Malnutrition disaster to public health — Stakeholder

Ghana’s ongoing malnutrition problem is both a public health concern and a development disaster because it affects child survival, mother health, and birth outcomes,

Although Ghana has made significant strides in addressing malnutrition, but critical challenges persist, and immediate action is needed to address the issue, especially with regard to children under five.

These issues were brought up during a stakeholder discussion on malnu­trition in Ghana organised by Wom­en, Media and Change (WOMEC), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that works to advance gender equality and empower women in partnership with the Coalition of Public Health Actors (CAPHA).

The meeting served as the formal inauguration of the “Nourish Ghana; Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition Project,” one of WOMEC’s main advocacy efforts. The “Uniting to End Malnutrition” project seeks to increase public awareness of Ghana’s urgent mal­nutrition problem and its effects on development and health.

The gathering included local stake­holders, the media, civil society or­ganisations (CSOs), and policymakers.

The Executive Director of WOMEC, Dr Mrs Charity Binka, stated in her speech that malnutrition costs Ghana about 6.4 per cent of its GDP annually and that, despite pledges, they were insufficient because the country was still struggling with malnutrition.

She pointed out that despite contin­uous attempts, little has been accom­plished, with inadequate government funding for nutrition programmes and enduring regional imbalances.

Dr Mrs Binka disclosed that new statistics from the 2022 Ghana Demo­graphic Health Survey (GDHS) shows that nearly half of children under five suffer from anaemia, with 18 per cent of them being stunted, 6 per cent wasted, and 12 per cent underweight.

According to her, the statistics demonstrated the urgency with which the problem must be resolved, failing it will have an impact on the pro­ductivity and well-being of future generations. She also argued for more financing, responsibility, and leader­ship in order to boost national policy action on nutrition.

In a statement by Nii-Odoi Odotei, the Principal Planning Analyst of the National Development Planning Com­mission (NDPC), malnutrition jeop­ardises Ghana’s future by preventing sustainable growth and causing large financial losses.

“The coexistence of undernutri­tion, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity among the same populations, homes, and people is indicative of the nation’s complicated nutrition land­scape,” he said.

Furthermore, Dr Odotei emphasised the urgent need for a coordinated and multi-stakeholder approach that will stand as a tangible step forward in leveraging the knowledge and dedica­tion of the government, civil society, academia, and private sector, stating that the Nourish Ghana initiative “is a timely and strategic response to our nations pressing nutrition challenges.”

He reaffirmed NDPC’s commitment to supporting laws that guarantee more funding, leadership, and trans­parent accountability in nutrition programmes.

Scaling up Nutrition (SUN), nu­tritionist, Mrs Wilhelmina Okwabi, lamented that some pregnant women do not eat healthily, which has an im­pact on their unborn children because a mother who is undernourished gives birth to a child who is also undernour­ished.

In order to address the problem of malnutrition, she suggested that CSOs must educate women in their commu­nities.

Professor Richmond Nii Okai Ary­eetey, Director of the Food and Nutri­tion Intelligent System (FANIS), at the University of Ghana, said it is critical to update existing work on nutrition rather than repeat it.

He recommended that the private sector take a proactive role in the fight against malnutrition.

By Georgina Quaittoo