Every baby deserves a healthy start. But in Ghana, too many children are being born already behind, too small, too fragile, and at far greater risk than their peers. Low birth weight, defined as weighing less than 2.5 kilograms at birth, affects an estimated one  in seven newborns in this country.

That is a significant proportion of children beginning life at a disadvantage, often due to preventable causes.

Children born with low birth weight face a steeply uphill journey from their very first breath. They are more susceptible to birth asphyxia, infections, hypothermia, and respiratory complications.

They are more likely to die in their first month of life. Those who survive face higher risks of stunting, impaired cognitive development, and a greater likelihood of developing non-communicable diseases including type two diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease later in life.

Low birth weight does not just harm the child today. It shapes their health for decades.

The most powerful determinant of a baby’s birth weight is what the mother eats, and how healthy she is before and during pregnancy. Research in Ghana has consistently shown that maternal anaemia, poor dietary diversity, and inadequate antenatal care are all strongly linked to low birth weight.

A study in Cape Coast found that mothers with low dietary diversity during pregnancy were significantly more likely to deliver low birth weight babies. In Northern Ghana, maternal anaemia in both the first and third trimesters of pregnancy increased the risk of low birth weight. What a woman eats is what her baby weighs.

Education matters too. Mothers with secondary or higher education have been found to be less likely to deliver a low-birth-weight baby, a difference attributed to better nutrition knowledge, improved antenatal care attendance, and healthier health-seeking behaviour overall.

This points clearly to the need for a whole-of-society response, not just a clinical one.

Ghana has made some progress on low birth weight, but the burden remains unacceptably high and in some parts of the country, it is worsening. Other important risk factors must not be overlooked.

Adolescent pregnancy, which remains prevalent in several regions, is strongly associated with low birth weight because young mothers are often still growing and competing with the fetus for nutrients.

Malaria infection during pregnancy, particularly in endemic areas of Ghana, damages the placenta and restricts nutrient transfer, further increasing the likelihood of a low-birth-weight baby.

These risk factors compound the effects of poor maternal nutrition and limited antenatal care. Leaders in government, health facilities, and communities must prioritise maternal nutrition before, during, and after pregnancy.

Reducing low birth weight is not complicated. It requires feeding mothers well, supporting them through antenatal care, ensuring access to iron-folic acid supplementation and malaria prevention during pregnancy, and treating their health as a national priority, not an afterthought.

Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project

Reliable data is the foundation of effective health systems. Governments need accurate information to track progress, identify gaps, and ensure that services reach the people who need them most. In Ghana, however, data on nutrition services often remains fragmented.

For example, it is possible to estimate how many children received Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) treatment in some districts during the past quarter. But these numbers often come from separate reporting systems maintained by different implementing partners.

Each project may collect and report data in its own format. When donor-funded programmes end, the systems used to track service delivery may also disappear. As a result, national health planners cannot always see a complete, real-time picture of nutrition service coverage across the country.

This challenge is common in areas where services depend heavily on project-based funding. When nutrition interventions operate primarily through donor programmes, coverage data often comes from periodic surveys or partner reports rather than routine health system data.

Comparing outcomes across facilities or districts requires compiling information from multiple sources, which can be time-consuming and sometimes inconsistent. The result is that decision-makers may be working with incomplete or outdated information when planning nutrition services.

Integrating nutrition interventions into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) could help change this. When services such as RUTF treatment for severe acute malnutrition and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women become part of the NHIS benefits package, their delivery would automatically generate data through existing national health information systems.

Each child receiving RUTF would generate a reimbursement claim recorded within NHIS systems. Each pregnant woman receiving MMS during antenatal care would leave a record linked to her NHIS enrollment.

In practical terms, this means nutrition coverage could be tracked continuously rather than estimated periodically. If facilities in districts with known malnutrition burdens are not submitting claims for RUTF, the gap becomes visible much sooner.

If recovery rates at specific facilities fall below expected standards, health managers can investigate and provide support. If supply chains break down, the absence of claims may signal a problem before it becomes widespread.

Data integration also strengthens accountability. NHIS reimbursement systems require documentation that services were delivered. Facilities must maintain records to support their claims, and routine audits help verify the accuracy of reporting.

These processes reduce the risk of inflated numbers or reporting errors that sometimes occur in fragmented project systems. At the same time, integrated data systems create opportunities for better learning and programme improvement.

When nutrition services are captured within broader health system data, analysts can begin to answer important questions. For example, do children who complete RUTF treatment experience better growth outcomes later? Do pregnant women who receive MMS have fewer complications during delivery?

These kinds of insights become easier to generate when nutrition services are fully embedded within national health information systems.

Integrated data also strengthens public accountability. When nutrition interventions operate through NHIS, policymakers and parliamentarians can review their performance through the same dashboards used to monitor other health services.

Coverage rates, budget use, and service quality become visible through a single national system rather than scattered across multiple donor reports.

Ultimately, improving data systems is about more than administrative efficiency. It reflects a shift in how nutrition is viewed.

When nutrition services depend mainly on external projects, they are often treated as temporary initiatives. When they are integrated into national systems such as NHIS, they become core health services deserving the same attention and monitoring as other essential treatments.

Knowing in real time how many children receive treatment for severe malnutrition or how many pregnant women access comprehensive micronutrient support allows Ghana to move from periodic assessments to continuous accountability.

That is the difference between hoping nutrition programmes are working and knowing whether they are delivering results.

Feature article by Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project.