Accra: The Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), a not-for-profit organization, has called for the establishment of a National Nutrition Council to spearhead gender-responsive and community-led solutions to address malnutrition in the country. WOMEC’s initiative is aimed at elevating the importance of nutrition in national discourse and development.
According to Ghana News Agency, WOMEC is implementing an 18-month project called Nourish Ghana, which seeks to strengthen advocacy efforts to influence nutrition-related policies. Dr. Charity Binka, Executive Director of WOMEC, made the call at a stakeholder engagement event themed ‘Uniting to End Malnutrition’. The event gathered key institutions, including the media, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Ghana Health Service (GHS), and the Coalition of Actors for Public Health Advocacy (CAPHA).
Dr. Binka emphasized the importance of nutrition in national development, highlighting that it should be central to development conversations. She noted that poor dietary habits and lack of awareness have contributed to rising cases of diseases, particularly among the youth and pregnant women. She also stressed the media’s role in shaping public understanding of nutrition and announced a project component to train media professionals to advocate for improved nutrition policies.
A report from GHS revealed concerning statistics: 18% of children under five years were stunted, 6% were wasted, and 12% were underweight, with the northern regions experiencing the highest rates due to poverty and inadequate services. Furthermore, the report indicated that 41% of Ghanaian women aged 15 to 49 were anaemic, while obesity among women continues to rise, highlighting gender and regional disparities in nutrition.
Mr. Nii Odoi Odotei from NDPC highlighted the severe effects of poor nutrition on a child’s development, impacting educational outcomes and workforce productivity with serious economic implications. He disclosed that Ghana reportedly loses up to 6.4% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), equivalent to about $2.6 billion, due to the long-term effects of malnutrition.
Prof. Richmond Aryeetey of the University of Ghana School of Public Health noted that malnutrition was silently draining the country’s economy and emphasized the urgent need to prioritize nutrition in national development conversations. He observed that 50% of Ghanaian women aged 20 to 49 were now overweight, a condition linked to rising disease rates and reduced learning ability in children, urging government investment in nutrition.
