Nutrition
Tubani
Tubani
Tubani is a meal mostly eaten by Northerners in Ghana. It is also referred to as steamed black-eyed peas pudding. It is usually taken with palm oil, groundnut and chilli pepper and enjoyed as a snack or lunch.
Ingredients
• Black eyed pea flour(white
beans flour) /cow pea flour
• Water
Preparation
1. Add water to the black eyed pea flour in a bowl and stir the mixture in a circular motion till mixture becomes fluffy.
2. Pour some water into a saucepan and put on fi re to boil.
3. Wash your banana leaves or corn husk and put some at the base of the saucepan on fire.
4. Put some of the fluffy mixture of black eyed pea flour and water into some of the leaves and wrap.
5. Put the wrapped food gently into the water on fire and leave to cook for some time.
6. Cover the saucepan with some of the leaves.
7. Cover with the saucepan’s lid and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
8. Remove it from the leaves in which it is wrapped and serve.
Source: zongorepublic.com
Benefits
The beans used in preparing tubaani (tubani/tumbaani) offers important nutrients needed for the body.
-Soluble fiber
Soluble fiber lowers blood cholesterol levels, thereby protecting one against heart diseases.
-Iron
The main ingredients in tubaani are beans. Beans contain iron which is essential in helping hemoglobin to carry oxygen in our blood energy.
-Folate
Folate, also known as vitamin B9 is found in beans. Folate is one of the B-vitamins and is needed to make red and white bloodcells in the bone marrow, convert carbohydrates into energy.
-Proteins
Tubaani is rich in proteins. Proteins are large molecules that our cells need to function optimally; they consists of amino acids. Proteins help in the regulation of the body’s cells, tissues and organs.
Source: https://myrecipejoint.com
Ghana has made important progress in testing effective nutrition interventions. Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) have been piloted in selected health facilities across several districts, reaching thousands of pregnant women.
Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) has been delivered through community programs in high-burden districts, supported by trained health workers. These initiatives demonstrate that proven nutrition interventions can be implemented successfully within Ghana’s health system.
However, pilot projects are designed to test feasibility, not to meet national needs.
Despite their success, current pilots reach only a small fraction of the women and children who require these services. Meanwhile, anemia affects a large proportion of pregnant women, and tens of thousands of children suffer from severe acute malnutrition each year. The gap between pilot coverage and population need highlights the limits of project-based approaches.
Nutrition projects funded through time-bound grants face predictable constraints. Coverage depends on donor priorities rather than national burden. Programs end when funding cycles close, even if needs persist. Financing uncertainty makes long-term planning difficult, and supply chains often remain fragmented instead of being integrated into national systems. Data collection and accountability focus on project requirements rather than strengthening national monitoring.
Most critically, project-based approaches perpetuate inequity. Women and children in pilot districts receive evidence-based interventions while those in non-pilot areas with identical needs receive outdated or no care. Access becomes a matter of geography rather than health policy. This creates a two-tier system where donor program placement, not health policy, determines who receives lifesaving treatment.
Systems-based financing through the National Health Insurance Scheme offers a fundamentally different approach. NHIS integration ensures nationwide coverage based on enrollment rather than project geography. With 84 per cent of mothers with children under five already enrolled, the delivery infrastructure exists.
Financing becomes predictable through established NHIS revenue streams. Supply chains integrate with national pharmaceutical procurement systems. Quality standards and accountability mechanisms operate across all facilities, not just pilot sites.
Transitioning from pilot to scale requires policy decisions that projects alone cannot deliver. RUTF and MMS must be formally included in NHIS benefits and medicines lists. Reimbursement rates must be established to cover procurement and distribution. Budget allocations must be protected within medium-term expenditure frameworks. Supply chains must be strengthened at national level rather than replicated across multiple projects.
Ongoing Health Technology Assessments will deliver crucial evidence about cost-effectiveness to guide future decisions. Available data already suggests that MMS is highly affordable within public-sector financing, while community-based treatment of severe malnutrition reduces reliance on costly hospital care. These interventions are not only effective, but they are also fiscally realistic.
Pilots have served their purpose. Continuing to operate at pilot scale when national implementation is feasible means accepting preventable illness and loss of human potential. Ghana has the policy frameworks, trained workforce, and financing mechanisms required to move forward. What remains is the decision to shift from demonstration to delivery, and to ensure that effective nutrition interventions reach everyone who needs them.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project.
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Cornmeal doughnuts also known as Bamfo bisi or Awiesu is a very delicious Ghanaian snack and street food. The snack is crunchy and can make one full.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of milled corn flour
- 3 tablespoonful of grounded nutmeg
- Half cup of sugar
- 1 litre of oil
- Half cup of roasted groundnut
Preparation
- Pour one cup of the corn flour into a saucepan and mix with water.
- Place the mixture and heat for about 4- 9 minutes until a smooth paste is formed.
- Set mixture aside to cool
- Pour the remaining one cup of flour into a large bowl.
- Add sugar, nutmeg and stir together.
- Scoop and transfer the hot paste into the dry corn flour.
- Roll the dough between your palms to form an oblong shape with clean hands and insert peanuts.
- Pour cooking oil into a pot until well heated.
- Fry the Awiesu until gold
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
