The Sunday Mail
A great number of Zimbabwean children risk becoming slow learners and developing various medical conditions due to low consumption of milk and its by-products, experts have said. Data released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency shows that local milk consumption per capita stands at seven litres annually. This means, on average, each Zimbabwean drinks as little as 0,02 litres of milk per day.
Countries such as Kenya have a daily consumption rate many times higher than Zimbabwe’s.
Breastmilk is recommended for infants while children between four and nine years old should ideally drink two to three glasses of milk daily. Recommended daily consumption for adolescents and adults is four glasses of milk daily.
Low dairy product uptake leads to poor bone development, eyesight problems, dullness and general weakness, among other negatives. University of Zimbabwe Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences lecturer Mrs Nyasha Mushonga said milk was critical to human development, in boosting the immune system. Some of the key nutrients found in milk are calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, proteins and fat.
“If a child does not take enough milk or dairy products, he or she will suffer from deformed bone development and stunted growth, eyesight difficulties and dullness,” said Mrs Mushonga.
“Because such a child is generally weak, he or she tends not to be sharp since they also experience eyesight problems and teachers might ignore the problem. In addition, stunted growth might lead to dullness as the child, owing to deformed bone development, will not develop to their full potential.”
Mrs Tendayi Marecha, the chief dairy officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development’s Department of Dairy Services, said reintroduction of the Schools Milk Programme would promote dairy product consumption in primary learning institutions.
She attributed the low consumption to a diminishing “milk consumption culture”.
