Nutrition
Sallah stew
Muslims have a special method of preparing their Sallah stew. Everyone can attest to the fact that Sallah stew has a different aroma and taste.
In today’s edition, The Spectator would take readers through the process of preparing this festive stew.
Ingredients
2 pounds of meat
1/2 cup of oil
3 large onions
10 large tomatoes
2 peeled garlic clove
4 tablespoonfuls of celery leaves
3 scotch bonnet pepper, optional
2 basil leaves
1 teaspoonful of fresh thyme
1 canned tomatoes sauce, 15 ounce
1teaspoonful of curry powder
1 teaspoonful of white pepper
2 tablespoonfuls of smoked paprika
1 tablespoonful of maggie powder
2 green onion, sliced
Salt to taste
Method
-Cut and wash meat
-Boil meat with salt, and some chopped onions, garlic, and ginger in a medium pot until tender.
-Remove meat from the pot to dry. (Reserve the stock for later use).
– Put oil on fire and fry meat
-Grind or blend onions, pepper, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, celery, thyme, basil and scotch bonnet pepper.
– Add mixture to the oil and let it cook for sometime
– Add tomatoes puree, curry powder, white pepper, smoked paprika and bouillon powder and allow to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Stir the pot frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pot.
Add meat stock to give stew an additional taste.
Add green onions. Adjust seasonings, sauce consistency with water/ stock and salt.
Serve warm with a desired side dish.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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.
