KENDSA

Staring at this Food and Nutrition Awards 2025: Nutrition Media Excellence Award tonight, & a flood of memories comes rushing back. It’s not just a piece of crystal; it’s a tangible reminder of the late nights, the unwavering belief in the power of accurate information, and the incredible journey to use media to bridge the nutrition gap. Humbled, grateful, and energized to keep telling the stories that matter. Thank you, Nutrition and Dietetics Academy, for this honor.

The ongoing university lecturers' strike feels like a deep failure of governance, effectively bringing the entire public higher education system to a standstill. At the heart of this industrial action is the government's prolonged refusal to fully honor the 2017–2021 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The worst hit by this stalemate are the students, especially those in their final year. What should be a time of graduation excitement has turned into paralyzing uncertainty. Institutions like Egerton & JKUAT remain closed indefinitely. Final-year students are stuck, unable to finalize their careers or postgraduate plans because they cannot access final clearances, transcripts, or submit their supervised theses & research projects. This limbo causes immense anxiety & delays their entry into the job market. For parents, this strike imposes a terrible financial strain. They keep paying for accommodation, upkeep, & tuition, even as the weeks stretch into months without any academic activity. This extends a four-year degree into five years or longer, escalating costs & delaying any economic returns on their investment. Many families are emotionally & financially exhausted. Some students have already used up their HELB funds but remain stranded on idle campuses. The Executive’s management of this crisis has been frustratingly incompetent & inconsistent, exposing a major leadership failure. The CS for Education, Julius Ogamba is not a serious man ,for his lack of urgency & contradictory statements. He initially gave inaccurate figures for the arrears before finally admitting to the Ksh 7.9 billion claimed by the unions. Now entering its second month, the strike underscores a structural problem: the administration’s failure to honor labor agreements due to a lack of political will. Unfortunately, this leaves both students and parents suffering as collateral damage. Yawa tumechoka! Nani ata tusave ?

Always glad to share valuable nutritional insights with the public, empowering healthier choices every day.

While I agree with the crucial point that our fitness influencer needs guidance to operate strictly within his professional competence, especially concerning medications and prescription drugs, I must express a strong objection to the suggestion that he shift his focus to health communication in areas such as Nutrition. ​As a Nutrition professional, this recommendation implies a lack of recognition for Nutrition as a specialized field with its own licensed practitioners. The influencer in question is not a trained or licensed Nutritionist and therefore cannot, under any circumstances, provide nutritional information or recommendations. ​Effective Nutrition education and communication are guided by standardized concepts built upon individualized and personalized care. This expertise is rooted in the Nutrition Care Process and resource-appropriate interventions, knowledge that non-Nutritionists or unqualified individuals lack. ​In Kenya, our fundamental doctrines are enshrined in the Kenya National Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics reference manual, and the profession is regulated by several specific laws and acts. My humble plea is that we all recognize and adhere to our respective areas of expertise to ensure public safety.

Selling diet plans without proper nutritional assessment can mislead people. Nutrition is not just about weight loss ,it involves health conditions, allergies, medications, & genetics. That’s why professionals tailor plans to individuals.

As a nutritionist, I really encourage pple 2 be cautious with diet plans. Evryone’s body is different, & a 1-size-fits-all approach can do more harm than good. Ideally, diet plans should be individualized after assessing someone’s health status, lifestyle, & medical background