Mrs Akufo-Addo speaking during the congress
First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has made a passionate appeal to the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and other stakeholders to take the necessary actions to ensure Ghana meets her nutritional goals and achieves optimum health for all.
Speaking at the opening session of a two-day congress on the theme “Synchronizing the Frontiers of Nutrition and Dietetics for sustainable National Impact” Mrs. Akufo-Addo said “There is an urgent need, to ensure that the poor and vulnerable have access to the needed knowledge, resources, and services to achieve optimum nutrition. This calls for a great deal of work, which needs to be carried out, within a very limited timeframe”.
Referencing the 2020 Global Nutrition Report, the First Lady indicated that Ghana is on track to achieving the global targets for maternal, infant and young child nutrition and has made some progress towards reducing anaemia among women of reproductive age, low birth weight of newborn infants and stunting of children under 5 years.
The First Lady however said there was still a lot of work to be done despite these gains.
“Ghana still has not made much progress towards exclusive breastfeeding, reducing stunting and wasting in children and curbing diet-related non-communicable diseases such as adult obesity and diabetes,” she said.
Mrs Akufo-Addo urged all relevant stakeholders including the Ministries of Health, Finance and Economic Planning and Agriculture, to make adequate investments to ensure optimal nutrition in the critical 1000 day window, between the start of a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday and to ensure the poor and vulnerable are supported to achieve optimum health.
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Professor Anna Lartey, Director of Nutrition and Food Systems Division, FAO Geneva, Italy, Professor Matilda Steiner–Asiedu and the President of the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dr Kingsley K. A. Preko joined the virtual meeting.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri