Governance failures and political will gaps as the root of Ghana’s nutritional challenges
The Power Game in Ghana’s Food System
If Ghana’s nutrition landscape were a drama, it would resemble Game of Thrones — full of power struggles, competing interests, and scattered leadership. That was how Professor Richmond Aryeetey framed the governance crisis at the heart of Ghana’s food system in his 2025 GAAS Inaugural Lecture.
“We know what to do; what’s missing is governance.” — Prof. Richmond Aryeetey
Behind the statistics of hunger and malnutrition lies a more complicated story; one of institutions, mandates, and ministries all claiming a seat at the table, yet no one truly in charge. From agriculture to health, education to trade, nutrition has become everybody’s business and therefore, too often, nobody’s responsibility.
The “Game of Thrones” Metaphor
In Prof. Aryeetey’s metaphor, the iron throne represents power over food and nutrition governance. The ability to shape how food is produced, marketed, and consumed.
But this throne, he noted, is contested territory.
Ministries and agencies compete for influence, donors push parallel priorities, and coordination mechanisms overlap.
The result is a fractured system where policies exist but implementation stalls.
“The power is distributed in our hands one way or another,” he said. “But who uses it to make the food system work for all? That’s the real question.”
A Lost Legacy: When Nutrition Sat at the Centre
Ghana once understood that nutrition was central to national development. After independence, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah created the National Food and Nutrition Board (NFNB) under the Office of the President. It was a visionary move. The Board had its own budget, regional offices, and authority to drive nutrition education and promote the use of local produce.
But this institutional foundation crumbled after Nkrumah’s overthrow. In subsequent decades, nutrition lost its political anchor, shuffled between ministries and donor projects. What was once a national priority became a scattered agenda.
“After the 1960s, nutrition gradually lost its visibility in policy. It became a side issue instead of a strategic pillar.” – Prof. Aryeetey
The Missing Prioritization
Today, Ghana’s national policies from “Planting for Food and Jobs” to the “Medium-Term Development Plan” mention food security, but rarely link it directly to nutrition outcomes. The focus remains on production and income, not diet quality and health.
In Aryeetey’s words: “Food is not only for jobs, food is also for eating.”
This narrow framing has led to impressive agricultural yields but poor nutritional results. Healthy diets are becoming more expensive; ultra-processed foods dominate markets; and malnutrition continues to rise.
What’s missing is not awareness, but political prioritization. We need a government-wide decision to treat nutrition as essential infrastructure, not a welfare issue.
The Three Levels of Political Will
Aryeetey drew from global political science to explain how nutrition progress depends on three levels of political will:
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Expression: when leaders acknowledge nutrition as a national priority.
Ghana has mastered this level; speeches, pledges, and policy documents abound. -
Action: when those commitments translate into structures, coordination, and clear responsibilities.
This is where Ghana begins to falter; inter-ministerial coordination often ends at the policy table. -
Financing and Leadership: when political will is backed by sustained funding and accountability.
“We rarely reach this stage,” Aryeetey said. “That’s why our progress keeps stalling.”
He emphasized that true political will is measured in budgets, not words.
Policy Champions: Faces Behind the Movement
Over the years, Ghana has seen nutrition champions emerge across government and civil society — from Dr. Gloria Quansah Asare in public health leadership to Professor Matilda Steiner-Asiedu, who has long advocated for nutrition-sensitive agriculture. However, as Aryeetey observed, these champions often operate in silos. Without institutional power or sustained funding, their efforts, though influential, remain fragmented. Prof Aryeetey stated that, “We have passionate individuals, but not yet a unified movement backed by state authority.”
What Other Countries Got Right
Prof. Aryeetey pointed to countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia, where nutrition has been elevated to the highest political level. Rwanda established a National Early Childhood Development and Nutrition Program under the Prime Minister’s Office. Ethiopia created a National Nutrition Coordination Body chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. In these cases, coordination improved dramatically, accountability strengthened, and funding increased — because nutrition became a presidential priority, not a ministry project.
“The difference is not in knowledge,” Aryeetey said. “It’s in governance.”
A National Nutrition Commission: The Bold Step Forward
To end Ghana’s cycle of fragmented governance, Aryeetey called for the establishment of a National Nutrition Commission under the Presidency.
Such a commission would:
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Align ministries around a shared nutrition agenda.
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Coordinate funding and monitor implementation.
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Elevate nutrition to the status of education, energy, and infrastructure.
“We’ve talked coordination for years,” he said. “It’s time to institutionalize it — at the very top.”
By placing nutrition under presidential oversight, Ghana could reclaim the strategic vision it once had under Nkrumah, this time with modern tools, data systems, and accountability.
From Politics to Progress
Ghana’s nutrition future will not be shaped by knowledge alone, but by political choices.
It requires the courage to move from rhetoric to reform, from fragmented committees to unified action.
As Aryeetey concluded, “The system is failing not because we don’t know what to do, but because we haven’t governed well enough to do it.”
The throne is there. The question is: who will lead Ghana’s food and nutrition revolution — and will they have the will to see it through?
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Next in the Series →
📖 “Fixing the System: Coordination, Capacity, and Accountability”
A deep dive into the divided institutions attempting to fix Ghana’s broken food system — each working independently, often without the collaboration needed to truly make food and nutrition governance work for all.
