Ashanti Regional Health Director, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang has reiterated the urgency for the Ghana Health Service and its partners to ensure that the issue of micronutrient deficiency is addressed.

The condition that usually affects children happens as a result of a lack of essential vitamins and minerals required in small amounts by the body for proper growth and development.

It results in malnutrition affecting key development outcomes including poor physical and mental development in children, vulnerability or exacerbation of the disease, mental retardation, blindness and general losses in productivity and potential.

According to available statistics from the Ghana Health Service as of 2014, indicates that about 16% of children in the Ashanti Region are stunted. This is out of the over 19% which is the national data due to malnutrition.

However, officials say Ghana has made some gains in reducing the malnutrition rate since the introduction of Koko Plus products as part of interventions to curb the malnutrition rate in the region.

Ashanti Regional Health Director, Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang says maternal mortality and child nutrition amidst COVID-19 has been a challenge.

“Our major concern has always been maternal child health and nutrition in addition to the disease surveillance and other issues. In the midst of Covid-19 we still have to make sure that we improve the nutrition of children under five and we make sure that mothers and children survive. That has been the major intervention so far.”

Dr Tenkorang observed the need to address the issue of micronutrient deficiency which usually affect children.

“We improved in almost all the activities including that of nutrition which Koko plus was part of, especially the nutrition to children under five and making sure that we address the issue of micronutrient deficiency which usually affects children. Analyzing the data, we have really done well beyond our expectation”, he noted.

Koko Plus partnership

Deputy Director of Nutrition at Ghana Health Service, Esi Foriwaah Amoafo observes some food items found on the markets are not nutritious. She entreats stakeholders to focus on issues relating to food security.

“It is important that we collectively work together to look at things around food and nutrition security and the changing nutrition environment where their so many food items that are not nutritionally sound’’.

She says the partnership with Koko Plus is improving the skills and competence of service providers.

“…this is key in ensuring that interaction between caregivers and health providers will be of good quality.”

Partnering the Ghana Health Service, KOKO Plus has reached out to 24 districts in the Ashanti Region in a bid to reduce malnutrition.

Mothers are engaged to provide the best of nutrition to babies in their early development stages.

Project Coordinator at KOKO Plus Ghana, Ophelia Osei Konadu, said continuous collaboration with Ghana Health Service is critical to addressing nutrition challenges in Ghana.

“The product helps address stunting and anaemia. The health workers have been giving very good feedback on the product. In Greater Accra region, we’re in 3 districts."

The Ashanti Regional Nutrition Unit meets yearly to discuss work progress. Though various Districts have recorded progress, it is not satisfactory.

Ashanti Regional Nutrition Officer, Olivia Timpoe, said members of the unit are working to improve on the figures.

“We met as a nutrition unit to discuss progress made in terms of our work and share success stories, best practices and innovations. We realized that the unit is really progressing when we look at our figures in terms of vitamin A, breastfeeding, and stunting.