Action Plan: Advocacy for Children’s Nutrition

Running head: ACTION PLAN: ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN’S NUTRITION 1
Action Plan: Advocacy for Children’s Nutrition
Name
Institution

ACTION PLAN: ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN’S NUTRITION 2
Action Plan: Advocacy for Children’s Nutrition
Title: Advocating for nutritional food requirements by our children to parents, teachers and
community members.
Objective: To educate children, parents, teachers, and members of the community on the need
for their children to observe a balanced diet in their meals.
Significance of the Plan: This plan will be very important for any individual who is
concerned with promoting the health standards of children. The plan will be helpful to all
children from families of all walks of life. The plan is constructed basing on existing research
and literature surrounding the concept of nutrition on children. Considering that there is
inadequate research done to promote healthy dietary behaviors for children in rich family
settings, this advocacy plan will be very resourceful for affluent parents. The research,
however, does not overlook the need to advocate for proper diets to children from poor
backgrounds. The plan will optimally utilize the pieces of evidence of risky health eating
behaviors manifested in various literature sources about the topic. Apart from parents, teachers
and academicians will find this research to be of much significance. Moreover, this advocacy
plan will be of much use to the government and other major stakeholders concerned with the
health of young children. Public health enthusiasts may also find this particular plan very
informative. Nonetheless, children's rights advocates may find this plan recommendable to
their focus groups. The plan may also be of use to future researchers concerned with the health
of children. This plan is fashioned to change the perceptions of parents, teachers, dieticians
and other relevant stakeholders on the issue of proper diets to children. Although children are
the major beneficiaries of this plan, the plan rarely addresses to educate or change their
perceptions about proper diets. According to Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, a developing

ACTION PLAN: ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN’S NUTRITION 3
child is subject to five ecological environments. The model suggests that family and school are
the most critical systems which determine a child's life during his/her initial stages of life
(Newland, 2015). This plan is inclined to the idea that a child’s decision is mostly made by
his/her parent or teacher. A child’s decision about his or her dietary pattern may not be
reliable. Therefore, the plan will mostly target the two groups because they make the decisions
for a child.
Why is Children’s Nutrition Important? Undoubtedly, healthy children act as a guarantee
for future healthy societies. It is rational to wish for future healthy communities. Observing
proper diets on children ensures proper growth and reduces cases of malnutrition (Ibrahim,
Zambruni, Melby & Melby, 2017). Malnutrition is a leading cause of many early childhood
infections and sometimes may lead to deaths. Malnutrition is associated with the high
mortality and morbidity rates of children in Central African republics such as the Democratic
Republic of Congo (Munthali, Jacobs, Sitali, Dambe & Michelo, 2015). Many poorly fed
children lack the necessary immunity components to handle diseases. Children in poor areas
are likely to succumb to illnesses, courtesy of malnutrition. Nonetheless, according to Kirova,
Bays & Lagalwar (2015)children malnutrition adversely affects their cognitive capabilities
because the children have poor working memories. Therefore, poorly fed children are destined
to perform poorly in academics. Under-nourished children tend to develop symptoms of
anxiety, depression, stress and other psychological disorders from an early age. In many cases,
under-nourished children are aggressive and are associated to initiate fights and violence
among their peers (Chen, Corvo, Lee & Hahm, 2017). To improve education quality, food
deficiency incidences must be eliminated.

ACTION PLAN: ADVOCACY FOR CHILDREN’S NUTRITION 4
Improving the diets of our children secures children from the risky health hazards that happen
in the later phases of human life. For instance, a child who occasionally eats oranges and citrus
fruits secured from the risk of developing scurvy, a health condition that occurs during the
latter stages of a person's life (Meisel, Daggubati & Josephson, 2015). Proper feeding habits
enable children to acquire adequate nutrients for their growth and development. Children who
frequently eat balanced diets are likely to be very lively and healthy in their schools and
homes.
Motives for Action Plan: In the contemporary world, the number of children suffering from
malnutrition is alarming. According to a report by the World Health Organization, about 45%
of deaths for children under the age of 5 are associated with malnutrition (WHO, 2019). The
report further asserts that more than 155 million children under the age of 5 have stunted
growths due to malnutrition while about 41 million children are obese or overweight. These
statistics were the main motives that instigated the need for an action plan. It was apparent that
affirmative action needed to be taken for the benefit of our future society.
Goals Actions and
Strategies
Key Activities Key
Targets/Pa
rticipants
Estimated
Timeframe
Encouraging
families on
the need for
the
Conducting
meetings and
informative
rallies with
I will engage parents in social
meetings, church rallies and
market places on the importance
of observing a balanced diet in
Parents Approximatel
y two months.
For this
project, I will