'Food Security Is Third World's Biggest Challenge'

The greatest challenge in the coming years for a developing country like Ghana will be to provide enough food for the rapidly increasing population, Mr. Kwesi Ahwoi, Minister of Food and Agriculture, has said. In a speech read on his behalf by Dr. Anthony Akunzule, Principal Veterinary Officer, Mr. Ahwoi said it was for this reason that diseases that pose threat to the development of Pig and poultry industries should be seen as of strategic importance for global food security and household incomes.

The Minister said this at the opening of a three-day workshop in Accra on the promotion of field epidemiology and laboratory training programmes in West Africa.

Epidemiology is the study of the way diseases spread and how to control them.

The workshop which had the theme “strengthening Africa's response to emerging zoonotic diseases through partnership between field Epidemiology and laboratory training programmes (FELTPs) and the veterinary services,” was aimed at providing competency based applied epidemiology training to help various countries to improve their public health systems.

Organised by The African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and hosted by the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, it attracted participants mainly health practitioners drawn from six West African countries.

Mr. Ahwoi, however, called for an emergency preparedness for these transboundary animal diseases of livestock.

“The Avian Influenza and Mexican HINI Influenza we had recently experienced, have provided a clearer understanding of the benefits to the international community of applying the appropriate animal-human health policies, in order to safeguard public health and ensure food safety end to reduce poverty” he sated.

Mr. George Sipa Yankey, Minister of Health said he was happy that the participants are expected to develop and update a five year strategic plan to include the veterinary component to address core competencies identified to strengthen surveillance, control and prevention of diseases which threaten public health and food security in Africa.

In a speech read on his behalf by Mrs. Salimata Abdul Salam, Acting Chief Director, of the Ministry of Health, the Minister suggested that physicians and veterinarians team up to conduct serosurveys of humans who live and work near animal populations to assess the risk of acquiring zoonoses, a disease in animals that can be transferred to humans.

He expressed the hope that in developing the capacity to strengthen surveillance control and prevention of diseases which threaten public health and food security, the strategic plan should include a component that build the capacity of trainees to conduct research.

Professor Fred Binka, Dean of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana urged the participants to link the programmes to their universities to help them get degrees in the relevant programmes.