Walk through any market in Ghana during fruit season and one thing is unmistakable: nature has been generous. Mangoes, pineapples, oranges, watermelon, pawpaw, bananas, and avocados sit in abundance, often at their most affordable prices of the year. And yet many families still eat far less fruit than they should even as non-communicable diseases like…
The recent floods across parts of Ghana have disrupted lives, displaced families, and damaged homes and livelihoods. While rescue efforts and rebuilding understandably take centre stage, another urgent issue deserves equal attention, nutrition and food safety, both during the flood and long after the water recedes. Floods contaminate water sources, destroy crops, interrupt food supplies,…
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…
Ghana’s economic conversations often focus on fiscal policy, investment, and productivity. But there is a cost that rarely enters these conversations. The crippling, compounding cost of malnutrition. According to the Cost of Hunger in Africa (COHA) study, a landmark analysis conducted jointly by the African Union, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, WFP, and UNICEF,…
In March 2025, world leaders gathered in Paris for the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit, the most important global gathering on malnutrition of the decade. Over $30 billion in new financial commitments were pledged globally by more than 170 actors from 82 countries. Ghana was there. Ghana made commitments. The question now is: are those…
For the past thirty years, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) has transformed the treatment of severe acute malnutrition in children. Before its introduction in the late 1990s, children suffering from severe wasting often required prolonged hospital stays, intensive medical care, and constant supervision. Today, many of these children can recover safely at home or within their…
When nutrition challenges among Ghanaian women are discussed, anaemia and obesity often dominate the conversation. These are real and serious concerns. But there are two other deficiencies, folate and vitamin B12, quietly causing harm to women and their unborn children. They are less visible, less talked about, and yet their impact begins early, often before…
Every baby deserves a healthy start. But in Ghana, too many children are being born already behind, too small, too fragile, and at far greater risk than their peers. Low birth weight, defined as weighing less than 2.5 kilograms at birth, affects an estimated 1 in 7 newborns in this country. That is a significant…
Reliable data is the foundation of effective health systems. Governments need accurate information to track progress, identify gaps, and ensure that services reach the people who need them most. In Ghana, however, data on nutrition services often remains fragmented. For example, it is possible to estimate how many children received Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) treatment…
Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has transformed healthcare access for millions of people. Since its establishment, the scheme has reduced out-of-pocket health spending and increased the use of healthcare services. For many families, an NHIS card means the difference between seeking treatment and delaying care. Yet this promise of accessible healthcare encounters significant limitations…