Food Security in Ghanaian Urban Cities: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Public health concerns for food contamination in Ghana: A scoping review

Nutrition is sturdily and rapidly becoming the foremost determinant of health in today's Sars-Cov-2 and climate change ravaged world. While safe food sustains life, contamination obliterates its values and could result in death and short to long term morbidity. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore food contamination in Ghana, between 2001-2022. Using Arksey and O'Malley's procedure, a systematic literature search from PubMed, JSTOR, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Scopus, Emeralds Insight, Google Scholar, and Google was carried out. Following the inclusion criteria, 40 published and grey literature were covered in this review. The review revealed the following: Studies on food contamination involving Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, and Eastern Regions alone account for over 50% of the total number of such studies conducted in Ghana; regulators failed in enforcing regulations, monitoring and supervision; managers failed to provide adequate infrastructure and facilities. The most common food safety risks of public health concern are: i) micro-organisms (E. coli/faecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Bacillus cereus, and Viral hepatitis); ii) drugs (Amoxicillin, Chlortetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, Danofloxacin, and Doxycycline) and; iii) chemicals (Chlorpyrifos). Salad, vegetables, sliced mango, meat pie, and snail khebab are of high public health risks. The following deductions were made from the review: Highly contaminated food results in death, short to long term morbidity, economic loss, and threatens to displace Ghana's efforts at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2. Thus, Government must resource key regulatory bodies to enhance their operational capacity, regulators must foster collaboration in monitoring and supervision of food vendors, and managers of food service outlets must provide adequate facilities to engender food safety culture.

Is food insecurity related to sustainable and healthy eating behaviors?

In this cross-sectional study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between sustainable and healthy eating behaviors such as nutritional insecurity and a healthy and balanced diet, interest in regional and organic food products, consumption of seasonal food and avoidance of food waste, preference for locally produced foods, reduction of meat consumption, preference for eggs from free-range chickens, and sustainable fishery products, and consumption of low-fat food products in adults. The study included 410 adults who were reached through social media applications. Data were collected through an online questionnaire including the Descriptive Information Form, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and the Sustainable Healthy Eating Behaviors Scale (SHEBS). The proportion of participants determined as mildly food insecure, moderately food insecure, and severely food insecure was 10.2%, 6.6%, and 7.6%, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that in Models 1, 2, and 3, there was a statistically significant negative association between food insecurity and the components of sustainable and healthy eating behaviors such as healthy and balanced diet (β - 0.226, p < 0.001), quality labels (β - 0.230, p < 0.001), seasonal foods, which are of avoidance of food waste (β - 0.261, p < 0.001), animal welfare (β - 0.174, p < 0.001), and fat intake (β - 0.181, p < 0.001). In conclusion, food insecurity negatively affects healthy and balanced diet behaviors, interest in regional and organic food products, seasonal food products consumption and avoidance of food waste, consumption of low-fat food products, and the choice of products such as free-range chicken eggs, and sustainable fisheries.

Comparative analysis of methyl-donor nutrient intakes and RCPM cognitive performance among school-aged children

BACKGROUND

Evidence shows a link between methyl-donor nutrient intakes and a child's cognitive ability. However, this is less known among Ghanaian children who might be at higher risk of methyl-donor nutrient deficiencies. This study showed comparative analysis of methyl-donor nutrient intakes and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) test performance among 2073 Ghanaian school children aged 9-13 years across four regions of Ghana.

METHODS

Data for the present study were obtained from the Child Nutrition, Fitness, and Cognition project; a cross-sectional survey conducted in four regions of Ghana. Dietary methyl-donor nutrient values were based on repeated 24 h recall data collected during the study periods. Cognitive tests were performed on the 2073 children using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) test.

RESULTS

We found dietary zinc (adjusted: β = 0.21, p = 0.003) and methionine (adjusted: β = 0.60, p = 0.044) intakes to be associated with RCPM scores in the linear regression model. School children living in Northern Region (adjusted OR = 0.6, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 0.4-0.7) and Volta Region (adjusted OR = 0.7, p = 0.006, 95% CI = 0.5-0.9) had lower odds of scoring above the 50th percentile on the RCPM test compared with those living in Greater Accra Region. Children who consumed below the RDA for dietary folate (unadjusted OR = 0.8, p = 0.055, 95% CI = 0.7-1.0) and zinc (unadjusted OR = 0.8, p = 0.049, 95%CI = 0.7-1.0) had lower odds of scoring above the 50th percentile on the RCPM test compared with those who consumed above the RDA for dietary folate and zinc respectively. Children who consumed below the EAR for dietary vitamin B₁₂ (unadjusted OR = 0.7, p = 0.004, 95% CI = 0.6-0.9) had reduced odds of scoring above the 50th percentile on the RCPM test compared with those who consumed above the EAR for dietary vitamin B₁₂.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher dietary methionine intake was strongly associated with higher RCPM scores. Regional differences, and children's dietary consumption below the EAR/RDA for dietary folate, vitamin B₁₂, and zinc were associated with poor RCPM test performance. School children's nutrient intake should be prioritized for improved cognition.

Individual-level drivers of dietary behaviour in adolescents and women through the reproductive life course in urban Ghana: A Photovoice study

Evidence on the individual-level drivers of dietary behaviours in deprived urban contexts in Africa is limited. Understanding how to best inform the development and delivery of interventions to promote healthy dietary behaviours is needed. As noncommunicable diseases account for over 40% of deaths in Ghana, the country has reached an advanced stage of nutrition transition. The aim of this study was to identify individual-level factors (biological, demographic, cognitive, practices) influencing dietary behaviours among adolescent girls and women at different stages of the reproductive life course in urban Ghana with the goal of building evidence to improve targeted interventions. Qualitative Photovoice interviews (n = 64) were conducted in two urban neighbourhoods in Accra and Ho with adolescent girls (13-14 years) and women of reproductive age (15-49 years). Data analysis was both theory- and data-driven to allow for emerging themes. Thirty-seven factors, across four domains within the individual-level, were identified as having an influence on dietary behaviours: biological (n = 5), demographic (n = 8), cognitions (n = 13) and practices (n = 11). Several factors emerged as facilitators or barriers to healthy eating, with income/wealth (demographic); nutrition knowledge/preferences/risk perception (cognitions); and cooking skills/eating at home/time constraints (practices) emerging most frequently. Pregnancy/lactating status (biological) influenced dietary behaviours mainly through medical advice, awareness and willingness to eat foods to support foetal/infant growth and development. Many of these factors were intertwined with the wider food environment, especially concerns about the cost of food and food safety, suggesting that interventions need to account for individual-level as well as wider environmental drivers of dietary behaviours.

Household Level Determinants of Food Insecurity in Rural Ethiopia

Introduction. Currently, Ethiopia, in particular, the rural areas of Ethiopia, faces high levels of food insecurity. In spite of the fact that there have been many studies on food security, most of them have been conducted in specific national settings. Hence, the determinants of food insecurity should be assessed at the national level. Therefore, this study was primarily aimed to identify the determinant factors of household food insecurity in rural Ethiopia. Method. A cross-sectional Ethiopian socioeconomic survey (ESS) data collected from September 2018 to August 2019 was utilized. A sample of 3115 households was selected from 316 clusters across rural Ethiopia using a two-stage probability sampling technique. To identify the determinants of food insecurity, logistic regression was applied. Results. Among 3,115 households, 50.05% of them were food insecure. Factors such as the household head being aged from 30 to 64 (AOR = 0.786, 95% CI: [0.635, 0.973]), widowed, divorced, or separated (AOR = 1.588, 95%CI: [1.001, 2.518]), literate (AOR = 0.702, 95%CI: [0.590, 0.834]), household aid (AOR = 1.339, 95%CI: [1.089, 1.648]), drought-affected (AOR = 0.640, 95%CI: [0.507, 0.808]), nonagricultural business (AOR = 0.655, 95%CI: [0.472, 0.908]), dependency ratio from 50 to 75% (AOR = 0.680, 95%CI: [0.534, 0.867]), having 6 to 10 livestock (AOR = 0.644, 95%CI: [0.496, 0.836]), and more than 10 livestock (AOR = 0.362, 95% CI: [0.284, 0.461]) were found to be significantly associated with the household’s food insecurity at 5% level of significance. Conclusion. The household head’s age from 30 to 64, being literate, drought-affected, having nonagricultural business, dependency ratio from 50 to 75%, and owning more than 10 livestock have been negatively affecting food insecurity. While supporting households, a “widowed, divorced, or separated” household head has had a positive effect on food insecurity in rural Ethiopia positively influencing food insecurity in rural Ethiopia. Policymakers need to pay special attention to very young and old-aged household heads, adult education, household self-help, livestock improvement, and entrepreneurship while implementing poverty reduction programs.

Effects of Governmental Intervention on Foodborne Disease Events: Evidence from China

Foodborne disease events (FDEs) endanger residents’ health around the world, including China. Most countries have formulated food safety regulation policies, but the effects of governmental intervention (GI) on FDEs are still unclear. So, this paper purposes to explore the effects of GI on FDEs by using Chinese provincial panel data from 2011 to 2019. The results show that: (i) GI has a significant negative impact on FDEs. Ceteris paribus, FDEs decreased by 1.3% when government expenditure on FDEs increased by 1%. (ii) By strengthening food safety standards and guiding enterprises to offer safer food, government can further improve FDEs. (iii) However, GI has a strong negative externality. Although GI alleviates FDEs in local areas, it aggravates FDEs in other areas. (iv) Compared with the eastern and coastal areas, the effects of GI on FDEs in the central, western, and inland areas are more significant. GI is conducive to ensuring Chinese health and equity. Policymakers should pay attention to two tasks in food safety regulation. Firstly, they should continue to strengthen GI in food safety issues, enhance food safety certification, and strive to ensure food safety. Secondly, they should reinforce the co-governance of regional food safety issues and reduce the negative externality of GI.