The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has reaffirmed its commitment to integrating nutrition into Ghana’s national development agenda, describing it as a key driver of sustainable economic growth and human capital development.
The Commission said stronger partnerships, increased investment and improved accountability were needed to tackle malnutrition and accelerate progress towards the country’s development goals under the Medium Term National Development Policy Framework (2026 to 2029)
The Director of Research at the NDPC, Mr Richard Tweneboah Kodua, made the remarks during a courtesy call by the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF), Mr William Moore, and his delegation on the Commission in Accra on Friday.
The meeting brought together development partners, parliamentarians, health experts and civil society organisations to explore practical ways of strengthening nutrition interventions and improving the health and wellbeing of women and children across the country.
Mr Tweneboah Kodua commended the foundation for supporting nutrition advocacy in Ghana through its partnership with Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), saying such collaborations strengthened efforts to address child undernutrition and improve human capital development.
“Nutrition is not merely a health issue; it is a development imperative. It affects educational attainment, productivity, economic growth and the overall wellbeing of the populace,” he stated.
He said the meeting provided an opportunity to examine how nutrition was reflected in Ghana’s policy framework, integrated into development planning and monitoring systems, and financed across sectors and local government.
Mr Tweneboah Kodua expressed the hope that the engagement would deepen collaboration between Ghana and the Eleanor Crook Foundation and identify practical areas of cooperation to improve nutrition outcomes.
Mr Moore on his part described malnutrition as the world’s biggest killer of children, saying nearly half of child deaths globally were linked to underlying malnutrition, while many pregnant women also suffered from anaemia.
He said the world already possessed simple, cost effective solutions capable of eliminating malnutrition if governments and partners scaled them up.
Mr Moore noted that the foundation had partnered the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and the Clinton Health Access Initiative over the past three years to expand treatment for severe acute malnutrition across Ghana using Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods.
He added that the foundation was supporting efforts to introduce improved prenatal vitamins to reduce anaemia among pregnant women, noting that Ghana was one of only three priority partner countries alongside Senegal and Nepal.
Technical Lead at WOMEC, Mr Jerry Sam, in a presentation explained that the organisation’s Nourish Ghana initiative was strengthening political leadership, nutrition financing and accountability to tackle maternal and child malnutrition through advocacy, parliamentary engagement, media participation and community action.
He said about 68,517 children under five in Ghana suffered from severe acute malnutrition, while six per cent were wasted, the deadliest form of malnutrition, adding that children with severe acute malnutrition faced a mortality risk 12 times higher than well-nourished children despite the condition being treatable.
Mr Sam added that the second phase of the project would focus on strengthening parliamentary leadership, domestic financing, accountability and media engagement, while seeking NDPC’s guidance and ECF’s support to better integrate nutrition into Ghana’s national development planning framework.
BY STEPHANIE BIRIKORANG
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