Nutrition
Bitter leaf soup (Ofe Onugbu)
Bitter leaf soup is a savoury Nigerian soup, commonly eaten with fufu. It has a slightly bitter taste. This soup is made with a leafy green, native to parts of Africa, known as bitter leaf. This nutritious African soup is commonly eaten with fufu, eba or pounded yam, but you can eat it also with rice.
Ingredients
- 500 grammes of meat precooked
- 800 grammes of cow/beef foot precooked
- 500 grammes of stock fish precooked
- 1-2 of dry fish
Other ingredients
- 250 grammes of bitter leaves (vegetable)
- 3 Uziza leaves
- 1-½ tablespoonfuls of mkpuru ofo powder
- 2 tablespoonfuls of cameroon pepper
- 2 table spoonfuls of ogiri
- 200 grammes of palmnut paste
- ¼ cup of coarsely ground crayfish
Preparation (bitter leaf)
-Wash the bitter leaf thoroughly with lot of water to remove sand and other particles.
-Boil in large pot for 30 minutes. (leave the pot open while cooking otherwise it would bubble over).
-Turn off heat, pour the bitter leaf into a sieve and run it over with cold water. -rinse a few times.
-Transfer back to pot and add half a tablespoonful of potash or baking soda. Bring to boil again and allow to boil for another 30mins.
-Store or use immediately.
Preparation ( bitter leaf soup)
- Put about eight cups of water in a pot. Add salt and bring to slow boil.
- Add the ground crayfish and ground cameroon pepper.
- Add the precooked meats, Turn down the heat to low. ( Don’t cook meats for too long remember they are already precooked)
- Add in the palmnut paste or palm oil and stir.
- Mix Ogiri with a little water and add to the pot. Then take a cooking spoon of hot liquid from the pot to dissolve the mkpuru ofo powder.
- Pour the dissolved mixture into the soup and stir. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- As the soup thickens, add onugbu leaves followed by the uziza leaves.
- Stir properly and allow soup to simmer for about a minute.
- Turn off heat. Do not cover pot immediately
Source: chefspencil.com
Health benefits of bitter leaf
Aids in Weight Loss
The components in bitter leaf juice make it great therapy for burning off that extra fat you have been looking at getting rid of.
Reduces Cancer Risks
Bitter leaf contains numerous anti-cancer properties like andrographolide compound which has been scientifically found to be effective in treating prostate cancers, gastric cancers, and colon.
Lowers high blood pressure
The same bitterness in bitter leaf that makes it unappetising is also one of its strongest best benefits. The bitterness of bitter leaf juice helps to lower your sugar level and controls blood pressure.
Aids in treatment of abdominal issues
Bitter leaf comes in handy in the treatment of abdominal issues like stomach upset, diarrhea, dysentery and other gastrointestinal tract diseases. Drinking a cup of bitter leaf juice twice daily helps bring relief from stomach problems.
Enhances fertility
Bitter leaf is very impressive when it comes to its benefit to the reproductive system of women. Drinking bitter leaf juice can help a woman get pregnant as the chemical compounds present in bitter leaf extracts like edotides promotes hormonal balance and boosts your immune system to help fight against toxification.
Source: guardian.ng/life
In March 2025, world leaders gathered in Paris for the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, the most important global gathering on malnutrition of the decade. Over $30 billion in new financial commitments were pledged globally by more than 170 actors from 82 countries. Ghana was there. Ghana made commitments. The question now is: are those commitments enough, and will they be delivered?
Ghana made 10 commitments at the 2025 N4G Summit. One of the most significant is a pledge to spend at least $6 million annually from 2026 for the procurement of essential nutrition commodities including ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS), iron-folic acid tablets, vitamin A supplements, and anthropometric equipment for measuring child growth.
This financial commitment is meaningful. For years, Ghana’s nutrition programmes have depended heavily on donor funding, leaving services vulnerable to aid cuts and supply disruptions. A domestic budget line for nutrition commodities signals a shift toward ownership and sustainability. It also directly supports Ghana’s Nutrition for Growth commitments from the 2021 Tokyo Summit, several of which remain off track.
The Bigger Picture
The 2025 N4G Summit was about more than funding. It called for systemic change: embedding nutrition in food systems, health coverage, climate resilience, and gender equality. Every dollar invested in nutrition is estimated to return $16 to the local economy. Yet malnutrition still costs Ghana an estimated 6.4 per cent of its GDP annually. That is not a public health statistic. It is an economic emergency.
The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has acknowledged that converting summit outcomes into actionable change requires transparent policy dialogue and locally driven solutions.
Commitments made in Paris must be tracked, funded, and implemented in Ghana’s communities. Programmes must move from pilot scale to national coverage. That will not happen without sustained political will, dedicated domestic financing, and public accountability.
Commitments made on global stages matter. But they only become meaningful when they translate into services in communities. The question is not what Ghana promised in Paris. It is what Ghana delivers at home.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
Cabbage is very rich in fibre, the main supplier of roughage. This helps the body retain water and it maintains the bulkiness of the food as it moves through the bowels.
Thus, it is a good remedy for constipation and other digestion-related problems.
Ingredients
-1 large cabbage
– 4 large fresh tomatoes
– 1 large onion
– Pepper
-Garlic
-2 large salmon
-1 tin of mackerel
-2 large green pepper
-Salt to taste
Preparation
-Chop cabbage roughly and wash in a large pot of water
-Pour vinegar on it and wait until you make other preparations. Then drain.
-Heat coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat
-Cook and stir onion in hot oil until onion turns dark brown.
-Blend tomatoes, green pepper, garlic and onion and add to the oil
-Add tomato paste, mackerel and salmon to stew
-Add cabbage, stir and cover to cook for 7 – 10 minutes
-Allow to simmer when it is soft and serve with rice, yam etc.
