Accra, Aug 13, GNA- Improving the nutritional status of children is imperative to accelerate progress towards achieving the health-related millennium development goals, Ms Anna Nyamekye, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, said on Wednesday.

She noted that statistics from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), indicated that about one out of five Ghanaian children was underweight or stunted, adding that "90 per cent of all stunted children live in sub-Saharan Africa".

Ms Nyamekye said this at a two-day dissemination workshop on Enhancing Child Nutrition through Animal Source Management (ENAM) organised by the University of Ghana in collaboration with the Iowa State University in the United States of America. The ENAM project is a development and research initiative to improve poor feeding practices and inadequate diet that contribute to child malnutrition in some selected communities in Ghana. The dissemination workshop would be used as a forum to dialogue with stakeholders on mechanisms to enhance development interventions on nutrition and agriculture as well as introduce education materials developed for the project.

Ms Nyamekye said Ghana was among 60 countries in the world with high under-five mortality rates and called for a redirection of attention to more child survival related interventions. "The effects of childhood malnutrition on our human capital base permeate all sectors of the society," she said.

Mr Daniel Dugan, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs, said the Ministry's Early Childhood Care and Development Policy sought to provide immediate interventions towards ensuring the holistic development of all children.

He, therefore, called for partnership with agencies concerned to address the issue. "Let us identify and establish linkages with other partners and strengthen existing ones, bearing in mind quality, professionalism and loyalty."

Mr Dugan also called for capacity building of nutritional and agricultural extension professionals to improve livelihoods and feeding practices of caregivers of young children in the country. Prof Clifford Tagoe, Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said early childhood malnutrition remained a public health concern, which called for continuous research to mitigate its effects. He said the workshop would find ways of enhancing sustainability of the community-based interventions associated with the project and give publicity to its achievement. Prof Tagoe noted that UG had partnerships with some rural banks to provide enterprise development services and education to reduce childhood malnutrition beyond the project's lifeline. 13 Aug. 08