Laura DeValle addressing the media
In a bid to combat child hunger and malnutrition, World Vision Ghana (WVG), a Christian, child-focused community-based organisation, has designed a flagship project, ENOUGH Campaign, targeting 3.5 million of the vulnerable children in Ghana’s most deprived communities.
The campaign, which focuses on providing quality education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, child protection, household food security, and humanitarian emergency intervention, seeks to address the pressing issue of food insecurity affecting millions of Ghanaians.
According to the WVG leadership, the campaign is in response to World Bank’s report in 2023 suggesting that Ghana experienced a food crisis in 2022, with the number of food-insecure individuals surging from 560,000 in 2021 to 823,000 in 2022, marking a significant increase in those lacking access to food.
The report also suggested that the Northern regions of Ghana have historically faced higher levels of food insecurity compared to other parts of the country.
Child Protection and Advocacy Manager, Gregory Lierfu Dery, emphasised that the ENOUGH Campaign aims to create a world where every child has enough nourishing food to thrive, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 2.
It also seeks to contribute to two main strategic goals where children are visible and heard in hunger, nutrition, and food security-related policies at all levels.
Lierfu Dery added that to achieve the goals of ensuring more children consume enough nutritional foods, the team will deploy some strategies such as increasing awareness and understanding the severity of the issues among other stakeholders at local, national and global levels.
“This advocacy and partnership will influence policy makers to prioritise child nutrition-sensitive approaches within national policies and funding mechanisms related to sustainable agriculture, food security and disaster risk reduction,” he said.
Health and Nutrition Technical Manager at World Vision Ghana, Awurabena Quayeba Dadzie, highlighted the importance of partnering with government ministries and agencies to provide immediate nutritional assistance to vulnerable children and their caregivers.
She stressed the need for policy revisions to better address children’s nutritional needs.
National Director of World Vision Ghana, Laura Cristina DeValle, urged the media to support the organisation’s efforts in fighting child hunger and malnutrition, emphasising the crucial role of all stakeholders in ensuring a brighter future for Ghana’s children.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke