Mr. Samuel Adjei, Director of the Kumasi Centre for National Culture (CNC), says there is high incidence of non-communicable diseases in the country of late, partly due to high patronage of foreign junk food by many Ghanaians. He said cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and diabetes which were non-prevalent decades ago, were now taking a high toll on the working class. Mr. Adjei said this in his opening remarks at the launch of a course in local meals preparation organized for students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Department of Culture and Tourism. The students who constituted the first batch to offer the newly introduced course, learnt the preparation of local meals such as 'Aprapransa', 'Tuo-Zaafi', 'Nuhu', 'Akapinkyi', 'Abunabunu' and 'Apem apisie,' as well as traditional snacks including 'Ogor' (roasted mashed cocoyam), 'Mpotompoto', 'Mpusuo' and 'Nfohon'. Mr Adjei noted that local dishes were of a higher nutritional value because they did not contain much oil or over-cooked as compared to some continental menu. He said natural spices such as ginger, black pepper and garlic, were used in their fresh state unlike some continental food that was prepared mostly with canned ingredients. Nana Sarfo Kantanka, Deputy Director of Performing Arts at the CNC, who organized the programme, said the course was introduced to promote local delicacies. He called on schools offering home economics to teach the students how to prepare local dishes. Source: GNA