CSOs, media must help educate the public on healthy diets – INSLA 

By Albert Allotey 
Accra, July 20, GNA – The Institute of Leadership and Development (INSLA), a civil society organisation (CSOs), has called on its partners and the media to work together to educate the public to understand the five core principles of healthy diets. 
It mentioned the healthy diets as limitation of the intake of sugars, shift fat consumption away from saturated fats to unsaturated fat, and elimination of trans-fatty food acid; and limitation of sodium consumption and ensure salt was iodized. 
The rest are the increase in consumption of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, among others and ensure the availability of free, safe drinking water, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (2), (3), and (12). 
The INSLA made the call when during a day’s orientation for CSOs, community-based organisations and the media on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Action Framework on Healthy Public Food Procurement and Service Policies (HPFPSP) in Accra. 
The programme was supported by Coalition of Actors for Public Health Advocacy. 
The INSLA is championing the course of the HPFPSP through its Healthier Diets for Healthy Lives (HD4HL) project in collaboration with CSO partners to use their existing platforms and networks to raise awareness of the dangers of the consumption of trans-fatty foods, high intake of salt, sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages. 
Mr Suleiman Yahaya, HD4HL Project Coordinator, INSLA in a presentation on the situations/facts said according to the WHO, unhealthy diets were responsible for millions of deaths worldwide and it was the leading risks factors for disability and death. 
“Diets which include excess salt, sugars and bad fats kill around eight million people yearly and that non-communicable diseases account for 42 per cent of total deaths and 31 per cent of disease burden in Ghana. 
“It kills an estimated 86,000 persons in Ghana with 55.5 per cent of them aged less than 70 years,” according to the WHO. 
Mr Yahaya said the 2019 Ghana Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPA) highlighted the urgent need for food labelling and regulation of food products in Ghana. 
The coordinator quoted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on May 31, 2020 during the COVID-19 address to the nation series, saying: “The risk factors for these diseases (underling health conditions of living or dying of Covid-19) are being overweight, eating refined foods, too much salt and sugar in meals, … It is thus, crucial that we …, adopt healthy eating practices …, which boost our immune systems.” 
Mr Yahaya stated that the purpose of HPFPSP was to support countries to develop, implement, assess compliance and evaluate the effectiveness of a healthy public food procurement and service policy. 
“The action framework is to promote healthy and sustainable diets, food safety and adequate macro- and micronutrient intake to prevent all forms of malnutrition, the policies ensure that food the government purchases, serves, and/or sells in and through public institutions meet healthy nutrition standard,” he said.