Review of Ghana’s food environment: Drivers of availability, barriers to healthy food access, and impact of interventions and policies

Food environments exert a significant effect on population dietary choices and health outcomes. Policies that influence the food environment, can have a significant impact on individual and population dietary choices. This rapid review assessed the nature and interaction within the Ghanaian  food environment, and the impact that existing school, workplace, and national food policies have on dietary intake and nutritional outcomes.  Online databases and university repositories were searched for relevant articles and documents. A total of forty articles and documents were  included in the review. Majority of the reviewed papers (85%) used a cross-sectional design. The findings show that traditional outlets (open  markets) constitute the main food source among the Ghanaian populace, while convenience stores serve as an important source of processed  foods. Prepared local foods are often consumed outside the home and are mainly sourced from street food vendors. Street foods are perceived as  less expensive, convenient, and delicious. The food environment was found to influence dietary acquisition, intake, and nutritional outcomes.  Although most nutrients provided by the School Feeding Programme (SFP) are below recommended intake standards, the SFP contributes positively  to improved diets and nutrition status of school-age children. Children attending SFP-implementing schools experience higher intakes of  protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin A, folate, and have higher haemoglobin, and lower prevalence of stunting, underweight, and thinness than  children in non-SFP implementing schools. Availability of a private room for breastfeeding mothers improved breastfeeding frequency. Ghana’s fatty  meat restriction policy has reduced the availability and sale of fatty meat on the Ghanaian market. Reported drivers and barriers to healthy  foods consumption include socio-economic factors, media information, food storage facilities, cultural perception, fruit seasonality, knowledge on  the nutrient value of fruits and vegetables, safety profile of fruits and vegetables, and contribution of household production to dietary intake. In  conclusion, the food environment review reveals the drivers of availability, barriers to healthy food access, and impact of interventions and policies  on the Ghanaian food environment.&nbsp

Review of Ghana’s food environment: Drivers of availability, barriers to healthy food access, and impact of interventions and policies

Food environments exert a significant effect on population dietary choices and health outcomes. Policies that influence the food environment, can have a significant impact on individual and population dietary choices. This rapid review assessed the nature and interaction within the Ghanaian food environment, and the impact that existing school, workplace, and national food policies have on dietary intake and nutritional outcomes. Online databases and university repositories were searched for relevant articles and documents. A total of forty articles and documents were included in the review. Majority of the reviewed papers (85%) used a cross-sectional design. The findings show that traditional outlets (open markets) constitute the main food source among the Ghanaian populace, while convenience stores serve as an important source of processed foods. Prepared local foods are often consumed outside the home and are mainly sourced from street food vendors. Street foods are perceived as less expensive, convenient, and delicious. The food environment was found to influence dietary acquisition, intake, and nutritional outcomes. Although most nutrients provided by the School Feeding Programme (SFP) are below recommended intake standards, the SFP contributes positively to improved diets and nutrition status of school-age children. Children attending SFP-implementing schools experience higher intakes of protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin A, folate, and have higher haemoglobin, and lower prevalence of stunting, underweight, and thinness than children in non-SFP implementing schools. Availability of a private room for breastfeeding mothers improved breastfeeding frequency. Ghana’s fatty meat restriction policy has reduced the availability and sale of fatty meat on the Ghanaian market. Reported drivers and barriers to healthy foods consumption include socio-economic factors, media information, food storage facilities, cultural perception, fruit seasonality, knowledge on the nutrient value of fruits and vegetables, safety profile of fruits and vegetables, and contribution of household production to dietary intake. In conclusion, the food environment review reveals the drivers of availability, barriers to healthy food access, and impact of interventions and policies on the Ghanaian food environment.&nbsp

A review of Ghana’s food system and its implications on sustainability and the development of national food-based dietary guidelines

Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) provide culturally-appropriate and actionable recommendations based on which populations can make healthy food choices. Food systems sustainability, from production to consumption, and disposal of food and foodrelated items, should be a critical consideration for developing such guidelines. This rapid review assesses Ghana's food systems to determine the level of sustainability to inform the FBDG recommendations. Peer-reviewed articles, documents and reports of relevance to Ghana were included in this rapid review. A hundred and eight papers, answering different questions on food system sustainability were reviewed. Bread, cereals, fish and indigenous vegetables are the most frequently consumed food groups. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages are the most consumed imported foods. In rural areas, 53% of dietary protein comes from plant sources. Fish is the main the source of animal protein for most Ghanaian households. There is intensive exploitation of marine and fresh water resources. Most livestock are raised by smallholder farmers using freerange system. Poultry is frequently kept on deep litter system and only a few are largescale. Crop production for household consumption and small-scale animal rearing are predominant, especially in Northern Ghana. By weight, fruits and vegetables are the least cultivated and consumed crops at the household level. Wood is the commonest source of fuel for cooking, especially in rural areas. Single use plastic is the most used and preferred material for food packaging. Indiscriminate and poor management of waste and pesticide misuse is commonly reported. The findings suggest the need for promoting production diversification, use of clean fuel and reusable food packaging as part of FBDGs to enhance sustainability of Ghana’s food systems.&nbsp

A review of Ghana’s food system and its implications on sustainability and the development of national food-based dietary guidelines

Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) provide culturally-appropriate and actionable recommendations based on which populations can make healthy food choices. Food systems sustainability, from production to consumption, and disposal of food and foodrelated items, should be a critical consideration for developing such guidelines. This rapid review assesses Ghana's food systems to determine the level of sustainability to inform the FBDG recommendations. Peer-reviewed articles, documents and reports of relevance to Ghana were included in this rapid review. A hundred and eight papers, answering different questions on food system sustainability were reviewed. Bread, cereals, fish and indigenous vegetables are the most frequently consumed food groups. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages are the most consumed imported foods. In rural areas, 53% of dietary protein comes from plant sources. Fish is the main the source of animal protein for most Ghanaian households. There is intensive exploitation of marine and fresh water resources. Most livestock are raised by smallholder farmers using freerange system. Poultry is frequently kept on deep litter system and only a few are largescale. Crop production for household consumption and small-scale animal rearing are predominant, especially in Northern Ghana. By weight, fruits and vegetables are the least cultivated and consumed crops at the household level. Wood is the commonest source of fuel for cooking, especially in rural areas. Single use plastic is the most used and preferred material for food packaging. Indiscriminate and poor management of waste and pesticide misuse is commonly reported. The findings suggest the need for promoting production diversification, use of clean fuel and reusable food packaging as part of FBDGs to enhance sustainability of Ghana’s food systems

Secondary School Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Physical and Chemical Changes

In recent years, researchers have shown an interest in understanding students’ own ideas about basic chemical principles and guiding them through innovative ways to gain conceptual understanding where necessary. This research was a case study designed to assess 50 first year high school students’ conceptual understanding about changes in matter, with interpretive underpinnings. A diagnostic probe was administered to find out if discrete particles could be used to differentiate chemical changes from physical changes and to unravel the different conceptual interpretations that students had. Submissions obtained from the students were classified on levels of conceptions, and analysed using frequency counts and percentages, after which an interview was conducted to gain a deeper insight into their unscientific submissions. Findings from the study indicated that only a few students had difficulties in distinguishing between physical and chemical changes. These few did not associate the changes in states with associated physical and chemical properties, as was expected at their level. Neither did they base their explanation on the breaking nor formation of bonds, nor with changes in the constitutions of entities. They overwhelmingly intimated that physical changes were reversible whilst chemical changes were not. About 38% of participants who provided correct definitions for physical and chemical changes in two of the probes could not assign reasons for them. However, almost 79% of the participants showed an appreciable knowledge of types of changes that occur in chemistry. The adopted diagnostic probe and interview were useful in identifying students’ alternative conceptions about changes in chemistry. Diagnostic probes are recommended as a pre-requisite for conceptual change strategies

A critical review and analysis of the context, current burden, and application of policy to improve cancer equity in Ghana

Background Cancer causes a major disease burden worldwide. This is increasingly being realised in low and middle-income countries, which account disproportionately for preventable cancer deaths. Despite the World Health Organization calling for governments to develop policies to address this and alleviate cancer inequality, numerous challenges in executing effective cancer policies remain, which require consideration of the country-specific context. As this has not yet been considered in Ghana, the aim of this review was to bring together and critique the social-environmental, health policy and system factors to identifying opportunities for future health policies to reduce cancer burden in the Ghanian context. A critical policy-focused review was conducted to bring together and critique the current health systems context relating to cancer in Ghana, considering the unmet policy need, health system and social factors contributing to the burden and policy advances related to cancer. Conclusion The findings highlight the changing burden of cancer in Ghana and the contextual factors within the socio-ecosystem that contribute to this. Policies around expanding access to and coverage of services, as well as the harmonization with medical pluralism have potential to improve outcomes and increase equity but their implementation and robust data to monitor their impact pose significant barriers

What influences cancer treatment service access in Ghana? A critical interpretive synthesis

Objectives: Multiple social-cultural and contextual factors influence access to and acceptance of cancer treatment in Ghana. The aim of this research was to assess existing literature on how these factors interplay and could be susceptible to local and national policy changes. Design: This study uses a critical interpretive synthesis approach to review qualitative and quantitative evidence about access to adult cancer treatment services in Ghana, applying the socioecological model and candidacy framework. Results: Our findings highlighted barriers to accessing cancer services within each level of the socioecological model (intrapersonal, interpersonal community, organisational and policy levels), which are dynamic and interacting, for example, community level factors influenced individual perceptions and how they managed financial barriers. Evidence was lacking in relation to determinants of treatment non-acceptance across all cancers and in the most vulnerable societal groups due to methodological limitations. Conclusions: Future policy should prioritise multilevel approaches, for example, improving the quality and affordability of medical care while also providing collaboration with traditional and complementary care systems to refer patients. Research should seek to overcome methodological limitations to understand the determinants of accessing treatment in the most vulnerable populations

Assessment of optimal pathways for power generation system in Ghana

This study applied the Open Source Energy Modelling System (OSeMOSYS), an optimisation model for long term energy planning, which is integrated in Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning (LEAP) to develop optimal generation pathways and dispatch scheduling of selected generating technologies for power generation in Ghana. Simulating conventional and non-conventional energy technologies, the study examines the technological, economic and environmental implications of renewable energy policies from 2010 to 2040. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken to determine the effect of varied development in non-conventional renewable energy technologies investment cost as well as fuel prices. The findings suggest that, with a comprehensive implementation of energy efficiency and other strategies, renewable energy technologies can contribute more than 70% of the generation requirement in Ghana by 2040. This will result in significant economic and environmental benefits as well as sustainability of the energy sector

Health systems and MNCH outcomes in West Africa : a study of conducive and limiting health systems : factors to improving maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) in West Africa

This study explored health system factors conducive to, or that limit maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) policy, program implementation and outcomes in West Africa, and how and why they work in some contexts. Findings relate to the health system and how it affects interventions and outcomes. There is little research in the sub-region related to such values as responsiveness, equity, fairness, justice, and rights and responsibilities, which may be explicitly or implicitly held within the health system, and more specifically, how they apply to MNCH and other programs

Lack of observational evidence for quantum structure of space-time at Plank scales

It has been noted (Lieu & Hillmann, 2002) that the cumulative affect of Planck-scale phenomenology, or the structure of space-time at extremely small scales, can be lead to the loss of phase of radiation emitted at large distances from the observer. We elaborate on such an approach and demonstrate that such an effect would lead to an apparent blurring of distant point-sources. Evidence of the diffraction pattern from the HST observations of SN 1994D and the unresolved appearance of a Hubble Deep Field galaxy at z=5.34 lead us to put stringent limits on the effects of Planck-scale phenomenology.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepter for ApJ