Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have been urged to use their influence and community networks to promote healthier eating habits and lifestyles to help reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Ghana.
The Programme Manager of the NCD Control Programme of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Wallace Odiko-Ollennu, said the rising burden of NCDs required collective action to encourage lifestyle changes and build a healthier population.
He thus identified FBOs as having an important role to play in promoting healthy living among their members.
Dr Odiko-Ollennu was speaking at a “Food and Faith for Healthy Living” workshop involving some member churches of the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG).
Organised by the Communication Initiative for Change (CIC), the meeting discussed the growing burden of NCDs and how the “Meatless Monday” (MM) initiative could encourage healthier food choices.
It also developed health messages, identified target audiences and selected appropriate communication channels to promote healthier lifestyles.
Dr Odiko-Ollennu said churches could help reduce the burden of NCDs by encouraging members to eat healthily, exercise regularly and undergo routine health checks.
He said conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke and kidney disease could have few or no symptoms in their early stages, making regular screening important.
“If you are waiting to have a big headache before you go, your blood pressure is high. By that time, you are almost in the complication stage,” he said.
He urged churches to educate their members on modifiable risk factors for NCDs and promote healthy habits from an early age by involving children in health education.
The Acting Director of the Health Promotion Division of the GHS, Mrs Mabel Asafo, said tackling NCDs required collaboration beyond the health sector because people’s health choices were influenced by their homes, communities and institutions.
She said churches were important partners because of their wide reach and influence, and urged faith leaders to promote healthier food choices while preserving Ghana’s rich food culture.
Mrs Asafo expressed the GHS’s support for the initiative and commended the CIC and the CCG for bringing faith and health promotion together.
The Executive Director of the CIC, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, explained that the MM initiative encouraged people to reduce their meat consumption for one day each week and replace meat with plant-based foods, including vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds and nuts.
He stressed that the initiative was not a vegetarian programme but a simple way to reduce excessive meat consumption.
Mr Fiagbey urged churches to use the initiative to encourage healthier eating habits among their members.
BY ABIGAIL ANNOH & JESSIE PRINCESS DUAH
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