IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jfpoli/v93y2020ics0306919220301111.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Implementation of healthy food environment policies to prevent nutrition-related non-communicable diseases in Ghana: National experts’ assessment of government action

Author

Listed:
  • Laar, Amos
  • Barnes, Amy
  • Aryeetey, Richmond
  • Tandoh, Akua
  • Bash, Kristin
  • Mensah, Kobby
  • Zotor, Francis
  • Vandevijvere, Stefanie
  • Holdsworth, Michelle

Abstract

Nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) are a global health problem, increasingly recognised as driven by unhealthy food environments. Yet little is known about government action to implement food environment-relevant policies, particularly in low-and lower-middle income countries. This study assessed government action, implementation gaps, and priorities to improve the food environment in Ghana. Using the Healthy Food-Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI), a panel comprising government and independent experts (n = 19) rated government action to improve the healthiness of food environment in Ghana against international best practices and according to steps within a policy cycle. Forty-three good practice indicators of food environment policy and infrastructure support were used, with ratings informed by systematically collected evidence of action validated by government officials. Following the rating exercise, the expert panel proposed and prioritized actions for government implementation. Three-quarters of all good practice indicators were rated at ‘low’/‘very little’ implementation. Restricting the marketing of breast milk substitutes was the only indicator rated “very high”. Of ten policy actions prioritized for implementation, restricting unhealthy food marketing in children’s settings and in the media were ranked the highest priority. Providing sufficient funds for nationally-relevant research on nutrition and NCDs was the highest priority infrastructure-support action. Other priority infrastructure-support actions related to leadership, monitoring and evaluation. This study identified gaps in Ghana’s implementation of internationally-recommended policies to promote healthy food environments. National stakeholders recommended actions, which will require legislation and leadership. The findings provide a baseline for measuring government progress towards implementing effective policies to prevent NR-NCDs.

Suggested Citation

  • Laar, Amos & Barnes, Amy & Aryeetey, Richmond & Tandoh, Akua & Bash, Kristin & Mensah, Kobby & Zotor, Francis & Vandevijvere, Stefanie & Holdsworth, Michelle, 2020. "Implementation of healthy food environment policies to prevent nutrition-related non-communicable diseases in Ghana: National experts’ assessment of government action," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:93:y:2020:i:c:s0306919220301111
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101907
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919220301111
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101907?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gershim Asiki & Milkah N Wanjohi & Amy Barnes & Kristin Bash & Stella Muthuri & Dickson Amugsi & Danielle Doughman & Elizabeth Kimani & Stefanie Vandevijvere & Michelle Holdsworth, 2020. "Benchmarking food environment policies for the prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases in Kenya: National expert panel’s assessment and priority recommendations," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(8), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Carl Lachat & Stephen Otchere & Dominique Roberfroid & Abubakari Abdulai & Florencia Maria Aguirre Seret & Jelena Milesevic & Godfrey Xuereb & Vanessa Candeias & Patrick Kolsteren, 2013. "Diet and Physical Activity for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Policy Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fanzo, Jessica & Haddad, Lawrence & Schneider, Kate R. & Béné, Christophe & Covic, Namukolo M. & Guarin, Alejandro & Herforth, Anna W. & Herrero, Mario & Sumaila, U. Rashid & Aburto, Nancy J. & Amuyun, 2021. "Viewpoint: Rigorous monitoring is necessary to guide food system transformation in the countdown to the 2030 global goals," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    2. Zhaohua Zhang & Yuxi Luo & Zhao Zhang & Derrick Robinson & Xin Wang, 2022. "Unraveling the Role of Objective Food Environment in Chinese Elderly’s Diet-Related Diseases Epidemic: Considering Both Healthy Food Accessibility and Diversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, October.
    3. Aryeetey, Richmond Nii Okai & Ramos, Ana Islas, 2022. "Process and lessons learned in the development of food-based dietary guidelines in Ghana," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 22(02).
    4. Tanita Northcott & Mark Lawrence & Christine Parker & Phillip Baker, 2023. "Ecological regulation for healthy and sustainable food systems: responding to the global rise of ultra-processed foods," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(3), pages 1333-1358, September.
    5. Parbey, P & Aryeetey, Richmond Nii Okai, 2022. "A review of food and nutrition communication and promotion in Ghana," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 22(02).
    6. Mockshell, Jonathan & Ogutu, Sylvester O. & Álvarez, Diego & Asante-Addo, Collins & Asante, Felix A., 2022. "How healthy and food secure is the urban food environment in Ghana?," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    7. Mulenga Mary Mukanu & Anne Marie Thow & Peter Delobelle & Zandile June-Rose Mchiza, 2022. "School Food Environment in Urban Zambia: A Qualitative Analysis of Drivers of Adolescent Food Choices and Their Policy Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Tandoh, Akua & Amevinya, Gideon S. & Addo, Phyllis & Laar, Amos, 2022. "Nutrition-sensitive education and social protection policies have implications for food-based dietary guidelines for Ghana," African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development (AJFAND), vol. 22(02).
    9. Mao, Hui & Quan, Yurong & Fu, Yong & Chen, Shaojian, 2022. "Risk preferences, productive investment and straw return technology adoption by farmers in China," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322087, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martin Heine & Marelise Badenhorst & Chanel van Zyl & Gabriela Lima de Melo Ghisi & Abraham Samuel Babu & John Buckley & Pamela Serón & Karam Turk-Adawi & Wayne Derman, 2021. "Developing a Complex Understanding of Physical Activity in Cardiometabolic Disease from Low-to-Middle-Income Countries—A Qualitative Systematic Review with Meta-Synthesis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Hamdi Lemamsha & Gurch Randhawa & Chris Papadopoulos, 2022. "Investigating the Association between Unhealthy Dietary Habits and Obesity among Libyan Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Nguyen, Trang & de Brauw, Alan & van den Berg, Marrit & Do, Ha Thi Phuong, 2021. "Testing methods to increase consumption of healthy foods evidence from a school-based field experiment in Viet Nam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    4. Maylene Shung-King & Amy Weimann & Nicole McCreedy & Lambed Tatah & Clarisse Mapa-Tassou & Trish Muzenda & Ishtar Govia & Vincent Were & Tolu Oni, 2021. "Protocol for a Multi-Level Policy Analysis of Non-Communicable Disease Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity: Implications for Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Africa and the Caribbean," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Brydie Clarke & Janelle Kwon & Boyd Swinburn & Gary Sacks, 2021. "Understanding the dynamics of obesity prevention policy decision-making using a systems perspective: A case study of Healthy Together Victoria," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(1), pages 1-23, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:93:y:2020:i:c:s0306919220301111. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.