JYAN Works With Stakeholders To Protect Health And Wellness Of Students

The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) has been working with various stakeholders to protect the health and wellness of students at all levels of the education system.

Addressing a recent JIS ‘Think Tank’, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, JYAN, Shereika Mills, said that the Network’s Health and Nutrition Project, which was launched in March 2021, is part of the advocacy around health and nutrition and the impact poor nutrition has on the wellbeing of adolescents and youth.

Miss Mills commended the Government for the drafting of the Health and Wellness Policy, pointing out that the implementation of this policy is critical to addressing the nutrition deficiency that exists among our children.

Key nutrition findings from research done by the Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR) have shown that approximately one out of every three children between seven to 12 years at the primary-school level were overweight or living with obesity.

“Over the last year we have had the opportunity to engage with and hear from students about their experiences,” Miss Mills said. According to her, results from a poll conducted showed that 88 per cent of respondents support government restrictions on sugar-sweetened beverages and unhealthy food in schools.

In addition, 94 per cent believe that there should be warning labels on foods high in salt, sugar and fats. Meanwhile, a further 87 per cent argued that if foods were labelled in this way, it would influence their choices.

Miss Mills alluded to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among the younger population, noting that one of the primary risk factors of NCDs is the overconsumption of unhealthy foods. Meanwhile, Clinical Nutritionist at CAIHR, University of the

West Indies, Mona, Dr. Suzanne Soares-Wynter, in supporting the JYAN Health and Wellness Project, said that dietary patterns are not necessarily meeting recommended standards and really require immediate intervention.

“We, therefore, support the efforts by the Ministries of Education and Youth, and Health and Wellness to improve schools’ nutrition, and implementation of the beverage guidelines is an important step and one that must be highly commended,” Dr. Soares-Wynter said. She pointed out that there has been an ongoing follow-up with schools, and early results have shown that schools continue to actively and successfully promote water consumption among children.

Dr. Soares-Wynter added that school administrators are anxious to have a school nutrition policy in place to guide them on what foods are available or recommended for children.

The JYAN is a youth-led advocacy organisation that promotes and advocates for the rights of children, adolescents and youth.

Established in 2006, JYAN is one of the leading youth advocacy organisations in Jamaica and has executed sustained advocacy over the years on issues of sexual and reproductive health rights, mental health, violence and youth, child rights and protection.