By Agnes Ansah
Accra, Sept 18, GNA – Stakeholders in health have launched a campaign for enhanced nutritional labelling on food packages to help shoppers quickly ascertain their healthiness, instead of struggling to read the technical small tables often on products that contain excess salt, sugar and fat and oil.
The campaign comes on the back of Ghana’s increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), currently accounting for about 45 per cent of deaths, as advocates launch a nationwide mass media campaign aimed at helping consumers to make healthier food choices.
The campaign was launched in Accra on Thursday by SEND Ghana and its partners; the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development (VAST) Ghana, with support from the Ministry of Health and the Food and Drugs Authority.
It seeks to build public support for a policy that would require clear warning labels on packaged foods containing high sugar, salt, saturated fats, and other unhealthy ingredients.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, the Director of Technical Coordination, Ministry of Health, who represented the Minister, described the campaign as timely and aligned with ongoing government efforts to promote preventive healthcare.
He disclosed that the Ministry was concurrently advancing a broader public health promotion policy, with nutrition education and healthy lifestyles, and front-of-pack labelling featuring prominently in its agenda.
He further explained that by using clear warnings on products that exceeded recommended levels of sugar, salt or saturated fats, the policy would support consumers in making healthier choices at the point of purchase.
Dr Adam noted that nutrition directly influenced growth, productivity, learning ability and long-term health outcomes, particularly the risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases.
He said the Government’s focus was on preventing NCDs, which accounted for approximately 43 per cent of adult mortality in Ghana, largely driven by lifestyle choices and consumption patterns that could be modified through awareness and education.
He encouraged the promoters to incorporate school and community drama performances to engage populations in areas with limited access to electricity and digital media in addition to television, radio, social media and billboard campaigns.
Ms Harriet Agyemang, Country Director of SEND Ghana, noted that illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and cancer placed enormous emotional and financial pressure on Ghanaian families, citing front-of-pack labelling as a way of reducing it.
She expressed concern over the chronic diseases affecting younger populations in recent times, cautioning that rising levels of obesity among children, for example exposed future generations to a greater risk of developing NCDs, threatened both public health and national productivity.
Ms Agyeman noted that foods containing excessive sugar, salt, unhealthy fats and oils were widely available in schools, markets, shops, transport terminals and workplaces, which made them easy choices for consumers who may not fully understand their nutritional content.
She called for simple and visible information to enabled the consumers to identify products with unhealthy nutrient levels immediately.
“Such labels will empower Ghanaians to make informed purchasing decisions based on their health needs rather than relying solely on complex nutrition information often found on the back of packaging,” she said.
Ms Agyeman said the campaign would go beyond its November target, encouraging consumers to pay closer attention to food labels, ask questions about product content, and become more conscious of the long-term health implications of their dietary choices.
Ms Agyemang called on citizens, policymakers, researchers, civil society organisations, industry actors and the media to support the impeding policy process and campaign, noting that informed consumers were vital to building a healthier and productive nation.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Agnes Ansah