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10.02.2012 Regional News

A FOUR DAY SENSITISATION PROGRAMME ON FOOD NUTRITIONAL VALUE FOR TEN (10) SELECTED COMMUNITIES.

10.02.2012 LISTEN
By Ms Shallom Lumor

The District Information office in collaboration with NCCE, Ghana Health Service and West Gonja District Assembly supported by the West Gonja Area Development Programme under World Vision Ghana have organized a sensitization programme as part of it's efforts to promote healthy lifestyles in some 10 selected remote communities in the Northern Region.

The Campaign was organized for women groups in ten communities. A total of about 400 women and over 20 men participated in the programme. The Campaign started on 23rd January and ended on 27th January 2012.

The communities visited included Kanato, Grupe and Kabampe, Larabanga, Yipala and Nabori. Others Communities were Murugu, Mognori,

The purpose of the Campaign was to sensitize women groups on the importance of food nutritional values. It seeks to reduce the extent of malnutrition in Ghana and to improve nutrition.


The programme is to focus and provide nutritional values to ensure that families adapt to healthy lifestyles and to improve their nutritional values.

The Public Campaign has place major focus on the various local foods in the community.

The District Nutrition Officer Mrs Mavis Kora the resource person based her major discussion on food nutritional values specifically local Ghanaian Foods.

She touched on familiar Ghanaian foodstuffs such as maize, millet, 'dawadawa', green leafy vegetables to mention a few and teach them on how to preserve the nutrient and to combine them to get a balance meal.

She disclosed that, Legumes were good sources of minerals, vitamins and protein but, lack one essential amino acid or protein building block (mettiore).

However, she explained, that to get the most nutrition and energy from foods, items must be combined in a proper manner in terms of quantity, proportion and type.

She further explained that food is made up of nutrients which may be either micro or macro nutrients. Micronutrients such as vitamin and minerals are needed in small amount, on the other hand; macronutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins are needed in target concentrated amounts. Fat is a macronutrient and is concentrated in energy and hence should be eaten in very small quantities. The body cannot work properly if one or more of the nutrients are regularly missing.


This approach however, has allows most to participants engage in active learning, this also enables them to ask questions on issues conflicting traditional methods of cooking.

Assembly Persons and Unit Committee Members in some cases assisted in organizing the inhabitants. Some chiefs and elders were also involved in the mobilization of community members.

Nonetheless, it was also clear that most of the women did not have much knowledge about the nutritional value of some foodstuff which were common and known to them and hence, under utilize them.

Similarly, most women turn to used consumable products imported from foreign countries rather than the locally produced foodstuffs.

However, most the women were enlighten after the campaign and this will enhance their health since they now know the value of what they have been consuming.

They therefore recommended that more of such campaigns should be organized to benefit other communities.

We must continue to be relentless in promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours across the population.

Shallom Lumor
[email protected]
West Gonja- Damongo.

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