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Ban sale, marketing of junk foods in schools — UNICEF warns
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged governments to ban the sale and marketing of junk foods in schools as obesity overtakes underweight for the first time among school-age children and adolescents.
A new report by the United Nations (UN) agency, Child Nutrition Report 2025, warns that 188 million children aged five to 19 are now living with obesity, a figure that has tripled since 2000.
The report also stated that underweight rates have declined from nearly 13 per cent to 9.2 per cent, while obesity has risen from 3 per cent to 9.4 per cent within the same period.
According to the report, 391 million children and adolescents are overweight, with nearly half of them classified as obese.
The report, titled “Feeding profit: how food environments are failing children”, shows that obesity now exceeds underweight across all regions except sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
In a UNICEF poll of 64,000 young people across 170 countries, 75 per cent stated that they had seen junk food advertisement in the past week, and 60 per cent admitted the advertisements increased their desire to consume such foods.
The report highlights how junk food and sugary drinks dominate children’s diets and are aggressively marketed through shops, schools and digital platforms.
UNICEF further cautioned that obesity dramatically raises the risk of insulin resistance, high blood pressure, type-two diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and could cost countries billions in health expenses.
By 2035, the global economic impact of obesity is expected to surpass $4 trillion annually.
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, has, therefore called for mandatory food labelling, restrictions on marketing to children, and stronger social protection measures to ensure vulnerable families can afford healthy diets.
She said ultra-processed food was increasingly replacing fruits, vegetables and protein at a time when nutrition plays a critical role in children’s growth, cognitive development and mental health.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
A 29-year-old tricycle rider, Naah Mashood, has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour for defiling a three-year-old girl at Tiegber in the Wa Municipality.
The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Upper West Regional Police Command arrested the suspect on February 24, 2026, following a complaint lodged by the victim’s mother.
According to police, the convict, who had been contracted by the parents to pick the victim to and from school, lured her to an isolated location on February 23, 2026, and sexually assaulted her inside his tricycle, popularly known as ‘Camboo’.
After thorough investigations, he was arraigned before the Wa District Magistrate Court and subsequently stood trial at the Wa High Court.
On October 30, 2026, His Lordship Justice Osei-Wusu found him guilty of defilement and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment with hard labour.
The Upper West Regional Police Command has commended the officers involved in the investigation and prosecution, as well as all persons who contributed to ensuring justice was served.
The Command urged parents and guardians to keep a close eye on their children and ensure their safety at all times, and encouraged the public to report suspected cases of child abuse and defilement to the nearest police station or DOVVSU office for prompt action.
It further assured the public of its commitment to protecting children and ensuring perpetrators of sexual offences are brought to justice.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has announced the arrest of three suspected members of a criminal syndicate believed to be behind a series of robberies targeting bank customers in Kumasi and its environs.
On October 31, 2026, at about 11:30 pm, an IGP’s Special Team, comprising personnel from the Anti-Armed Robbery Unit of the CID Headquarters and the Accra Regional Police Intelligence Directorate (PID), acting on intelligence, embarked on an operation to apprehend the suspects.
The operation led to the arrest of two Nigerian nationals, Aboy Promise, 30, and Favour Uwalaka, 45, at a hotel at Moshie Zongo. A search of their rooms resulted in the recovery of GH¢1,600.00, assorted mobile phones, a Royal motorbike and a master key used to gain unauthorized access to victims’ vehicles to steal cash.
During interrogation, the suspects admitted their involvement in the robberies and mentioned two accomplices, Chinedu, alias Alhaji, and Kingsley, alias KC.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the syndicate monitored banking premises, identified customers who withdrew substantial sums of money and trailed them before attacking and robbing them. They also broke into unattended vehicles belonging to bank customers using a master key to steal cash kept inside.
The suspects subsequently led the police team to another hotel at Dechemso, a suburb of Kumasi, where Kingsley, alias KC, 35, also a Nigerian national, was arrested.
The remaining accomplice, Chinedu, alias Alhaji, is currently on the run. The Command is appealing to the public to volunteer credible information that could lead to his arrest. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to report to the nearest police station or contact the police through emergency numbers 191, 112 or the toll-free MTN and Telecel line 18555.
The suspects admitted to robbing a victim of GH¢15,000.00 at Asokore Mampong on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, after the victim had withdrawn money from Kwamang Rural Bank. They also admitted to similar robberies at the Atonsu branch of Fidelity Bank, the Ahodwo branch of Access Bank and other locations within Kumasi and its environs.
The three arrested suspects have since been handed over to the Ashanti Regional Police Command and are assisting with investigations.
The Command has cautioned bank customers to remain vigilant, be alert to suspicious persons around banking premises and avoid leaving cash or other valuables unattended in vehicles, while commending the public for their continued cooperation and assuring residents of its commitment to combating robbery and other criminal activities in the region.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
