By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Tempane (U/E), May 30, GNA – World Vision (WV) Ghana has intensified its advocacy for every child’s right to sufficient food and nutrition with the launch of new initiative dubbed “ENOUGH” in the Tempane District in the Upper East Region.
The three-year campaign, rolled out nationally in 2024, reinforces World Vision Ghana’s commitment to combating child hunger and malnutrition by aligning efforts with the Government of Ghana and other partners.
The initiative is a strong call to action, demanding an end to child hunger and improved access to nutritious food as a basic right for every child.
Mr Joseph Edwin Yelkabong, Bawku Cluster Area Programme Manager, World Vision Ghana, said across Sub-Saharan Africa, children continued to face issues of hunger and malnutrition, stressing that the issues were exacerbated by conflict, continued aftershocks of COVID 19, cost of living and income inequality and climate change.
“Child hunger and malnutrition have an impact on children’s rights to education, protection from violence, participation and adequate standard of living and healthcare,” he said.
Data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey shows 18 percent of children in the country are stunted, 12 percent are underweight, and nearly half (49 percent) suffer from various levels of anaemia.
The Cluster Manager emphasised that the campaign was a response to the disturbing statistics on child malnutrition in Ghana and rallied the support of all stakeholders to address the challenges.
“These figures are far above WHO standards, and they reflect a crisis we must tackle urgently,” Mr Yelkabong stated. “With the ENOUGH campaign, we are saying ‘enough is enough’—enough of the inaction. Every child deserves access to sufficient, nutritious food.”
Mrs Barbara Amegavie, Campaigns Coordinator at World Vision Ghana, stressed that access to food and proper nutrition was a non-negotiable right of every child.
She noted that the campaign will scale up food production and consumption at the household level and push for systemic improvements in child nutrition support, particularly through school feeding programmes.
“ENOUGH will build on our existing Healthy Environment and Wellness (HEAL) and Livelihood Enhancement and Family Empowerment (LIFE) programmes to strengthen food and nutrition security at the grassroots,” she said.
“We are committed to ensuring that children receive the meals they need both at home and in school,” she said further.
She said World Vision Ghana will partner with key institutions such as the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, and the Department of Agriculture in the implementation process, adding that the project will employ community engagement activities, including food demonstrations and gardening initiatives to promote the use and consumption of locally sourced, nutritious foods.
She stressed that the project would also implement interventions that would promote access to water and sanitation to ensure cleanliness and hygiene practices.
Mr Ibrahim Jamal Deen, Tempane District Director of the Department of Agriculture, said increased food production was key to reducing food prices and enhancing access to food and nutrition and pledged commitment to supporting the enough initiative to effectively address hunger and malnutrition among children.
He advised residents to embrace the government’s agriculture programmes to increase production and contribute to the country’s efforts to achieve food and nutritional security.
Mr Joseph Mbila, the Tempane District Chief Executive, commended World Vision Ghana’s intervention to addressing hunger among children and called on all stakeholders to rally behind the ENOUGH campaign to ensure every child in the district and beyond had enough to eat.
The occasion was also used to award schools who excelled in the World Vision Ghana’s WASH league table.
GNA.
Edited by Fatima Anafu-Astanga/Benjamin Mensah