Fix My Food Jamaica
For every child, better nutrition, better health better futures
The Fix My Food Jamaica team has crafted an open letter calling for clear food labeling to protect Jamaica’s children and youth. Support the Fix My Food movement by signing the letter:
The ‘Fix My Food’ initiative aims to bring together young people to mobilize support and action for a better food environment.
Right now, the health of more than 1 in 3 children in Jamaica is at risk of a future impacted negatively by food-related illnesses. Childhood obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, and hypertension have become alarmingly more prevalent among children and youth.
Jamaican children are growing up in an environment that is flooded with processed foods high in unhealthy fat, salt and sugar. Such products are linked to overweight/obesity and NCDs including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. NCDs are the leading cause of death in Jamaica.
Lack of clear food labels, leaves children and youth vulnerable to an environment that promotes unhealthy food and beverages. Everyday children and youth are exposed to widespread, unregulated food marketing in their homes, schools, online, shops and in places they get together. Child-directed marketing, through cartoons, catchy songs, misleading claims etc., influence their food preferences and eating habits. Unhealthy options are widely available and at the same time healthier options may often be unavailable or unaffordable.
These realities present real barriers for young people to accessing healthy foods. Without action, these threats can have devastating short-term and long-term consequences for health of children and young people increasing the risk for a lifetime of poor health.
What needs to happen
Children, youth and young people are our present and future. Now more than ever, their right to health must be protected. Front-of-pack warning labels can help reduce purchases of unhealthy food and drive product reformulation, improving diet quality and reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Several countries have implemented them already with positive results. Front-of-package warning labels can support other food policies including nutrition policies in schools by allowing easy identification of unhealthy foods and beverages. Read more here.
The Government has an opportunity to protect the health of children and youth by implementing black octagonal front of package warning labels to be placed on unhealthy products. Such products should not be allowed to be marketed to children and should be restricted from sale and availability in schools.
Strengthening youth action
UNICEF is empowering youth advocates from around the country to use their lived experiences to speak up about these issues. Through workshops, mentoring and coaching, young people are strengthening their advocacy skills to ask for change. These young people are better equipped to take action and demand improvements to the food environment, for a healthy life today and in the future.
Fix My Food Jamaica is a coalition of young people advocating for a fairer food system where healthy food is available, accessible, and affordable for every child and youth. Fix My Food Jamaica which is part of the wider Fix My Food Global Movement, which is now present in more than 10 countries.
Fix My Food Jamaica is inspired by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Jamaican Government’s vision for “Jamaicans to be empowered to reach their full potential” through a healthy, stable population and Vision for Health 2030 health impact goal to address NCDs.
Together with various partners including civil society and youth organizations, Fix My Food Jamaica calls for children and youth to have access to nutritious, diverse and healthy diets. The youth movement in Jamaica is currently advocating for government to implement black octagonal front of package warning labels to support better food preferences, purchases and intake. Youth can support this effort by signing the Fix My Food Jamaica FOPWL Open letter.
The Fix My Food Global Movement was born out of the 2021 UNICEF Fix My Food Report which highlighted the demands of 700 young people from 18 countries on how they wanted to transform their food systems. The movement came to life in 2023 when UNICEF collaborated with Bite Back 2030 to bring together young people, influencers, celebrities and food entrepreneurs to advocate for healthier food environments across the East Asia and Pacific Region. Fix My Food is expanding to more regions and countries and the movement reached Jamaica in 2024. UNICEF Jamaica will keep on working with government and other partners to introduce policies to improve the food environment and help fulfil the right of every child to healthy food.
