FrieslandCampina WAMCO Inspires 8 Young Researchers at 47th AGM

FrieslandCampina WAMCO, makers of Peak and Three Crowns milk,awarded cash prizes to eight young Nigerian nutritionists for their excellent scientific research presentations at the just concluded 47th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria.

The awardees were M.Sc and PhD students below age 35, including Ifeoma Ezeh, Yetunde Ogundairo, Chukwuka Oluebube and Joy Amadi. Others are Michael Oderinde, Ebunoluwa Odeyinde, Chinenye Ekwueme and John Ebenezer.

Tagged ‘Controversies in Nutrition: Separating Facts from Fads and Fallacies’, the five-day conference was held at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, and it had over 600 participants.

FrieslandCampina WAMCO also championed fitness routines for the delegates. The company organised 15-minute twice-daily Three Crowns milk-sponsored aerobic sessions that drew attention to the need for everyone to stay fit and healthy with the right nutrition and daily exercises. Participants enjoyed a 30-minute cardio session on the last day of the conference.

President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Dr. Bartholomew Brai, also called attention to worsening nutrition indices in Nigeria. He said, “The increased social media influence on food choices of Nigerians, which are mere fads and fallacies are affecting the health of our populace negatively.”

Keynote speaker at the conference, I. A. Onimawo, aprofessor,  highlighted key controversies in nutrition that affect infant and young child feeding, food consumption, diet-related non-communicable diseases and healthy diets.

In a communiqué issued after the September conference, the Nutrition Society of Nigeria called on government to ensure nutrition security in the country through budgetary allocations and institutionalizing nutrition in relevant ministries and agencies of government.