The Northern Regional Nutrition Policy team has called on the government to increase resource allocation to the health sector to improve nutrition service delivery in the country.
The stakeholders noted that the dwindling of government budget to the health sector is severely hindering efforts to tackle malnutrition, especially in the Northern region.
The group identified several factors impeding challenge the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal two which concerns improved nutrition, among others.
These challenges include inadequate health infrastructure by the Ghana Health Service, lack of critical anthropometric equipment, frequent shortage of essential nutrition commodities and scarce logistical resources such as human resource and motorbikes for community visits
The programme also sought to identify opportunities that exist for both public and private sector actors to fill the gaps.
Head of Programme for Grameen Ghana, Mugmin Musah, told Citi News that “the Ghana Health Service also planned to adopt the idea of community nutrition volunteers and committed to training them to be able to identify cases of malnutrition for the trained nutritionist to follow up.”
“The stakeholders have committed to continuously advocate for government to increase resource allocation to the health sector for nutrition service delivery and the private sector players to also explore the possibility of producing a substitute for plumpy nuts by using local materials. This is because over-dependence on plumpy nuts is making it difficult to get enough supplies for the region,” he explained.
The Northern Regional Nutrition Officer, Patricia S. Amadu, also outlined some interventions to address the malnutrition in the Northern Region.
“We have developed and implemented various interventions including what we call Social Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC), Orange Sweet Potato, Enhanced Nutrition and Value Chain, Girls Iron and Folate Tablet Supplement and Quality Improvement. Community Infant and Young Feeding, Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition, Essential Nutrition Actions and Micronutrient Deficiency Disorder all geared towards improving malnutrition.”
The programme brought together 70 participants from various districts in the Northern region comprising staff of the Ghana Health service, Development partners (USAID, RING) Research institutions, SARI, UDS, Private sector actors, NGOs Nutrition Officers from the various districts, District Coordinating Directors and District Planners as well as representatives from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
The programme is part of the interventions of the Voice for Change Partnership programme which is implemented by SNV and its partners and sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs with technical support from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
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By: Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira | citinewsroom.com | Ghana