The donation which was made possible with support from the American Soybean Association (ASA) and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) forms part of efforts to promote healthy nutrition among expectant women and children.
The donation was also in commemoration of International Women’s Day which will be marked worldwide on Tuesday, March 8, 2022.
The Greater Accra Regional President of the WIPVaC, Madam Pamela Agbotse, presenting the eggs to the Unit, said they have engaged the services of a dietician to also educate women at the health facility about the benefits of consuming eggs.
She mentioned that as part of a campaign to promote the consumption of eggs and dispel myths about eggs, WIPVaC had over the years made similar donations to psychiatric hospitals and inmates of Prisons across the country.
Receiving the eggs, the Deputy Nursing Officer of the Polyclinic, Ida Osei Kuffuor, assured that they would be put to good use and distributed equitably to every patient at the facility.
She however, urged the two groups to consider making the donation a periodic event to help boost the health development of the patients with emphasis on children.
On her part, Naana Adjei, a dietitian advised that because of the risk of developing allergies, parents should wait till a child turns one year old to begin gradually introducing eggs into their diets.
She stressed the most important factor about feeding babies with eggs was to wash them to ensure that bacteria from the shells was not introduced into the yolk.
We encourage mothers to properly was the eggs before preparation to avoid introducing bacteria from the egg shells into the food of the babies,” she noted
Adjei further advised against overcooking eggs because the protein content will be destroyed at high temperatures.
Ndidi Fordjoe, the Project Coordinator with The Little Cow, the organization coordinating events leading to the launch of the Eggstra-O campaign, further reiterated the aim of the event saying “the purpose of the event is to let people know that egg is good for everyone and also to educate the women on how to include eggs in diets for both pregnant women and children”.
The Eggstra-O campaign by the American Soybean Association and World Initiative for Soy in Human Health will highlight women’s contribution in the poultry industry and encourage egg diets as beneficial, healthy, and a good way to address malnutrition in children.