Gushie (NR), July, GNA - GrassRoots Initiative in Africa, (GrassRoots Africa), a local NGO concerned with health problems of marginalized and vulnerable in society, at the weekend, used drama to educate the rural communities on the benefits of good nutrition. The NGO's programmes address the relationship among socio-cultural factors and gender issues that prevent certain category of people in some communities, especially women and children from eating nutritious foods.

The drama, "Nutrition and Gender" was meant to educate the community on how couples should collaborate to ensure that children were well educated to bring food and other social needs to the family for mutual understanding and development. The performance also aimed at letting the people know that though they may be poor, understanding and cordial relationship between couples and their children would ensure development and good nutritional levels of families.

Dr Yakubu Zakaria, Programmes and Development Coordinator of GrassRoots Africa, addressing a gathering of chiefs and the people, including school children at Gushie in the Savelugu/Nanton District said malnutrition was the cause of various diseases in rural communities making most children vulnerable.

Dr Zakaria said malnutrition diminishes some people's ability to cope later in life and that the project was also focusing on how social relations in the household are treated in terms of varied foods for the family.

He said malnutrition and poverty were interwoven and that there was the need to fight poverty alongside malnutrition to ensure that children in Sub-Saharan Africa do not continue to malnourish. Some of the people who watched the play expressed concern about their inability to market their farm products to be able to substitute or balance their diet.

Others said the fact that there should be mutual understanding and love between couples should not mean that the women should lord it over the men.

Mr. John Akalpa, Principal Programmes Officer, Research, Advocacy and Networking said the NGO was also into capacity building and that GrassRoots Africa would collaborate with other NGOs to work hard to reduce the incidence of malnutrition from the society. He advised parents to discard the notion that, children don't take eggs and take measures to ensure that their children were well fed to improve and enhance their growth.