Nestlé partners Tembo Education to raise nutritional awareness via SMS and WhatsApp
Nestlé has joined forces with Tembo Education to drive nutritional awareness in East Africa.
Nestlé partners Tembo to raise nutritional awareness via SMS and WhatsApp / Nestle
The partnership aims to utilize Nestlé for Healthier Kids initiative in the Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) by sending customised, nutrition-based curriculum to parents via SMS and WhatsApp messages.
Parents who will opt to enroll in the programme will receive customised lesson plans and health tips. There are various incentives like free data on mobile phones for parents who successfully disseminate the information to their children.
According to joint assessments conducted by Kenya’s County Departments and UNICEF last year, nearly 73,000 children are severely malnourished in Kenya alone.
Phil Michaels, founder and CEO, Tembo Education said: “Tembo’s aim is simple – to reach every parent in the world with a mobile phone. Mobile is without a doubt the most utilised communication platform in the world – it’s only right that organisations start to use the platform to reach those who need help the most. In no area is this more critical, than in the education of the region’s young children. Parents need to be involved in their children’s education – the mobile is the perfect portal to enable them to do so.”
James Ojambo, project lead, Nestlé said: “We believe this project is a real step forward in realising our joint goal of making 50 million healthier kids by 2030. With the Kenyan Ministry of Education’s support, the partnership is only likely to grow and we would love Tembo Education to one day become a staple part of a national curriculum. The future is exciting and we can’t wait to see how the project progresses.”
Gerardo Mazzeo, global innovation director at Nestlé, said: “We’re continuously on the lookout for innovative and creative partners to help us tackle some of the world’s biggest health, wellness and sustainability issues. By opening our objective up to external partners, we were able to draw on the fantastic talent and knowledge of the outside world.
"Together with Tembo Education, we’ve identified a potential solution to a challenge of real magnitude and we’re excited about what the initiative could achieve for the region. Combining Tembo's educational capabilities with our scale and reach, we're confident that we're going to improve health – and ultimately lives – across the region.”