3 Core Areas of interest

Although preventive health can be achieved by many approaches, research and experience have shown that these are among the critical and impactful areas in our lives. 

1. FOOD & NUTRITION
2. FOOD SAFETY 
3. WATER, HYGIENE AND SANITATION

1. FOOD AND NUTRION

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutrients to an organism (human). Food is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Nutrition encompasses the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food, in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of man.

Good nutrition can help prevent many diseases and promote good health. A poor diet can cause slower immune response which increases the risk of getting infections; deficiency diseases such as blindness, anemia, scurvy, preterm birth, stillbirth and cretinism; health-threatening conditions like obesity and metabolic syndrome; and chronic systemic diseases as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

2. FOOD SAFETY

Food safety comprises of handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food borne illness. When a food is safe to consume, it means that there is the assurance that the food will not cause harm to the
consumer (when the food is prepared and eaten according to its intended use)

Food poisoning occurs when you ingest food that's contaminated with germs, toxins, chemicals, etc.

According to the WHO, each year, about 4 billion people get sick with diarrhea as a result of drinking
unsafe food and water.

More than 2 million of them die; mostly children under the age of 5, most of them living in the developing world.

HEALTH DANGERS OF FOOD BORNE ILLNESS include

• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Kidney Damage/Failure
• Cancer
• Stillbirths
• Abdominal Cramps
• Brain functioning disorder
• Death

SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF FOOD BORNE ILLNESS ARE

• Medical costs/hospital bills
• Income loss since you can’t go to work
• Pain and suffering from being sick

Certainly, the importance of consuming safe food can not be over-emphamised. 

3. WATER , SANITATION AND HYGIEN (WASH)

Adequate potable water supply is a prerequisite for human and environmental health, and improving upon this service will bring immeasurable gains.

However, fresh water resources in many regions, including Ghana, are simultaneously coming under increasing pressure from factors such as pollution, population growth and climate change. WASH experts have stated that without progress on Goal #6 (i.e. access to Clean Water and Sanitation), the other 16 goals and targets cannot be achieved.

In Ghana, about 24% of urban dwellers have no access to potable water, and 70% of all diseases in Ghana are caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation services. Globally, unsafe water, along with food, is implicated in 3 million deaths, and about 2.4 billion episodes of illness annually.

Any beneficial prevention/reduction in the wastage of water and resources wastage; avoiding damage to quality of water sources such as rivers, lakes; and improving water management practices that enhances the judicious use of water, are highly encouraged.

Through public education and awareness creation, the Ghanaian populace will be best informed and sensitized on the need to uphold good water conservation, sanitation and hygienic practices.