By Natali Chinchaladze, NTS teen blogger
From the beginning of humanity to today, the search for food has always been a prime survival instinct. As our scientific understanding of the nutritional requirements of humans, at all stages of development has grown, so has the centrality of food.
Today, 162 countries, including Kenya, are committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, one of which is Zero Hunger, This noble idea means eradicating hunger completely by 2030. This is a grave challenge, particularly during this era of radical climate change and food shortages.
Here’s a key question: what happens to adolescents who are not provided with adequate nutrition?
The official page of UNICEF Kenya states: “In Kenya, more than a quarter of children under the age of five, or two million children, have stunted growth. Stunting is the most frequent form of under-nutrition among young children. If we do not address this issue, it will have devastating long-term effects, including decreased mental and physical development. In addition, 11 percent of children are underweight, which is related to increased and preventable deaths among young children.”
Nutritional inadequacy during childhood and adolescence not only delays growth but also creates a high risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. Children who experience stunting (defective growth and development from poor nutrition) or wasting (causing a person or a part of the body to become progressively weaker) are also likely to suffer diseases such as weak immunity and a lower response to vaccines, making them more exposed to various long-term health issues.
Furthermore, adolescents with histories of malnutrition have been documented to suffer from inattention, behavior problems, aggression toward peers, depression, school failure, and reduced IQ. Many of these adverse outcomes continue into adulthood and can even persist into the subsequent generation. Additionally, these outcomes are not limited to cases of growth stunting or protein–calorie malnutrition, but also include iron and other micronutrient deficiencies during early childhood that similarly impact brain, behavior, and cognition in adolescents.
According to a UNICEF survey, 11 percent of children in Kenya are underweight (2,624,000), with 4 percent (105,000) wasted. Nationwide, 26 percent of children under the age of five (250,000 children) are stunted. This rises to 46 percent in the Kitui and West Pokot countries.
The cause of poor nutrition is quite simply, poverty. Fifty percent of Kenyans or 25.5 million people live with food insecurity. In 2023, skyrocketing food prices have seriously exacerbated the problem and famine may be looming in some regions.
This is where NTS comes in, providing students with three fully balanced, nutritional meals daily. In a region where food shortages are common, NTS students (and staff) are served a well-balanced 2,000-calorie diet, receiving the daily nutrition and calories necessary to grow healthy bodies and minds. What’s more, students are even taking nutrition lessons, so they learn to create healthy food combinations and how to buy and prepare locally affordable foods.
And, as everyone at NTS is learning, food education is a long-term investment in healthy families and vibrant communities.
Sources:
https://nyamboyotechnical.org/what-we-do/support-programs/
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/FactSheet34en.pdf
https://www.powerofnutrition.org/the-impact-of-malnutrition/
https://data.unicef.org/how-many/how-many-children-under-18-are-there-in-kenya/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5374755/
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