GHANA'S POPULATION HIGHLY MALNOURISHED

A great number of Ghanaian children under the age of five (5) years likewise the adult population, are said to be highly anaemic or malnourished; and that is according to a Deputy Director in charge of Nutrition at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mrs. Wilhelmina Okwabi.

According to her, the Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) of 2008 pegs the national figure of anaemic children at 78 per cent, with those living in urban areas made up of 68 per cent and 84 per cent living in the rural area. These figures she said, obviously are far beyond the World Health Organisation's cut-off point for anaemia in children which is 10 per cent. Also, nationally 59 per cent of women of reproductive age are anaemic, She added.

Against this background, Mrs. Okwabi disclosed that GHS, Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and other collaborators has initiated what it called the National Food Fortification Project (NFFP) as one of the numerous interventions by the Ministry of Health to control malnutrition in the country.

The objective of this project which is a nationwide campaign, aims to make the public aware of the need to patronize fortified foods, especially fortified wheat flour and commercially produced vegetable oil that have logos which set fortified foods apart from others.

NFFP managers are also urging the Ghanaian public to eat more vegetable based foods and fruits in order to get the required nutrients or minerals that the body needs for appropriate development.

Addressing a media briefing in Tamale, Mrs. Okwabi, further revealed that 72 per cent of children were found to be Vitamin A deficient with Northern Ghana recording 80.1 per cent. This, she explained translates into 8 out of every 10 children and 6 out of every 10 women being anaemic.

According to her, the impact is significant, both human and economic, and impacts on survival, intelligence and productivity.

For instance, PROFILES, a spreadsheet model based on scientific research gives economic consequences of some nutritional situations if there are no urgent interventions. Projections from 2005 to 2014 paints a very gloomy picture and that is; child deaths due to Vitamin A deficiency over the period is 104,300. Losses due to stunting are $947 million; anaemia in adult labour force is $42,933 million and that in children is $2,579 million.

Mrs. Okwabi noted that Ghana, has an unacceptably high maternal mortality rate of 451 per 100,000 live births and 20 per cent of this figure is attributed o anaemia. These figures have serious current and future financial implications for Ghana, she observed.

However, the Deputy Director of Nutrition, mentioned several interventions by government as regards the fight against malnutrition or Vitamin A, Iron and Iodine deficiencies which include the ongoing promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for children for the first 6 months of life, promotion of appropriate complementary feeding at 6 months with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years or beyond, vitamin A supplementation for children from 6 months to 5 years every 6 months and integrated management of neonatal and child illnesses, among others.