By Ernest Nutsugah
Accra, Oct. 17, GNA – Professor Richmond Aryeetey, a public health nutritionist, has proposed a National Nutrition Commission to coordinate Ghana’s nutrition strategies and policies.
Delivering his inaugural lecture at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra, he called for stronger advocacy and urged government to prioritise nutrition as a key driver of human and national development.
The lecture, titled “Unpacking the Complexities of Food Systems and Nutrition Governance,” examined the country’s food and nutrition landscape, highlighting challenges such as inadequate financing, poor coordination, and limited political will.
Food systems, he explained, encompass all elements and actors from production to consumption and disposal, including processing, transportation, distribution, access, preparation, and waste management.
Citing research findings, Prof Aryeetey acknowledged progress in addressing children’s nutritional needs but stressed the need for accelerated efforts.
“Ideally, food systems should support adequate supply and ensure that the nutrients that we need is in the food that we are eating, and that does not expose us to harm, and contributes to sustainable livelihoods as well,” he noted.
Prof Aryeetey, also fellow of the African Nutrition Leadership Programme, observed that Ghana’s food systems and nutrition “does not have the visibility it must have.”
“We have not made our food system nutrition sensitive…Maybe one of the biggest challenges is coordination…we need to do better at harnessing the resources that we already have but also need to invest sustainable financing into it,” he stated.
Prof Aryeetey emphasised the need to track investments in food and nutrition programmes and called for “champions and advocates” to drive the national agenda.
“We need to invest institution capacity especially institutions outside the health agencies…we need to establish a National Nutrition Commission to elevate the nutrition conversation above one particular agency or Ministry,” he said.
Prof Aryeetey also stressed the importance of accountability, research, monitoring and evaluation, and urged media and influencers to shape public perception on food and nutrition.
“Who decides what and how, the food systems should function would depend on us…We need to demand that food system works for us,” he added.
Prof Aryeetey has contributed extensively to national health and nutrition policy development, including co-leading the creation and publication of Ghana’s first Food-based Dietary Guidelines and its accompanying Food Systems Guidelines.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey