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Healthy Diets Stakeholders meet in Accra ahead of UN's Food Systems Summit

General News Group picture of participants after the meeting
SEP 21, 2021 LISTEN
Group picture of participants after the meeting

Stakeholders on healthy food lifestyle have met in Accra on Monday to deliberate on how to adopt safety food lifestyles in Ghana , ahead of the United Nations virtual Food System Summit slated for September 23, 2021.

The orientation programe , organised by the Institute of Leadership and Development ( INSLA) was to brainstorm on the World Health Organisation’s ( WHO) Healthy Public Food Procurement and Services Policies ( PFP) Action Framework .

Participants drawn from health sector, academia, researchers’ ,Community Based Organisations (CBO's) , Civil Society Organizations , and the media resolved to push for government to implement and enforce the provisions of the PFP Action Framework.

Mr. Issah Ali, INSLA Project Coordinator pointed out that INSLA and its allies has a task to ensure government of Ghana implements and enforces the provisions of the framework. We need to identify and categorise the kind of food items we consume and the kinds of dangers they posed to the end user, Mr. Issah Ali said.

The INSLA Project Coordinator noted that there is a global concern for nations to act and push for the enforcement of the policies to curb the canker of unhealthy eating lifestyles . Most of the food items we consumed presently make us unhealthy due to the availability of sugar and salt in them.

WHO as a global agency for good health came up with the PFP Action Framework which must be adopted and implemented by nations worldover. The Action Framework according to the INSLA Project Coordinator has amongst other things the objectives to provide guidance on how respective nations can tackle the canker.

The PFP Action Framework according to Mr. Issah Ali has five core principles which are limit the intake of free sugars , limit sodium consumptions, shifting away from the consumption of saturated fats to unsaturated fats , increase the intake of whole grains ,vegetables and fruits and lastly to ensure the availability of free and safe drinking water for all.

The interactive program was held in two different sessions with the first session being virtual deliveries, when a health expert and senior lecturer from the University of Ghana's School of Public Health, Prof. Amos Laar and Dr. Joana Ansong of the WHO Ghana Office took turns to address participants via Zoom

Mr. Benjamin Anabila , the INSLA Director called on participants to work assiduously to ensure the purpose of the meeting which is b championed by INSLA is achieved. He called on the CBO's and CSO's to take steps to push for government to implement and enforce the policies.

Mohammed Saani Ibrahim
Mohammed Saani Ibrahim

Journalist/reporter at The Accra TimesPage: MohammedSaaniIbrahim

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