Nutrition
Reasons children must eat fruits
• fruit-basket arrangement
Fruit is one of the most important parts of your child’s diet. It’s low in fat and calories and supplies key nutrients that your child needs to grow. Fruit helps protect your child from certain illnesses and diseases as well. Elementary-age children need between 1 and 1 1/2 cups of fruit each day and teens should get between 1 1/2 and 2 cups.
Low in Fat and Calories
One out of three children is overweight or obese, largely due to unhealthy diets high in fat and calories and low in nutrients. Eating plenty of fruit is one way to lower your child’s caloric intake, which can help prevent unhealthy weight gain or shed excess pounds. Replacing high-calorie and high-fat snacks with fresh fruit can significantly cut the number of calories in your child’s diet. Fresh fruit also contains nutrients that give your child energy so he can be active, which is another way to help him manage his weight.
Rich in fibre
Fresh fruit is a nutritious source of fibre, which many children don’t get enough of in their daily diets. Fibre helps keep your child’s digestive system working normally, which reduces his risk of constipation. When your child gets plenty of fibre in his diet, he’s also at a decreased risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Enriched with vitamins and minerals
Fruit contains a wealth of key vitamins and minerals that support your child’s development and help keep him healthy. Plenty of fruit helps your child get adequate amounts of potassium, which helps keep his blood pressure normal. Fruit supplies vitamin C, a nutrient that boosts your child’s immune system and helps prevent infection. It also provides vitamin A for healthy eyes and folate for normal DNA production.
Has many health benefits
The vitamins and minerals in fruit keep your child’s kidneys working normally, which decreases his risk of kidney stones, and helps your child build bone mass, according to the ChooseMyPlate.gov website. A diet rich in fruit can reduce your child’s lifetime risk of certain types of cancer such as throat, oesophageal and stomach. Fruit might also reduce the risk of lung cancer, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
Improves academic performance
A healthy and well-balanced diet supports brain development, and eating plenty of fresh fruit might boost your child’s performance in school. A 2008 study published in the “Journal of School Health” notes that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables results in higher test scores. A healthy diet that includes fruit can also increase your child’s focus in the classroom so he is able to learn new information, as well as retain what he’s learned.
Source: healthyeating.sfgate.com
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.
