Nutrition Is A National Development Priority, Not Just A Health Concern – NDPC Boss
NDPC Director-General Dr Audrey Smock Amoah says nutrition must be treated as a national development priority, not just a health concern, as Ghana seeks stronger coordination and financing to improve nutrition outcomes.
That was the focus of a symposium held as part of the Micronutrient Forum 2026 in Accra on the theme, “Accelerating Nutrition Action Through Multisectoral Collaboration and Sustainable Financing: Lessons from Ghana.”
Speaking at the event, Dr Amoah said Ghana has established policies, institutions and coordination platforms for nutrition, but translating them into coherent implementation, sustained investment and measurable results remains critical.
She said nutrition shapes human capital, educational attainment, productivity, resilience and the prospects of future generations, and that multisectoral collaboration must go beyond periodic consultation to influence how priorities are set, how programmes are designed, how resources are allocated and how performance is assessed.
She explained that Ghana’s approach brings together health, agriculture, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, local economic development and public finance, with the Food Systems and Nutrition Security Cross-Sectoral Planning Group providing an avenue to integrate nutrition priorities into sector and district development plans.
UNICEF Ghana Representative Mr Andy Brooks said Ghana’s commitment to nutrition is reflected in its development planning and coordination mechanisms, but sustained and adequate investment at scale remains key.
He said nutrition budget tracking could help identify where resources are concentrated, where gaps persist and how domestic and partner resources could be better aligned with national priorities, and stressed the need to link financing to planning, budgeting and accountability processes.
In her closing remarks, Dr Amoah identified strengthening coordination within existing national and decentralised planning systems; improving nutrition financing, expenditure tracking and accountability across sectors; and using evidence to scale interventions that can deliver equitable and lasting nutrition outcomes as three priorities.
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