NDPC launches initiative to empower private sector actors
The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) yesterday launched an initiative aimed to engage and empower private sector actors in addressing Ghana’s nutrition challenges.
Dubbed: ‘the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network (SBN),’ it also focuses on harnessing private sector resources, creativity, and reach to enhance access to and demand for nutritious food.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, the Vice Chair of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr David Quaye Annang, described the initiative as a major step in mobilising businesses to invest in responsible and sustainable nutrition practices.
“The SBN will harness private sector expertise to improve markets and nutrition outcomes for consumers. It involves stakeholders across the food system, from production and supply to processing, formulation, and marketing,” he added.
He indicated that the platform aligned with Ghana’s membership in the Global Scaling Up Nutrition Network since 2011, where the NDPC coordinates efforts to improve nutrition through the Scaling Up Nutrition movement.
Underscoring the role of businesses, Mr Annang noted that private sector actors were increasingly recognised as critical contributors to social and economic development.
He further stressed that “The food supply chain, environment, and consumer behaviour are interconnected, and all are linked to private sector operations. Their role is indispensable in addressing malnutrition sustainably.”
The Ghana Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Ms Aurore Rusiga, in her remarks lauded the initiative as a pivotal milestone towards achieving sustainable nutrition.
Ending malnutrition, she said, required innovative, collaborative, and multi-sectoral approaches, adding that the SBN offers an opportunity to redefine how malnutrition is addressed, by scaling access to nutritious food, building consumer awareness, and promoting sustainable practices.
She touched on the WFP’s contribution, including supporting two local food processors in the country.
Their operations, she underlined, have the tendency of improving nutrition outcomes, increasing farmers’ income, creating youth employment, and contributing to Ghana’s foreign exchange earnings through exports.
Ms Rusiga indicated that, “Nutrition catalyses progress across health, education, gender equality, poverty reduction, and resilience.
“The private sector must embrace innovation and collaboration to scale nutritious food production, improve consumer awareness, and adopt sustainable practices,” she stated
According to her the launch of the SBN in Ghana signals a call to action for businesses to lead the transformation of the country’s food systems, creating an inclusive platform that bridges the public and private sectors in pursuit of national nutrition goals.
On his part, Professor Francis B. Zotor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences mentioned that it was important to enhance production of nutritious foods by among others, investing in agricultural research and development, agricultural extension services and other support systems for small holder farmers in order to enhance the production of nutritious foods.
- BY RAISSA SAMBOU
