable by following Knorr’s three simple Green Food steps – Toss, Stir and Crumble,” she said.
Anaemia which is caused by a lack of iron has been a major public health issue in Nigeria amongst women and young adults. According to reports by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 49% women of reproductive age have anaemia, indicating that majority of the adolescent girls and women did not meet the iron requirements of 20 milligrams per day as recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and, the World Health Organisation (WHO).