Take immediate action to end malnutrition

 a development crisis and a public concern that requires immediate attention.

This is because hunger affects birth outcomes, maternal health, and child survival given that deficits in particular micronutrients pose a serious health burden and play a major role in childhood morbidity and death,

It is unfortunate that regional in­equities and inadequate government funding for nutrition programmes still persist, despite continuous efforts to address the issue of mal­nutrition.

According to recent statistics from the 2022 Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) 18 percent of children under five are stunted, six percent are wasted, and 12 per­cent are underweight. Nearly half of these children also suffer from anaemia.

The statistics show that we must act immediately to prevent jeopardising the productivity and well-being of future generations.

These figures were revealed at a stakeholder engagement on malnutrition in Ghana which was organised by the Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmen­tal organisation (NGO) committed to empowering women and advancing gender equality in partnership with the Coalition of Public Health Actors (CAPHA).

The event 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 project’s goal is to increase public awareness of Ghana’s urgent malnutrition prob­lem and its effects on development and health.

It established a forum for dis­cussion aimed at bolstering national policy action on nutrition by pro­moting greater leadership, funding, and accountability, and particularly incorporating the media in the con­versation.

In her statement, Mrs. Charity Binka, the executive director of WOMEC, stated that malnutrition costs Ghana roughly 6.4 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually and that, despite pledges, they are insufficient because the country continues to struggle with malnutrition.

With an emphasis on improving outcomes for women and children, WOMEC hopes the Nourish Ghana Project will address the ongoing problem of malnutrition and pro­mote greater leadership, dedica­tion, creativity, and investment in nutrition programmes.

It is also anticipated that the project will collaborate with law­makers, policymakers, civil society organisations (CSOs), the media, and local stakeholders to promote long-lasting policy changes and boost funding for nutrition pro­grammes through strategic advoca­cy, public awareness, and multi-sec­toral engagement.