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
Soya beans is a highly nutritious plant-based food with several health benefits:
-Rich source of protein
-Contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.
-Helpful for vegetarians and vegans as an alternative to animal protein.
-Supports muscle growth and repair.
– Heart Health
-Helps lower cholesterol levels
-Contains healthy unsaturated fats and fibre that support cardiovascular health
-Can be part of a heart-friendly diet
-Bone health
-Provides calcium (in fortified soy products), magnesium, and protein
-Soy isoflavones may help maintain bone density, especially in postmenopausal women
– May help manage menopausal symptoms
-Contains natural compounds called isoflavones (phytoestrogens)
-Some women experience reduced hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms with soy consumption
-Supports weight management
-High protein and fibre content can increase fullness and reduce hunger
-May help with maintaining a healthy weight
-Good for blood sugar control
-Has a low glycemic index
-Protein and fibre can help stabilise blood sugar levels
Ghana has nutrition policies. Ghana has nutrition targets. Ghana has nutrition programmes spread across multiple ministries and dozens of implementing partners.
What Ghana does not have is a single, empowered body responsible for leading, coordinating, and holding all this together. That is the gap a National Nutrition Council would fill, and stakeholders are calling for one now.
The case for a council
At a stakeholder engagement convened under the Nourish Ghana project in 2025, participants proposed the establishment of a National Nutrition Council to provide effective leadership and a governance framework for addressing malnutrition in Ghana. The meeting, which brought together policymakers, development partners, civil society organisations, and the media, highlighted a fundamental problem: nutrition responsibilities are fragmented across various ministries. Without a dedicated coordination body, efforts are duplicated, accountability is diffuse, and nutrition consistently loses out when budgets are tight.
The proposal echoes a model used in several countries that have made the fastest progress against malnutrition. Nigeria’s National Council on Nutrition, for example, recently pledged $107 million at the 2025 N4G Summit, a level of coordinated ambition that Ghana has struggled to match.
Ghana does have existing coordination structures worth acknowledging. The Scaling Up Nutrition Cross-Sectoral Planning Group (CSPG), established in 2012, was set up to harmonise planning, implementation, and monitoring of nutrition actions across sectors. It has produced real gains. But the challenge has been institutionalising those gains beyond project cycles, and analysts have called for an elevated national coordination body with presidential oversight to ensure genuine cross-sector accountability. A National Nutrition Council would go further, providing the dedicated financing and convening authority that the CSPG, as currently structured, does not have.
What a Council would do
A National Nutrition Council would provide political oversight and coordination across all sectors involved in nutrition, health, agriculture, education, social protection, and finance. It would track Ghana’s nutrition commitments, hold ministries accountable for delivery, and ensure that nutrition budgets are protected and spent effectively. Most importantly, it would give nutrition a permanent seat at the table where national development decisions are made.
The Time Is Now
Ghana made 10 commitments at the 2025 N4G Paris Summit. Translating those commitments into results requires a governance structure that does not currently exist. Establishing a National Nutrition Council is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the institutional foundation without which Ghana’s nutrition ambitions will remain promises on paper. Leaders must act on this proposal without delay.
Feature article by Women, Media and Change under its Nourish Ghana: Advocating for Increased Leadership to Combat Malnutrition project
