WCRD 2015: Consumers International Member promotes traditional food in Zimbabwe

CI Member, the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) will be marking World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) 2015 by organising a 10km race and a fayre to highlight consumers’ right to healthy food. 

The race is open to everyone and will finish in the grounds of a sports club, where there will be lots of different activities, including an additional 5km walk and various booths featuring: a discussion led by ‘Food Matters’ on healthy food and diets; a medical booth measuring peoples’ blood pressure and giving advice, and a booth measuring peoples’ body mass index and giving advice on cholesterol.

The Ministry of Health will give a talk about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and what Zimbabwe is doing on a national policy level to combat this. A World Health Organisation (WHO) representative will also address issues from a global perspective and encourage participating corporations and consumers to follow healthy diets. 

Rosemary Siyachitema, Executive Director of CCZ said:

“The issue of healthy eating touches all of our lives as consumers, and most of us in Africa, because you want your family to be considered ‘well-to-do’. Eating foods like chocolates, sweets, potato chips and fast foods like KFC, means we forsake our traditional, less processed foods because it is considered food for the poor.”

“WCRD is an important way to remind those who run supermarkets, the producers, manufacturers and consumers to consider healthy food and diets – and make local food more fashionable. Producers need to work to reduce salts, sugars and fats which can lead to cardiac diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancers and other NCDs.” 

Zimbabwe is seeing increasing numbers of people suffering from diet-related diseases. This is partly due to a struggling economy – many people do not have medical aid and local hospitals are struggling to give adequate medical care and other support. NCDs are putting extra pressure on an already strained health system.

Obesity alone is estimated to cost $2 trillion per year globally. This isn’t just a ‘rich world’ problem – some of the biggest increases in diet-related diseases are in developing countries. Add your voice to our call for a: #FoodTreatyNow: https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/22307-healthy-food-now

Find out more about CCZ's WCRD 2015 activities on their website: www.ccz.org.zw