Vice President opens global micronutrient conference in Accra, urges joint action on malnutrition

Pinned summary · as of 04:21

Ghana's Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, declared the Micronutrient Forum's 7th Global Conference open in Accra on Monday, 28 September 2026. She used the occasion to argue that fighting malnutrition needs several sectors working together, backed by steady investment.

What we know

• Prof. Opoku-Agyemang formally began the Micronutrient Forum's seventh worldwide gathering, hosted in Accra, on Monday, 28 September 2026.
• She said malnutrition cannot be beaten by health workers alone; ministries and agencies covering schools, farming, social protection and private firms all need to play a part.
• According to both Onua Online and Opemsuo 104.7, she told the gathering that over 4.5 million children are now served by Ghana's school feeding programme.
• The Vice President described primary healthcare as a good entry point for nutrition services, including care for mothers and children. Onua Online, Rainbow Radio Online and Opemsuo 104.7 all reported this.
• She told delegates that government funding and help from international partners should support each other so that nutrition systems last.
• In a separate speech in Accra, she also addressed a sitting of regional lawmakers from ECOWAS, urging member states to work more closely on climate change, displacement and insecurity.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Reports differ on attendance. Graphic Online mentioned more than 2,200 delegates from over a hundred nations, and also an expected 2,500 (1,500 in person, 1,000 online), while The Vaultz News put the number at about 1,500. The organisers' figures have not been confirmed elsewhere.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 and The Vaultz News said the conference runs from 28 September to 1 October; other reports have not confirmed the dates.
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  The Vaultz News attributed to the Micronutrient Forum a claim that half of all children and two-thirds of women across the globe suffer from micronutrient malnutrition. No other report carried this figure.
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  Onua Online and The Vaultz News reported that the Vice President admitted Ghana still struggles with anaemia among women and adolescent girls, varied diets and breastfeeding; other reports have not repeated this.
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  Rainbow Radio Online reported that she cited the Feed Ghana Programme as a way to strengthen local food production and the Free Primary Healthcare policy as a route to early nutrition intervention; only that report carried the Feed Ghana reference.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 reported that Saskia Osendarp of the Micronutrient Forum praised Ghana's leadership on nutrition, and that Sunil Dahiya of AGRA called for more investment in climate-resilient seeds and better storage; Graphic Online carried similar accounts, but no independent second report has confirmed them.
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  Rainbow Radio Online separately reported that the Vice President addressed the World Shea Expo in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, and backed a Women's Development Bank to ease credit for rural entrepreneurs; other reports have not confirmed this.

Why it matters for Ghana

Nutrition affects how children learn and how mothers stay healthy, so decisions on school meals and primary healthcare reach households in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and rural districts alike. The school feeding figure shows how many pupils depend on those meals. How the government and its partners split the cost of nutrition services will shape what clinics and schools can offer.