Nutrition
The Hidden Hunger: Why Eating Enough Isn’t the Same as Eating Well
Feature Article by Women, Media and Change (WOMEC)
In bustling markets across Ghana, traders call out over heaps of rice, yam, and maize. For many households, these staples represent security—a sign that no one will go to bed hungry.
Yet behind this apparent abundance lies a hidden crisis: hidden hunger, a silent form of malnutrition caused not by lack of food, but by lack of essential nutrients. Hidden hunger affects millions, especially women and children, weakening the body, dulling the mind, and limiting human potential.
The tragedy is that it thrives not because we lack solutions, but because our systems fail to prioritise nutrition. Despite several government initiatives, from the National Nutrition Policy (2016–2020) to food fortification programmes, progress remains slow. Implementation is inconsistent, coordination among ministries is weak, and public investment in nutrition is still below the global minimum target. Meanwhile, imported junk foods continue to flood the market unchecked, while local farmers struggle to market healthy indigenous crops like millet, sorghum, and moringa.
Nutrition is not just a health issue—it’s a development and governance issue. When ministries and local assemblies fail to integrate nutrition into agricultural planning, education, and poverty reduction strategies, the result is a cycle of poor diets and poor health outcomes.
At Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), we believe that nutrition should be treated with the same urgency as any national emergency. Through media advocacy and public engagement, WOMEC continues to push for transparency in nutrition governance and for stronger community voices in decision-making.
Ending hidden hunger requires more than awareness—it demands decisive action from policymakers. Nutrition must move from the margins of development planning to the centre of national policy. When governance supports good nutrition, the results go far beyond full stomachs: we build a healthier, smarter, and more productive nation.
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Ingredients
• 5 cups of white cooked rice
• 5 tablespoonful of oil
• 2 pounds of chicken (drum sticks)
• 3/4 teaspoonful of grounded ginger
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoonful ground pepper
• 1 large onion
• 2 large garlic
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
• 5 large eggs
• 3 large carrot
• 5 tablespoonful soy sauce
• 3 tablespoonful of chopped green onions
Preparation
- Cut chicken into pieces and put it on fire in a pan
- Add ginger, salt and pepper to chicken
- Allow it to cook for five minutes
- Put a saucepan on fire and pour 2 tablespoonful of oil
- Add cooked chicken to the oil and fry
- Add eggs, diced onion, garlic, peas and carrots and stir
- Add cooked rice to vegetables and stir
- Sprinkle soy sauce and stir
- Serve dish with shito, hot pepper or sauce
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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Despite RUTF’s proven ability to save lives, access to it in Ghana remains inconsistent. Many caregivers face long travel distances to treatment centres, only to be told that supplies have run out. Others rely on community health workers who do their best but struggle with stock shortages. The core challenge is simple: RUTF in Ghana depends heavily on donors, and when global priorities shift or funding gaps emerge, children suffer.
RUTF’s which stands for Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food is a high-energy, micronutrient-rich food paste designed to treat severe acute malnutrition in children. This raises an important question: why is a life-saving product, essential to child survival, not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)?
Including RUTF in NHIS would mark a monumental shift in how Ghana approaches child health. Firstly, it would ensure that access to RUTF becomes a national obligation, not an act of charity. Severe acute malnutrition is a medical condition, just like malaria, pneumonia, or diabetes, and must be treated as such. With RUTF included in the NHIS medicines list, families would be guaranteed treatment without depending on unpredictable donor supplies.
Secondly, integrating RUTF into NHIS is cost-effective. Untreated malnutrition leads to complications such as severe infections, developmental delays, and prolonged hospital admissions, all of which are far more expensive for the health system than early intervention. Investing in RUTF through NHIS would reduce long-term healthcare costs while strengthening Ghana’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 and SDG 3.
Thirdly, including RUTF in the scheme would help eliminate inequities. Currently, access varies by region. Children in remote or hard-to-reach communities often suffer the most. When RUTF is made universally available, every child is guaranteed treatment when they need it.
Additionally, NHIS coverage of RUTF would help streamline procurement systems, improve supply chain consistency and strengthen accountability mechanisms, a gap that currently undermines national nutrition efforts.
At its core, this is an issue of fairness, governance, and national responsibility. If Ghana truly prioritises child survival, then RUTF must be placed where it belongs, that is, within the NHIS as an essential, guaranteed treatment.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
