The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in conjunction with the University of Ghana School of Public Health, has launched Ghana’s National Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG).
This makes Ghana the eighth country in Africa and the fourth in West Africa to launch the guidelines.
In an address at the launch in Accra on Wednesday, the Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Yaw Frimpong Addo, stated that it was a salient move towards achieving a food system transformation pathway for the country.
He added that the objective of the guidelines was to encourage healthy eating habits, reduce malnutrition and diet-related illnesses and ultimately help bring down the rising number of non-communicable diseases and their negative impacts on Ghanaians.
“This is significant because as we all know, food, nutrition and health constitute the bedrock of a healthy nation. It is built with the whole lifecycle from childhood to adulthood, with the aged also very much in sharp focus and firmly grounded on the principles of diversity, which ensures access to food,” he said.
Mr Addo implored the public to adhere to the guidelines of healthy eating to reduce food wastage, cut down on the consumption of alcohol and achieve sustainable development while building a healthy nation.
On her part, a former Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Professor Anna Lartey, who spearheaded the initiative, noted that the guidelines would encourage the public to live a healthy lifestyle through diet.
She admonished the public to incorporate the many healthy indigenous foods into their diets.
Richard Aniagyei, ISD
