Ghana has achieved much success in recent years to address under-nutrition. Between 2003 and 2014, stunting fell from 35 to 19 per cent. Ghana is also on track to deliver four of her six World Health Assembly indicators for nutrition. However, as many as 1.2 million Ghanaians are still considered food insecure.

Malnutrition, in all its forms, through a poor diet, can undermine efforts to drive economic and health goals, and through its new agricultural policies, Ghana has an opportunity to reposition its food system to deliver safe, affordable and healthy diets.

Presenting evidence from its latest policy brief, Healthy Diets for All: A Key to Meeting the SDGs, the Global Panel highlights the central role of diet quality in delivering the SDGs, boosting economic productivity and reducing demands on expenditure in health and social protection.

H.E. Agyekum John Kufuor, Former President of Ghana and Global Panel Co-Chair commented: “To advance progress on the SDGs we must prioritise diet quality and nutrition”. He added: “national plans needed clear implementation strategies and committed leadership”.

On the meeting with His Excellency Akufo-Addo, Global Panel Co-Chair and Former UK Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington, added: “We congratulate Ghana on its commitments and achievements on nutrition. Initiatives such as Ghana’s Zero Hunger Strategic Review and the Government’s Planting for Food and Jobs Program are testimony of the strong political will to promote food security, and economic growth.” He added, “Central to delivering these policies will be a food system that delivers healthy diets.”

The Global Panel activities in Ghana support the efforts undertaken by the John A. Kufuor Foundation, the World Food Programme and the current administration to improve nutrition in the region, and achieve Ghana’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.