The Ghanaian government has launched a mass media campaign to promote front-of-pack warning labels on packaged foods. This initiative aims to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 2.4 million Ghanaians are living with diabetes, while approximately 7.5 per cent of adults have Type 2 diabetes. The campaign seeks to enable consumers to quickly understand the nutritional risks associated with a product before purchasing or consuming it.
The campaign, dubbed the Front-of-Pack Warning Labelling (FOPWL), is spearheaded by SEND Ghana and supported by the Ghana Food Policy Coalition, the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND), and the Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development (VAST Ghana). The system is intended to convey in simple terms whether the sugar, salt or unhealthy fat content in a product is very high or not. This will help consumers make informed choices about their diet and reduce the risk of diet-related NCDs.
The Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, launched the campaign, emphasizing its timeliness in addressing the growing burden of NCDs. He stated that healthy eating and active living were not merely lifestyle choices, but were important foundations for preventing diseases, maintaining productivity, and improving the quality of life. Dr Taher also stressed that tackling NCDs required greater emphasis on prevention rather than waiting for people to be sick before seeking treatment.
Dr Taher said the government recognised that nutrition information on the back of food packages was not always easy for ordinary consumers to interpret. He emphasized that a simple warning label was important in helping consumers make informed choices. The FOPWL policy aims to make important nutritional information more visible and easier for consumers to understand at the point of purchase. This will enable consumers to quickly identify unhealthy foods and make healthier choices.
The Country Director of SEND Ghana, Harriet Nuamah Agyemang, highlighted the rising incidence of diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer, and other NCDs in Ghana. She recounted the experience of a staff member whose family members were affected by these diseases, emphasizing the toll it takes on families and the state. Ms Agyemang stressed that poor diet was one of the major contributors to NCDs, and that consumers had a right to know what was contained in the food they bought.
The campaign seeks to advocate the adoption of mandatory FOPWL to provide consumers with simple and visible information about the nutritional content of packaged foods. Dr Taher called for the campaign to extend beyond the mass media to reach communities without access to television and other platforms. He urged Ghanaians to take greater interest in what they ate by reading information on food packages and asking questions when they did not understand the information provided.
The FOPWL campaign is a step towards addressing concerns over food marketing practices, where packages may prominently carry claims such as “no sugar”, “natural sugar” or “low sugar”, while other nutritional information may require consumers to examine the fine print. The campaign aims to tackle misleading food marketing and protect consumers from diet-related NCDs. NCDs account for about 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana, according to the WHO and the Ministry of Health.
Key points
- The campaign aims to enable consumers to quickly understand the nutritional risks associated with a product before purchasing or consuming it.
- The FOPWL policy seeks to make important nutritional information more visible and easier for consumers to understand at the point of purchase.
- The campaign advocates for the adoption of mandatory FOPWL to provide consumers with simple and visible information about the nutritional content of packaged foods.
