The Government has intensified its fight against malnutrition and its attendant stunted growth among children through adequate consumption of eggs under the National Egg Campaign initiative.
The Ministries of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), Trade and Industry and Health, in partnership with the Ghana Association of Poultry Farmers (GAPFA) and other private sector players, are driving the campaign, which was launched in March this year and dubbed: “Egg-cite your day”.
A quarter of pre-school children stunted
The Director of Animal Production at MoFA, Mr Kwamina Arkoful, said the campaign would help to educate consumers and the public with messages that would break the myths surrounding the cholesterol associated with egg consumption.
According to the Director, a Food and Agriculture (FAO) 2012 country profile report stated that nearly a quarter of pre-school children were stunted and affected by chronic malnutrition.
The intensified egg consumption campaign is, therefore, in line with Ghana’s fight against protein deficiency and malnutrition among children and child-bearing women.
Dr Anthony K. Enimil, a Paediatrician at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, contested the myths surrounding eggs, saying the control of egg dietary cholesterol consumption could not be supported by current research findings.
He said there are a number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as smoking and sedentary lifestyle, as well as dietary factors like saturated fat and trans-fatty acids.
However, the risk factors, he said, did not include dietary cholesterol intake.
Eggs have protective effect
Dr Enimil, who is also a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, pointed out that eggs contain more mono-unsaturated fat than saturated fat and that the consumption of eggs does not raise cholesterol levels in 70 per cent of the general population and even those with existing cardiovascular disease.
He said the risk of cardiovascular disease is greater in people with diabetes and added that a 20 year-long study showed that eggs and plant proteins may have a protective effect, reducing the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes.
Egg consumption, Dr Enimil said, was associated with lower incidence of stroke.
The Resident Paediatrician at KATH, Dr Yaa Gyamfua Oppong-Mensah, said a current baseline sampling conducted by the National Egg Campaign in collaboration with the University of Ghana suggested that of the 665 participants in the exercise, nearly all of them consumed eggs.
Twenty of them (about three per cent), who did not consume eggs, cited medical advice and myths about eggs.
The President of the World Poultry Sciences Association, Ghana, Professor George Kwame Aning, who chaired the launch of the National Egg Campaign, said an increase in the consumption of eggs would lead to the creation of more jobs and enhance the entire value chain.
He explained that for years, people had been misinformed that eggs contained cholesterol which was not good for human health, “but cholesterol is biosynthesized in the body. Research has also shown that cholesterol is not about what we eat”.
“When we consume more eggs, the producers will produce more, since they will have a ready market and they will be bold to invest in the business with little or no support from the government”.
Age-old beliefs keep people off eggs
It is believed that the underlying cause of Ghanaians’ dislike for eggs could be traced to age-old beliefs and misconceptions that have been handed down from generations but which have no factual basis.
Experts suggest that eggs are a very good source of high-quality protein and good for development of children especially.
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