World Vision Ghana commits $3.5m to combat child hunger, malnutrition
World Vision Ghana (WVG), a child-focused community-based advocacy organisation, has committed $3.5 million to help end child hunger and malnutrition.
The “Enough Campaign,” as it is dubbed, aims to raise awareness and understanding of the magnitude and severity of child hunger and malnutrition issues among stakeholders at local, national, and global levels.
The campaign seeks to create a society in which children consume enough nutritional food that is provided ethically, sustainably, and as locally as possible.
According to a UNICEF report (2019), 24% of children in Ghana aged six months to two years are vulnerable to malnutrition, which leads to poor health and reduced cognitive abilities.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, Madam Laura Del Valle, National Director at WVG, said the rising cases of malnutrition and child hunger globally triggered the need to commence a campaign to mitigate its adverse impact.
She noted that the escalating food prices and the impact of climate change had further worsened issues of malnutrition and child hunger.
“With the rise of food prices and the adverse effects of climate change, World Vision is deeply concerned about the wellbeing of the most vulnerable in communities.
“We want to collaborate with the media on this Enough Campaign because their work would prove instrumental in ensuring that we take care of our children in the best possible way,” she said.
Madam Laura stated the need for unifying efforts so that they could find the root causes of child hunger and contribute to policies that would ensure investment in human development.
Mr. Gregory Dery, the Child Protection and Advocacy Manager at WVG, said they directly provided about 1.3 million children with this initiative while increasing curative nutrition services in 1.7 million households.
According to Mr. Dery, the campaign would facilitate the delivery of comprehensive nutrition services to children and families while addressing issues of food wastage.
“The campaign will leverage WVG’s Positive Deviance programmes to identify and promote positive behaviours within communities to address malnutrition by empowering families to adopt healthier practices, leading to improved nutrition outcomes,” he said.
Mr. Dery also noted that the campaign sought to influence governmental policies that would ensure that children enjoy better food security, nutrition, and resilience through prioritised services.
Source: GNA