School feeding programme has received a major boost with the proposed BlueBand Good Breakfast Challenge which hopes to ensure nutritious breakfast for 100 million school children in Nigeria and across Africa and Asia by 2030.
In Nigeria, specifically, Blue Band with the support of State Ministries and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has since commenced an engaging 21-day schools programme called the Blue Band Good Breakfast Challenge.
Justifying the need for the initiative, Upfield Managing Director West Africa, Moses Bamidele Amao, said, “The Good Breakfast Programme is a unique initiative by Blue Band to encourage children and their families to make breakfast a daily habit. We believe every child deserves the nutrition they need to grow healthily and happily. Having a nutritious breakfast gives children the essential nutrients and energy they need to grow, develop, and reach their full potential at school and later in life. Our mission is to reach 100 million school children and their families across Africa and Asia with this important message by 2030 through our Blue Band brand.”
assigned daily tasks to help them develop the habit of eating a nutritious breakfast every day, which has been shown to improve cognitive development and learning outcomes in children.
The programme aims to highlight the importance of having a daily nutritious breakfast for children and families. This first edition in Nigeria is being run in over 700 schools targeting 320,000 children in Lagos, Oyo, and Ogun states with the support of the state Ministries of Education and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Speaking at one of the school activities, Titi Reju, Blue Band Brand Manager, Nigeria noted that breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day and research has shown that going to school without breakfast can cause children to feel tired, restless or irritable, affecting their ability to learn. Blue Band’s tasty products in combination with bread, fruit, and tea with milk, gives children the start they need and forms the right foundation to fuel their growth.
In Lagos, Nigeria, the Head Teacher of Eng Reg School, Kofi K. Amponsah expressed satisfaction with the quality of engagement, information and education experienced during the Blue Band Breakfast Challenge and encouraged children and their parents to continue applying the lessons learnt.