NORTHERN REGION RECORDS HIGHER MALNUTRITION CASES

A multiple indicator survey conducted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that the northern region recorded 23. 2% of malnutrition cases for the year 2010. The survey expressed fear that the situation could escalate because available routine data for the half year of 2011 indicated that such cases sky rocketed to 23%. Dr. Jacob Mahama, Deputy Director of Public Health at the northern regional health directorate brought this to the fore at a refresher course on food fortification dubbed’ “Northern regional food demonstration menu” organized in Tamale. He observed that the inadequacy of supplementary food had contributed to the increase in malnutrition cases which was highly associated with children in various parts of the northern region. This, Dr. Jacob Mahama said informed the Ghana Health Service and its collaborators decision to broaden the participants knowledge on practices that will go a long way to get the situation diminished.
He expected that the participants will impact the knowledge gained on especially lactating mothers within their operational zones to help reduce the phenomenon.
A resource person from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Bridget Parwar advised the participants to replicate the exercise in their operational zones by encouraging them to use dawadawa and similar locally prepared flavors for preparing meals and stop using magi cubes.
She reiterated MOFA’s commitment to partner with the Ghana Health Service and its allied bodies to promote child growth in the northern regions and beyond. Mrs. Kuuyong Adjei Dansu Felicia, Nutrition Officer of the northern regional health directorate supervised the exercise and expressed optimism that much attention will be given to feeding children between six months and above with locally prepared meals. In her estimation, the locally prepared meals will build up the blood levels of pregnant women and children to an appreciable level to reduce infant and maternal mortality in the northern region. About 44 nutrition officers and senior Nurses drawn from all the various health institutions in the 20 districts of the northern region have attended the workshop. The participants used fortificants such as soya flour, groundnut paste and oil, dawadawa, cowpea, moringa, agushie, shea butter and fish powder to prepare a four course meal comprising soya TZ, Tubani, aprapransa, dawadawa jollof and soya milk among other locally prepared meals.The exercise was spearheaded by the northern regional directorate of the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and UNICEF.