By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu, GNA
Zebilla (U/E), May 25, GNA – The Ingraining Development for Empowerment and Advancement of Society (IDEAS Ghana), a non-profit organisation, has launched the Promoting Children’s Access to Nutritious Food project in the Bawku West District.
The decisive move, backed by funding from the German organisation Kindermissionswerk, aims to counter soaring rates of child under-nutrition in the district.
The initiative is designed to directly dismantle a brewing health crisis in the area, where recent data indicates that 27 per cent are acute malnourished children and 2.3 per cent are underweight.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Stephen Bordotsiah, the Bawku West District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), presented a sobering overview of the local malnutrition landscape.
He warned that high rates of underweight children left them highly vulnerable to frequent infections and poor physical growth.
“Persistent undernutrition poses a substantial risk to child survival and impacts future productivity,” Mr Bordotsiah stated.
He emphasised that stunting compromises brain development and led to lower educational attainment, adding, “chronic malnutrition undermines the potential of the future workforce and hampers economic progress.”
Mr Bordotsiah strongly endorsed the project, noting that poor complementary feeding practices after a child reaches six months of age were the primary drivers of both wasting and stunting.
Professor Emmanuel Delwin Abarike, the Board Chairman of IDEAS-Ghana, outlined the core pillars of the intervention including agricultural support where women farmers were empowered to cultivate highly nutrient-rich crops.
He added that the organisation would deliver targeted nutrition education and practical cooking demonstrations, to actively dismantle detrimental local food taboos, and mobilize local youth to act as “Child Nutrition Champions.”
Dr Joseph Ayembilla, the Executive Director of IDEAS Ghana, stressed that the project’s success hinged on community ownership, and made a direct appeal to traditional leaders and landowners to secure land and support for the 500 women who would directly benefit from the agricultural phase of the project.
Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari, the Upper East Regional Director of the GHS, in a speech delivered on his behalf, praised the intervention as incredibly timely.
He urged all stakeholders to prioritise collaboration, networking, and stringent accountability to ensure the project remained sustainable.
The launch brought together a robust coalition of stakeholders, including the GHS, the Department of Agriculture, World Vision Ghana, the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), traditional leaders and Assembly Members.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu