The Presbyterian Health Centre at Salaga under the Presbyterian Primary Health Care (PPHC) has held a nutrition showcase event on using local food items to prepare nutritious foods for children under five years.
The day’s event, which took place at Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region, was a Mandela Day Service Grant (MDSG) initiative with support from the United State of America, Department of State, through IREXs Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni programme.
It is aimed at building a culture of volunteerism among the community and health workers in commemoration of Mandela Day.
A total of 100 women, who had children under five years, were trained on how to prepare balanced meals for children using the four-star diets.
Participants witnessed both instructional and practical sessions, which included demonstrations on how to prepare nutritious meals.
Prior to the event, health care workers and volunteers received training to equip them with the knowledge needed to effectively edu
cate participants on topics on nutrition.
This was done under the supervision of Mr Fred Nketiah Mensah, and Mrs Silvia Phaphali Adzitey, co-winners of the 2024 MDSG and Alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, 2023.
Mr Mensah, a 2023 Mandela Washington Fellow and Coordinator, Presbyterian Primary Healthcare Centre, said the event was to climax the MDSG.
He said it was to encourage volunteerism in the community, adding volunteerism was an element of the Mandela Washington Fellowship grant.
He stated that although the country had made progress, malnutrition was a national issue that needed coordinated and collaborative approach to successfully achieve improvement.
He said support from UNICEF and the World Food Programme for therapeutic foods supply had stalled, and said the project aim to teach women to prepare nutritious foods using common and available local dishes for children in the absence of these therapeutic foods.
Mr Abdul Latif Abubakari, Senior Nutrition Officer, East Gonja Municipal Health
Directorate, taught the women how to combine the four-star foods to prepare nutritious meals for children and said everything needed to prepare a nutritious meal was easily accessible in their communities.
He said children, by the end of a day’s meal, must have benefited from the nutrients from each of the four-star diets, which were animals and animal products, nuts and beans, fruits, and vegetables as well as staples.
He advised participants to substitute unhealthy snacks with fruits for their children, noting that fruits had most of the nutrient’s children needed to live healthy.
Some volunteers under the initiative, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, recounted their role in ensuring that women got knowledge about nutrition through their daily routine check-ups.
Miss Memunatu Sakibu, a volunteer, said she visited mothers who had difficulties caring for a child, and reported to supervisors and received the needed attention, adding that it was part of her volunteer work.
Source: Ghana
News Agency