All 50 Buk bilong Pikinini (BbP) teachers delivering in Early Childhood Education have undergone specialized training in Nutrition Education.
This program will be implemented across all Library Learning Centres this year to improve learning and health outcomes.
PNG faces an alarming child malnutrition crisis, with nearly 45% of children stunted and 28% underweight, according to a recent World Bank report.
Stunting severely impacts cognitive development, and PNG ranks fourth globally for child stunting rates, showing no significant improvement in the last decade.
To tackle this, BbP launched a Nutrition Education program in 2024, integrating it into the Early Childhood Education curriculum while also raising parental awareness about healthy diets for children.
The training highlighted the direct impact of diet on students’ concentration and classroom behavior.
Teachers noted that children who had nutritious breakfasts like kaukau, rice with tinned fish, eggs, or bananas performed significantly better than those consuming ultra-processed, high-sugar foods.
The latter group struggled with focus, exhibited disruptive behavior, and often lacked energy for learning.
Recognizing the importance of proper nutrition in education, BbP has partnered with Sanitarium, Market 2000, and the Australian Export Consortia to trial a breakfast program measuring the impact of fiber-rich meals on student learning.
Tarin McManus, PNG National Sales and Marketing Manager for Australian Export Consortia, emphasized their commitment to supporting BbP’s mission in ensuring students start their day with nutritious meals.
BbP also aims to foster nutritional literacy among students and parents through educational resources with a 2024-published picture book, “Superheroes Tru & Kai Unlock the Secret Powers of Superfoods,” and the “Papua New Guinea Nutrition Guide & Activity Book” were developed in collaboration with Trukai Industries.
Peggy Loa Maha, Marketing Manager for Trukai Ltd, expressed enthusiasm about teachers using these materials to enhance nutrition education in PNG.
1 Comment
Pingback: dlvr.it