Nutrition

Galamsey and Nutrition: Counting the real cost of Ghana’s gold rush

Published

6 months ago

October 17, 2025

Illegal small-scale mining, or galamsey, has been branded as one of Ghana’s gravest environmental and economic threats. Successive governments have promised action, task forces have been deployed, and billions of cedis lost in revenue have been reported. Yet a deeper crisis is unfolding beneath the surface: a nutrition emergency directly linked to the destruction caused by galamsey.

Across mining belts in the Western, Ashanti, and Eastern regions, rivers that once sustained farming and fishing are contaminated with mercury and cyanide. Farmers say irrigation is impossible; fishermen say their nets return empty. Independent studies confirm that mercury levels in some rivers exceed World Health Organisation guidelines. The result is a sharp reduction in safe food production and an erosion of the very foundation of Ghana’s nutritional security.

The figures are sobering. Nationally, one in five children under five is stunted. Nearly half of women of reproductive age are anaemic. Child wasting remains at emergency levels in some districts. The destruction of fertile land and poisoning of water through galamsey only compound these problems. In some mining-affected districts, local health authorities report higher rates of undernutrition and anaemia than the national average.

Economists estimate that malnutrition already costs Ghana up to 6.4 per cent of its GDP each year in lost productivity, poor educational outcomes, and higher health expenditures. With agriculture compromised by galamsey, the bill is rising. Food inflation is being felt in urban markets, while rural households in mining areas are forced to survive on monotonous diets that lack the nutrients needed for growth and development.

The accountability gap is glaring. Ghana committed at the 2025 Nutrition for Growth Summit to invest $6 million annually in nutrition. Yet the same state resources continue to be drained by environmental damage, water treatment costs, and agricultural losses linked to galamsey. While authorities launch operations against illegal miners, enforcement remains inconsistent and politically fraught, raising questions about who benefits from the destruction.

Experts warn that without decisive action, galamsey will derail Ghana’s progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those on zero hunger, good health, and climate action. “Every river poisoned is a food system destroyed, and Ghana cannot achieve food security while watching our land vanish,” says Dr Charity Binka, Executive Director, WOMEC.

The evidence is clear: galamsey is not just an environmental crime. It is a public health emergency and a development crisis. Addressing it requires more than rhetoric; it requires enforcement, transparency, and the political will to confront vested interests. Unless this happens, Ghana risks trading its children’s nutrition and future productivity for short-term gains in gold.

We therefore demand the activation of permanent inter-agency galamsey response teams with prosecutorial authority independent of political interference and the establishment of a Galamsey Restoration Fund financed through penalties for river remediation and emergency nutrition interventions. We also call for the publication of quarterly malnutrition data disaggregated by mining-affected districts.

We join the call for amendments to the Minerals and Mining Act with a focus on mandating nutrition impact assessments with automatic permit suspension for violations, the resourcing of community water monitoring committees with testing kits, and the invitation of UN Special Rapporteurs to assess affected regions and provide independent recommendations.

We urge every citizen to demand that their MP publicly declare their enforcement plan and support stronger penalties, because the evidence is overwhelming and the solutions are known. Ghana’s rivers, farmlands, and children cannot wait for another empty promise.

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

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Nutrition

The Data Imperative: How NHIS integration can strengthen nutrition monitoring

Published

5 days ago

April 11, 2026

WeeklySpectator

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.