Ghana Health Service, UNICEF launch new nutrition surveillance system in UWR
The Ghana Health Service in collaboration with UNICEF, has launched a new nutrition surveillance system as part of strategies being undertaken to improve on the nutrition situation in the region.
The initiative is to ensure the availability and utilisation of accurate and timely nutrition information that will bring about effective planning, design and implementation of curative and preventive nutrition programmes.
Dr Alexis Nang-beifubah, Upper West Regional Director of Health Services, announced this during an Inter-Agency Nutrition Forum at Wa on Wednesday.
He said malnutrition was a direct result of insufficient food intake or repeated infectious diseases or a combination of both which, according to him, could result in increased risk to illness and death.
Dr Nang-beifubah said malnutrition could also result in lower level of cognitive development.
He pointed out that the Upper West Region was one of the regions with very high malnutrition rates especially among children under five.
He said all major causes of infant and childhood deaths in developing countries such as Ghana were associated with malnutrition, adding that if malnutrition was controlled, about 34 percent of under-five deaths could be prevented.
Dr Nang-beifubah urged players in the health sector to render their usual selfless support in order to make the new nutrition surveillance system a success.
Mr Chrisantus Dari, Regional Nutrition Officer, who made a presentation on behalf of Dr. Kofi Issah, Deputy Director of Public Health Services, said obesity was gradually becoming an issue of concern among women in the region.
This, he said, must be checked as it could pose serious health problems to those women.
He said percentages of under-five children who were stunted, wasted, and underweight in the Upper West Region stood at 24.6%, 13.9% and 13. 1% respectively, according to the Ghana Demographic Health Survey (GDHS) 2008.
At the end of the forum all the stakeholders agreed to collaborate effectively in order to make the new nutrition surveillance system a success.
Source: GNA
Well as PART of my research on nutrition and health,the following are some suggestions of solutions for improvement,prevention and control of malnutrition in the region;residence of the region must be educated from period to period and regularly checked through questionnaires,charts,etc.The danger of over-nutrition and under nutrition must be made known to them.Better eating and meal planning polices must be developed to enable them understand the need to stay healthy and active for work.The media can be tasked to organize program mes to help make the new nutrition surveillance system a success.THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD HENCE BE MADE AWARE OF THE NEED TO WORK OUT THIS NEW NUTRITION SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM BY TRAINING MORE NGO ‘s AND HEALTH WORKERS SPECIALLY ON NUTRITION AND HEALTH MATTERS IN ORDER TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE,INCREASE IN ILLNESS AS IN OBESITY AND MALNUTRITION IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN UNDER-FIVE WILL THEN BE CONTROLLED.
another way of solving the problem of malnutrition in ghana is by offering job opportunities to the nutrition students which are being trained in ghana. all hospitals in ghana must make it a point to have at least one nutritionist to help councel all patients who pass through the hospital.