By Prisca Sam-Duru
June 1 every year is World Milk Day, a day set aside to educate people about the importance of milk while also focusing on activities that revolve around the dairy sector.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of activities were held globally on the digital space to mark the day.
World Milk Day was first launched in 2001 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, (FAO) of the United Nations to celebrate and increase public awareness about the nutritional and economic importance of milk and dairy products around the globe. June 1 was chosen as the date because many countries were already celebrating milk day during that time of the year.
Every year since inception in 2001, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been emphasized through campaigns and other initiatives promoted on June 1.
According to worldmilkday.org, this year’s World Milk Day’s theme focused on ‘Sustainability in the dairy sector with messages around the environment, nutrition, and socio-economics’.
“We are encouraging videos from farmers and others who are embracing technology to help create a low-carbon future for dairy,” it added.
This year’s commemoration not only provided an opportunity for countries to focus on the importance of milk, but also, raised awareness among the masses about the part dairy plays in healthy living, diets, and food production.
According to the FAO data, more than 1 billion people’s livelihoods are supported by the dairy sector, which is an indication of the massive importance of milk as a global food to people’s health. FAO also stated that more than six billion people globally, consume dairy.
The worldmilkday.org also seized the opportunity of the celebration to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on World Milk Day, encouraging organisers to host social media campaigns in order to abide by the policies put in place by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local governments.
“In light of the global pandemic of COVID-19, we encourage organizers to host social media campaigns or online events to abide by the policies put in place by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and your local government. Our thoughts go to all the people who are affected by this virus”.
