UAE: Free meals for all students in public schools pushed at FNC
With Abu Dhabi's education department enforcing a healthy-eating policy and banning junk food in schools, there is a growing push to promote a safe and nutritious food environment for students.
A nationwide programme to distribute free healthy meals in UAE public schools is essential to fight rising obesity and ensure food equality among students, an Federal National Council (FNC) member said on Wednesday.
A 'National School Meals Initiative', which aimed to provide free meals to students in public schools across the country by 2025 was previously announced by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. However, the pilot phase, which was planned for the 2023–2024 academic year, was not implemented, according to FNC member Sumayya Al Suwaidi.
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"What efforts is the Ministry making to implement the initiative in the current academic year, 2024–2025?' asked Al Suwaidi.
'When this initiative was announced, it was well received by parents and the community as it plays a crucial role in promoting healthy eating habits for generations to come.'
The National School Meals Initiative was announced after the UAE joined the School Meals Coalition alongside 70 member states, aiming to provide each student with a healthy meal at school by 2030, explained Al Suwaidi. Over 388 million students benefited from the international coalition's initiative in 2020, and over 418 million by 2022.
"The ministry initially announced ambitious goals to supply 70 per cent of the initiative's food stuff and 30 per cent of its workforce from local resources, which will be of great value to the national economy." Highlighting the health, psychological and environmental values of implementing this initiative, Al Suwaidi said implementing the initiative is a 'national necessity'.
"It helps address the rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases, and the psychological issues young people suffer from. The initiative is essential for establishing social equality among students by providing equal access to nutritious food." The initiative will potentially put a curb on food waste, she added.
A national survey conducted in 2017-2018 showed that obesity rates among children and adolescents collected from routine school health screening reached 17.35 per cent, cited Al Suwaidi. The survey also showed obesity rates among adults at 27.8 per cent, while approximately 60 per cent of the UAE population were classified as overweight or obese.
In a written response to Al Suwaidi, Dr Amna Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said, 'The Ministry is currently working on updating the National Food Security Strategy. This update aims to ensure the enhancement of relevant projects and the revision of roles and responsibilities…These updates will help achieve national goals and strengthen the impact of execution.
"There will be a focus on enhancing the nutritional value of key crops included in the food basket and developing initiatives and projects to increase the contribution of local production to meeting domestic food needs, while ensuring compliance with food safety standards and requirements,' added the minister.
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