FQM’S DIET PROGRAMME SET TO IMPROVE NUTRITION IN N/W PROVINCE
Good nutrition is a significant focus of the health literacy programme being championed by First Quantum Minerals in North-Western Province.
The initiative is part of FQM’s community development programmes aimed at supporting the government’s efforts to improve the health and wellness of people in rural areas through private-public partnerships.
FQM through its Health and Wellness Department has partnered with the Ministry of Health to train women in and around the mine’s catchment areas on how to prepare nutritious meals for their families from locally grown food.
“We are running community services, and these are all related to health.
This is in support of the pillar of the Ministry of Health known that is system strengthening, and this is aimed at improving and closing the gap in the health system.
And this is being done through various activities, and we are here in support of the nutrition aspect of health,” FQM Health and Wellness Officer Peter Kandiye explained.
Mr Kandiye, who is also a registered nurse, said that the mining firm was currently conducting training at 17 clinics and over 30 schools in Kalumbila district.
“We have an average of 2,000 children benefiting from community health services provided at these facilities. This contributes to 80 percent of the targeted children who should receive such services through the Ministry of Health.
The communities have responded very well to this initiative, and we have been able to see how much they are willing to participate in the programme, and we can tell that the community is embracing the knowledge that we are imparting to them. And for us to ensure its sustainability, as an organization, we will continue supporting and partnering with the government. And all this is hinged on community acceptance and upholding the health programmes and the information that we are delivering to them,” he continued.
FQM believes that improving nutrition should also be at the centre of all agricultural programmes and policies while promoting current and well-designed nutrition education in the agriculture sector.
And Kalumbila District Health Office Nutritionist, Wilson Hachilemwa said that the nutrition programme promoting best practices in food preparation was launched in 2001, but that due to COVID-19, the programme was suspended, but later relaunched early this year.
Mr Hachilemwa explained the nutrition programme involves combining less nutritious food with food that is high in minerals and vitamins, to ensure that the community benefits from the high nutrition value of the food that they are growing.
He added that during the farming season, the country needs to look at prioritising growing of nutritious foods, to enable the community to continue having access to nutritious food.
“In terms of agriculture, we would look at nutrition, where the agriculture sector should be able to support more foods that are nutritious.
Because this programme is here to share knowledge of what the locally available food can provide in terms of improving the wellbeing of the people in the targeted communities,” he said.
“In terms of sustainability of the programme, I think from all the activities that we have done, should now look at how the communities can now start growing nutritious food that will sustain them for a long time,” he continued.
First Quantum believes integrated farming is key to improving agriculture’s impact on poverty reduction and ending malnutrition in rural communities.
The nutrition programme was designed to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal number 2, which seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition as well as promote sustainable agriculture.
FQM takes the continuity of sustainable development programmes in local communities very seriously.
And beyond the desire to keep people, communities, and the environment healthy, the company’s health programmes have had a dramatic impact on the delivery of healthcare in communities surrounding its mining operations.
