يكرّر وزير الصحة القول إن الاسم الفعلي لوزارته هو وزارة المرض لا وزارة الصحة، مما يوجب بناء استراتيجية الصحة على الوقاية، وهذا صحيح، فالوقاية خير من العلاج، كما أن الوقاية من الأمراض تخفف عبء الوزارة في تقديم خدمات علاجية أفضل للمرضى!
وزارة التعليم بدورها تؤدي دوراً مهمّاً في بناء استراتيجية الوقاية من خلال تحديد نوعية الأطعمة والمشروبات التي تقدمها مقاصف المدارس لطلابها، وقد قرأت، أمس، تعميماً يحدّد الأطعمة والمشروبات الممنوعة في مقاصف المدارس، وهي قائمة طويلة تكاد تمنع كل ما يباع في البقالات، مما يؤكد أن بيت الداء عندنا هو البقالات!
اللافت أن معظم البقالات المحيطة بمباني المدارس العامة والأهلية تزدحم بالطلاب قبل وبعد انتهاء الدوام المدرسي، مما يعني أن السيطرة على ضرر الأطعمة والمشروبات التي تباع للنشء يجب أن تمتد إلى كل منافذ بيعها داخل المدرسة وخارجها. وهنا تأتي الحاجة إلى تضافر جهود جهات عدة تنضوي تحت مظلة واحدة تُعنى بالصحة العامة للأطعمة والمشروبات، خاصة للأطفال!
واليوم لا توجد رقابة فاعلة على ما يعرض على أرفف المتاجر الاستهلاكية أو في قوائم المطاعم، والرقيب الوحيد هو الوعي الذاتي، وهنا تبرز أهمية دور الأسرة في تنمية وعي أطفالها بأضرار بعض الأطعمة والمشروبات، التي تسبّب السمنة وأمراض السكري وضغط الدم وغيرها من الأمراض التي يبدأ دفع ثمنها مع تقدم العمر!
لكن الوعي وحده لا يكفي، إذ إن الاهتمام بالتوعية في الأسر نسبي ومتفاوت، مما يوجب وجود دور رقابي على السلع المعروضة، وتقييم أضرارها، ومنعها إن لزم الأمر، أو وضع قيود على بيعها للأطفال!
باختصار.. صحة صغارنا وديعة لدينا، ننميها حتى يحصدوا فوائدها في كبرهم!
خالد السليمان
المقاصف والبقالات.. بيت الداء !
4 سبتمبر 2025 - 00:09
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آخر تحديث 4 سبتمبر 2025 - 00:09
تابع قناة عكاظ على الواتساب
The Minister of Health repeatedly states that the actual name of his ministry is the Ministry of Illness, not the Ministry of Health, which necessitates building a health strategy based on prevention. This is true; prevention is better than cure, and preventing diseases reduces the burden on the ministry to provide better treatment services for patients!
The Ministry of Education, for its part, plays an important role in building a prevention strategy by determining the types of food and beverages offered in school cafeterias to its students. I read yesterday a circular that specifies the foods and drinks prohibited in school cafeterias, and it is a long list that almost bans everything sold in grocery stores, confirming that the root of the problem lies with us in the grocery stores!
It is noteworthy that most grocery stores surrounding public and private school buildings are crowded with students before and after school hours, which means that controlling the harm of the foods and drinks sold to the youth must extend to all sales outlets both inside and outside the school. Here comes the need for the concerted efforts of several entities under one umbrella concerned with the public health of food and beverages, especially for children!
Today, there is no effective oversight on what is displayed on the shelves of consumer stores or in restaurant menus, and the only regulator is self-awareness. Here, the importance of the family's role in raising their children's awareness of the harms of certain foods and drinks, which cause obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other diseases that begin to exact a toll as one ages, becomes evident!
However, awareness alone is not enough, as the attention to education within families is relative and varies. This necessitates the existence of a regulatory role over the displayed goods, assessing their harms, and banning them if necessary, or placing restrictions on their sale to children!
In short... the health of our children is a trust we hold, which we nurture until they reap its benefits in their adulthood!
The Ministry of Education, for its part, plays an important role in building a prevention strategy by determining the types of food and beverages offered in school cafeterias to its students. I read yesterday a circular that specifies the foods and drinks prohibited in school cafeterias, and it is a long list that almost bans everything sold in grocery stores, confirming that the root of the problem lies with us in the grocery stores!
It is noteworthy that most grocery stores surrounding public and private school buildings are crowded with students before and after school hours, which means that controlling the harm of the foods and drinks sold to the youth must extend to all sales outlets both inside and outside the school. Here comes the need for the concerted efforts of several entities under one umbrella concerned with the public health of food and beverages, especially for children!
Today, there is no effective oversight on what is displayed on the shelves of consumer stores or in restaurant menus, and the only regulator is self-awareness. Here, the importance of the family's role in raising their children's awareness of the harms of certain foods and drinks, which cause obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other diseases that begin to exact a toll as one ages, becomes evident!
However, awareness alone is not enough, as the attention to education within families is relative and varies. This necessitates the existence of a regulatory role over the displayed goods, assessing their harms, and banning them if necessary, or placing restrictions on their sale to children!
In short... the health of our children is a trust we hold, which we nurture until they reap its benefits in their adulthood!
