WINDHOEK – On October 10, Namibia joined hundreds of countries to celebrate World Egg Day to help eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
This was part of the activities of the International Egg Foundation (IEF) that has launched two projects, which are already using eggs to help change people’s lives in Southern Africa.
The IEF celebrated World Egg Day for the first time this year. The IEF is a new global charitable foundation, which helps provide people living in developing countries with greater access to eggs as part of its goal to combat malnutrition and provide people who are underfed and undernourished with access to a sustainable diet. The IEF is proud to be working alongside Heart for Africa, where it is supporting an orphanage in Swaziland, distributing hard cooked eggs to the children, a much needed source of protein. The project, named Project Canaan, will also fund and oversee the construction of an egg farm, to provide a sustainable source of food to the orphanage and the local community.
IEF is also working with the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), sharing knowledge and technical expertise to help national egg organisations in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe to increase the number of eggs available to people in their countries. Through the IEF-FAO Egg Capacity Building Seminars these Southern African countries are working towards increasing egg farming in their nations, and therefore increase the number of eggs available to people in their countries. As well as being an excellent source of high quality protein, and containing all the essential vitamins and minerals required for a healthy diet, eggs have two key advantages when it comes to helping to improve diets in developing countries. They are one of the most accessible forms of high quality protein, and they are a truly sustainable option.
In Namibia, small scale egg production schemes have been proven to help people achieve financial independence, increase their social standing, and encourage a sense of community.
Figures produced by the FAO show that 870 million people suffer from chronic hunger. Among children, it is estimated that 171 million under five years of age are chronically malnourished. The international egg industry is determined to use the power of eggs to help make a difference.