Primary school-based campaign sponsored by Duopharma Biotech brand Champs attracted more than 2,800 creative writing and drawing entries from Lower and Upper Primary students
KUALA LUMPUR, 9 November 2023 – Duopharma Biotech Berhad (“Duopharma Biotech” or “the Company”) and co-organisers Sin Chew Media Corporation and the National Union of School Heads Malaysia (Kesatuan Kebangsaan Guru-Guru Besar Malaysia) celebrated the successful conclusion of the Kempen Pemakanan Seimbang Champs today with a prize presentation ceremony graced by Abdul Muie Ngah, Director of Day School Management Division of Ministry of Education. Also present at the ceremony were Koo Cheng, Executive Director of Sin Chew Media Group and CEO of Sin Chew Daily, Chin Wai Kuen, Secretary-General of the National Union of School Heads Malaysia and Shamsul Idham Ahad, Chief Executive Officer of Duopharma Consumer Healthcare Sdn Bhd, as well as the prize winners and their teachers.
The campaign – supported by Duopharma Biotech’s leading nutrition brand Champs as the main sponsor, promoted balanced nutrition among schoolchildren, targeting 1,302 national-type Chinese primary schools (SJKC) nationwide in collaboration with Sin Chew Media Corporation. As part of the campaign activities, nutritionists from the Ministry of Health accompanied by magician Uncle Fishy visited 22 selected primary schools to give talks on balanced nutrition and healthy eating in fun and interactive sessions. Meanwhile, on-ground campaign outreach activities at over 100 SJKC across Malaysia promoted a balanced diet with informational materials and Champs vitamin products to approximately 20,000 students. At the same time, broader campaign engagement including digital outreach, distribution of printed materials and coverage from Sin Chew Daily, Bintang Sin Chew (小星星), Xing Xing Xue Tang (星星学堂) and Sinchew-i.com, reached an audience of 100,000 SJKC students nationwide.
“As a leading Malaysian pharmaceutical company with a mission to be the “Leading Healthcare Group Providing Quality and Innovative Solutions”, nutrition is one of our key focus areas. While our vitamin brand Champs offers convenience to parents wishing to supplement their children’s nutritional intake, Duopharma Biotech also firmly supports promoting a balanced diet for good health, among Malaysians of all ages. Through this campaign, we were pleased to work with school principals, teachers and parents around the country, who found the campaign to be highly beneficial for students and some principals even took time to share their thoughts on the campaign. We certainly look forward to future opportunities to collaborate on creating benefits for children across Malaysia,” said Wan Amir-Jeffery Wan Abdul Majid, Chief Executive Officer-Commercial, Duopharma Biotech Berhad.
The Kempen Pemakanan Seimbang Champs also supported national efforts to address the problem of malnutrition among approximately 5.6 million schoolchildren in Malaysia, in line with the 2022-2030 National Strategic Plan to Combat the Double Burden of Malnutrition Among Children in Malaysia. The National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) previously found that incidences of stunting in children under five in Malaysia increased to 21.8% in 2019 from 17.7% in 20152. The study also found that children do not eat enough vegetables daily (92%), do not eat enough fruits daily (67%) and do not eat breakfast (70%), all of which can lead to malnutrition and subsequently, stunting. With Malaysia being the only ASEAN country not reaching satisfactory growth levels according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health has targeted to reduce stunting among children to at least 8% by 2030.
Encouraging understanding through creative writing
To encourage deeper understanding on balanced nutrition among the SJKC students, the Kempen Pemakanan Seimbang Champs also featured a drawing and writing competition. Lower Primary students (Standard 1 to 3) were tasked with drawing a picture of “My Best Nutritious Breakfast” and writing a short 80-word handwritten essay to explain their choice of foods, while Upper Primary Students (Standard 4 to 6) were required to complete a creative essay focusing on balanced nutrition in 1,200 to 1,500 words. In total, 1,665 entries were received from Lower Primary students while 1,138 entries were received from Upper Primary students.
The competition offered a combined cash prize of RM12,500 covering both categories. In each category, the Champion received a cash prize of RM1,000, followed by RM800 for the Runner-up, RM600 for the 3rd Place winner, RM400 for 4th Place and RM300 for 5th Place. In addition, 20 Consolation Prize winners received RM150 each. A special Most Popular Prize with RM150 cash was also presented to the entry with the highest public votes via the Facebook pages of Bintang Sin Chew (小星星) and Xing Xing Xue Tang (星星学堂). All winners also received a Certificate of Achievement.
For more information about Champs, please visit its official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ChampsVitaminsOfficial