Ethical
It is more than just sending donations; it is taking the time to understand and act to ensure the population’s future.
Nutrition is a worldwide public health issue.Micronutrient deficiencies are a source of many public health problems in Morocco. This has led the Moroccan government to initiate a widespread fight against dietary deficiencies.
The Students Challenge is asking every student to join forces with the Moroccan government, UNICEF and the Aïcha Foundation by donating staple and large-scale foods.
It must be noted that the Moroccan population suffers from many micronutrient deficiencies:
Iron:
Anaemia is responsible for 30% of deaths in pregnant women. Anaemia affects 3 out of 5 women. 3 out of 5 children are affected by the condition, which has a detrimental affect on their education.
Children under 6 are also affected, at a rate of 3 out of 5. The consequences are serious: educational failure and/or dropping out of school. An anaemic child is tired, lacks concentration and has a reduced learning capacity.The consumption of flour enriched with iron (staple food) will help to reduce the rate of iron deficiency in the population.
Vitamins D and A:
Vitamin A and D deficiency is the cause of 2.5% of the cases of rickets in Moroccan children under 6.
Vitamin A deficiency is present in over 40% of the population. It causes ophthalmologic problems and immunological problems leading to chronic infections in young children (10% of cases can lead to death if not taken care of properly).
The proposed solution: for babies, vitamin D drops at birth followed by the consumption of cooking oils enriched with vitamins A and D.
Iodine:
For iodine deficiency, the cause of goitre and cretinism in children (22%), the proposed solution is the consumption of iodized salt. In some mountain villages, cretinism in children is a major problem, producing a difficult social burden for poor families living in remote and impoverished areas (in the mountains and the south, far from the coast).
To this we add an emerging new problem in Moroccan cities: the “double burden” of a diet lacking in micronutrients but very high in calories due to the consumption of meals high in fat and sugar, resulting in both obesity and nutritional deficiencies. This situation is particularly common in young people.
This is why, as a part of the programme to fight against nutritional deficiencies, every student must bring:
flour, cooking oil and salt to the Students Challenge.
During the raid, these donations will be given to a village at a nutrition education workshop – teachers will show the population how to eat better without it costing more! Knowing how to eat well means better living and less illness... play your part in making a change…
Every student is required to bring a“Nutrition Education KIT”:
5 bottles of cooking oil – (soy or sunflower)
10 Kg of iron-enriched flour
2 kg of iodized salt