Nestlé for Healthier Kids - Ajyal Salima
Nestlé for Healthier Kids - Ajyal Salima
The Nestlé for Healthier Kids program (N4HK) promotes balanced diets and healthy lifestyle habits for children aged 3–14 years and supports parents and caregivers to raise healthier kids.
Committed to creating shared value, we want to make food a fun and engaging part of life.
- We offer nutritious foods and beverages worldwide to answer children’s nutritional needs
- We provide nutrition education through school programs, innovative edutainment tools and social media awareness.
- Through our campaigns and initiatives, we share knowledge about the benefits of healthy lifestyles in the hope they will take that into adulthood.
- We help them appreciate the difference their individual diet and lifestyle choices make to the planet.
The school programme – An evidence-based intervention
Launched globally in 2009, this programme aims at promoting healthy eating habits and encouraging physical activity among children across the world. It runs in partnership with governments, academia and non-governmental organizations.
In the Middle east and North Africa region (MENA), to answer the rise in overweight and obesity while addressing nutritional habits and requirements of our children, “Ajyal Salima” school programme was launched in 2010 in Lebanon by Nestlé Middle East and the American University of Beirut (AUB), with the endorsement of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
It was scientifically developed and tested by the AUB. It encompasses classroom educational sessions consisting of interactive learning and hands-on activities, parental involvement, and interventions at the school canteen level.
The programme focuses on:
- Encouraging the intake of a balanced and varied diet.
- Increasing fruits and vegetables consumption to 5 servings or more a day.
- Decreasing high fat/sugar foods and beverages intake.
- Encouraging breakfast and healthy snacks intake.
- Increasing moderate physical activity.
- Decreasing screentime.
Replication across the region through strong private/public partnerships
The intervention was replicated in 8 countries of the region, being the only evidence-based* nutrition education programme in the Middle East proven to improve nutrition knowledge and eating behavior.
It is adopted in the health curriculum in Lebanon, endorsed by Her Majesty Queen Rania in Jordan, embedded in the Ministry of Education programmes in Palestine and part of the Bahrain Ministry of Health Strategy to address childhood obesity.
In 2023, we expanded our program into the North African region, forging new partnerships with the Educate me foundation in Egypt and the Zakoura foundation in Morocco in line with national priorities. These collaborations are vital in widening our reach and impact in the Middle East and North Africa.
To date, the programme has reached more than 1,000 schools and 1,300,000 students across the region, including Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, UAE and KSA.
The Ajyal Salima Online Education Platform
This digital platform provides an opportunity for children to keep learning remotely through fun, dynamic, and educational e-learning methods. It will help us reach parents and impact more kids from all age groups.
Sustainability Education
A “sustainable food system” provides nutrition and food security for everyone without compromising the well-being of people or the planet now and in the future. Therefore, we have developed new sustainability modules around food waste, recycling, and carbon footprint to educate children, helping them understand their role in the global community, instilling a sense of responsibility, and empowering them to make better choices.
Scientific Publications
To date, we have published seven articles in peer-reviewed journals on various aspects of the Ajyal Salima programme, including its strengths, lessons learned, effectiveness, impact on children's dietary behaviors, the methodology used, and the importance of partnerships.
