Nutrition-sensitive education and social protection policies have implications for food-based dietary guidelines for Ghana

Ghana continues to address persistent malnutrition through political action and programme development. Government-led efforts have included  the formulation of multi-sectoral policies and programmes to improve the diet and nutritional status of various at-risk population groups. Globally,  an important tool for promoting healthy diets are Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FDBGs). To achieve and sustain the desired goal of promoting  healthy eating habits and lifestyles, FBDGs require, among many factors, supportive national policies and programmes. When coherently  incorporated in relevant nutrition-related policies and programmes, FBDGs enhance their impact on shaping and sustaining healthier dietary habits.  In this context, it is essential to understand the national policy and programme environment and its potential contribution during the  formulation of FBDGs. The present review aimed to identify existing nutrition-related education and social protection policies and programmes in  Ghana and their relevance to the development and implementation of FBDGs. Previously conducted scoping reviews, gap analyses, and a  benchmarking report of Ghana’s public health nutrition policies were used as information sources to identify relevant policies and programmes.  Additionally, websites of relevant government ministries, departments and agencies were searched to retrieve applicable policies or actions that  were not included in previous reviews. Nutrition-related education policies that were identified primarily support school health services, whereas  social protection policies broadly target social assistance, social welfare, social equity and insurancebased policies and programmes. Specific ways  these policies and programmes could support the development and implementation of Ghana’s dietary guidelines include embedding FBDGs in the  school nutrition curriculum to motivate healthier food choices by schoolchildren and using FBDGs to plan meals provided as part of the country’s  school feeding programme. Regarding social protection, existing instruments such as food transfers, social pensions and conditional cash transfers  could be aligned with FBDGs to ensure vulnerable households can access foods and follow recommended guidelines. Although some nutrition  actions are incorporated in existing policies and programmes, there are opportunities to improve their nutrition sensitivity.&nbsp

Perspective: Food Environment Research Priorities for Africa-Lessons from the Africa Food Environment Research Network.

Over the last 2 decades, many African countries have undergone dietary and nutrition transitions fueled by globalization, rapid urbanization, and development. These changes have altered African food environments and, subsequently, dietary behaviors, including food acquisition and consumption. Dietary patterns associated with the nutrition transition have contributed to Africa&#8217;s complex burden of malnutrition-obesity and other diet-related noncommunicable diseases (DR-NCDs)-along with persistent food insecurity and undernutrition. Available evidence links unhealthy or obesogenic food environments (including those that market and offer energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages) with suboptimal diets and associated adverse health outcomes. Elsewhere, governments have responded with policies to improve food environments. However, in Africa, the necessary research and policy action have received insufficient attention. Contextual evidence to motivate, enable, and create supportive food environments in Africa for better population health is urgently needed. In November 2020, the Measurement, Evaluation, Accountability, and Leadership Support for Noncommunicable Diseases Prevention Project (MEALS4NCDs) convened the first Africa Food Environment Research Network Meeting (FERN2020). This 3-d virtual meeting brought researchers from around the world to deliberate on future directions and research priorities related to improving food environments and nutrition across the African continent. The stakeholders shared experiences, best practices, challenges, and opportunities for improving the healthfulness of food environments and related policies in low- and middle-income countries. In this article, we summarize the proceedings and research priorities identified in the meeting to advance the food environment research agenda in Africa, and thus contribute to the promotion of healthier food environments to prevent DR-NCDs, and other forms of&nbsp;malnutrition.</p