Report by Ben LARYEA
World Vision Ghana, a Christian, child – focused, community – based advocacy
organization is fervently working to reach out to 3.5 million most vulnerable children in
underserved communities across the country.
The move is to engage the children with quality education, health, nutrition, water and
sanitation, child protection, household food security and humanitation emergency
interventions.
It is for these reasons that WVG have launch its “Enough Pre – campaign at a press
briefing in Accra which seeks to eradicate child hunger and malnutrition and a vision to
build a world where every child enjoys enough nourishing food to thriver which ties into
the “End child hunger and malnutrition of the Sustainable Development Goals 2.
Addressing the media, Child Protector and Advocacy Manager WVG, Mr. Gregory Dery
said organisation have successfully implemented campaigns that have transform the
lives of most vulnerable children such as child health now, and child manage now
among others.
He said the campaigns witnessed some policy shifts, improvements in services and
budget increments, social services for the protection of children.
Reports on food insecurity in Ghana, according to the World Bank (2023) indicates that
Ghana experience a food crisis in 2022 with food surging from 560,000 in 2021 to
823,000 in 2022 as Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey (AHIES) stated
that nearly half (49.1%) representing 15.1 million of the population experienced food
insecurity in quarter 1 and 13.0 million (42.1%) in quarter 2 respectively.
“Inspite of progress in reducing malnutrition in the country, there are high rates of
poverty and stunting which persists in the Northern Savanah Ecological Zones, he said
adding that many rural and peri – urban communities across the country still suffer
poverty.
Government he said have demonstrated commitment to nutrition by introducing a
comprehensive reproductive, material, newborn, child and adolescent health and
nutrition strategic plan to the already existing National Nutrition policy and have also a
framework for child hunger.
He added that 24% of children eats diverse foods as many of them do not have access to
quality food pointing out that children who experience food insecurity and malnutrition
faces long – term, economic consequences, adding that the challenge brings to bear
poor brain development, low immunity, infections and in many cases death.
