Accra, July 18, GNA – Madam Laura Del Valle, the National Director at World Vision Ghana (WVG), says their “ENOUGH” campaign will focus on improving food security for vulnerable children in society.
The three-year “ENOUGH” campaign was launched in Accra with $3.5 million committed to ending child hunger and malnutrition in Ghana.
Madam Laura believes that urgent steps must be taken to address the rising national stunting rate (18%), underweight children (12%), and the 237,000 people projected to be food insecure in the Upper East and West, as reported in the recent Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis.
“The vision of the campaign is to build a world where every child enjoys enough nourishing food so they can thrive. The campaign will also contribute to making children visible and heard in hunger, nutrition, and food security-related policies at all levels.
“We are poised to give more children better food security, nutrition, and resilience through prioritised services such as nutrition-appropriate food and cash assistance,” she said.
Madam Laura also noted that they hoped to reach more children through the school meal programmes by delivering nutritious food that is ethically, sustainably, and locally sourced.
“With our proven track record, technical expertise, and dedicated staff, we believe we have ‘ENOUGH’ to end child hunger and malnutrition.
“However, the workload of this campaign is enormous, and we can only overcome it if all hands are on deck. All key stakeholders represented here will drive this campaign; the government, donors, development partners, CSOs, NGOs, the media, children, development partners, and faith leaders,” she said.
Mr Alexander Akwasi Acquah, Deputy Minister for Health, congratulated World Vision for the innovative “ENOUGH” campaign and pledged the ministry’s support in their quest to end child hunger and malnutrition.
“As a critical sector of the economy of Ghana, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with agencies and partners, seeks to improve the health status of all the people living in Ghana, thereby contributing to the government’s vision of achieving universal health coverage.
“I am particularly happy to be associated with this campaign because it provides guidance to support parents, caregivers and service providers on how to give children the best start in life and promote dietary diversity through improving nutrition-sensitive agriculture among the target households,” the Deputy Health Minister stated.
GNA