Wife of the Anambra State Governor, Dr Nonye Soludo on Tuesday assured sustainance of her pet project, “Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Campaign”, even after the expiration of his husband’s tenure.
She said the project had come to stay and would expand beyond the state.
Speaking during a media chat in Awka, Soludo’s wife said the project has nothing to do with the government, adding that it was purely sponsored by voluntary donors.
“This initiative is primarily run by those who are paid to serve. We also receive freewill donation, but not from those who do business with the government,” she said.
According to Mrs. Soludo, the healthy living campaign is predicted on six segments, including promotion of good nutrition, environmental cleanliness, basic life skills and sound morals in the society.
She said she had been carrying out campaign in primary and secondary schools to help children imbibe the culture of healthy living.
She said, “For us to achieve a prosperous and livable homeland, we must embrace healthy living, both young and old and all the critical stakeholders in the society.
“I started championing Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo 10 years ago. I have about 130 products in the market. I give talks healthy life styles and good diets with our local foods.
“I want to bring the message home to our people because we need to be healthy to achieve a liveable and prosperous homeland.
“I have started forming Healthy Living Clubs in our schools to inculcate the culture of healthy life styles and catch them young.
“Our children need to get addicted to eating healthy, doing physical exercises and environment hygiene to stay healthy, rather than get addicted to their phones and social media.
Identifying vehicular pollution as one of the primary causes of air pollution driving climate change in society, the first lady urged Nigerians to embrace walking and cycling to reduce the menace and promote public health.
“The emissions from our vehicles are polluting the air and environment; and this is hazardous to human health.
“We need to introduce and embrace cycling to reduce carbon emissions and exposure. It is a clean mode of transport and a fitness choice with health benefits.
“Sometime we need to pack our cars and walk more, especially if we are not going long distance,” she said.
The first lady further urged Nigerians to cut down on processed foods and embrace backyard farming to harvest and eat natural foods.
“Our local foods are readily available and cheap. They are slso energy-giving, healing and medicinal to our body systems, organs and general health.
“We need to say no to processed foods and make conscious efforts to eat well with more grams of fiber and do 30minutes exercise daily.
“We are partnering with religious and community leaders to drive this message home within Anambra and beyond,” she said.