Malnutrition taking huge toll on Ghana's economy: report

The economy of Ghana is losing some 4.6 billion cedis or 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, representing 6.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a year, to the effects of child under-nutrition, according to a new study launched here on Tuesday.

The report, titled "Cost of Hunger in Africa: the Social and Economic Impact of Child Under-nutrition on Ghana's Long Term Development (COHA)", shows vast amounts being lost through increased healthcare costs, additional burdens on the education system and lower productivity by its workforce.

Among other findings, the COHA report reveals that 37 percent of the adult population in Ghana suffered from stunting as children; 24 percent of all child mortality cases in Ghana are associated with under-nutrition, thereby reducing Ghana's workforce by 7.3 percent.

Ghana has made some progress in improving child nutrition over the past two decades, reducing chronic malnutrition or stunting from 23 to 19 percent.

However, this study highlights the critical need for further progress.

The African Union Commission's (AUC) Head of Health, Nutrition and Population Margaret Agama Nyetei said the issue was vital to the AU's vision and action plan for the next 50 years, known as Agenda 2063.

"At the African Union, we believe that the realization of Agenda 2063 and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will not be possible without fully harnessing the potential of all sectors of the population and this includes our children," she said.

Director of the Social Development Policy Division at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Professor Takyiwa Manuh, said ensuring a generation free from malnutrition required significant investments in nutrition strategies and interventions.

There is therefore a need for Ghana to forge strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, particularly the private sector and non-state actors, to combat under-nutrition holistically, she said.

In the Northern Region of Ghana, 30 percent of children under five are stunted or chronically malnourished.

This not only affects their growth but also their educational development and economic potential, and consequently the future of the country," said Margot van der Velden, WFP Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

The COHA report is led by the African Union Commission in partnership with African governments, the New Partnership for Africa's Development Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA); the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); and the WFP.

Studies have so far taken place in Egypt, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Rwanda, and are due to be carried out in Chad, Lesotho, Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritania. Endit