Ho SHERP coordinators commit to safe food for healthy learners

Coordinators of the School Health Education Reinforcement Programme (SHERP) in the Ho Municipality have reaffirmed their commitment to providing safe food to promote the health of schoolchildren.

They noted that safe food was critical to preventing foodborne illnesses such as diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.

The commitment was made at a day’s workshop on food safety, organised by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) for the Volta/Oti regions in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. About 80 SHERP coordinators drawn from the municipality participated.

The workshop formed part of activities to mark this year’s World Food Safety Day, under the theme “Food safety: Science in action.” Participants were sensitised on keeping food clean, separating raw and cooked meals, cooking and reheating well, storing food at safe temperatures, using wholesome raw materials and buying from clean sources.

Mrs Helen Osei, Ho Municipal SHERP Coordinator, told the Ghana News Agency that the training would help improve supervision across schools to ensure learners remained healthy. She commended the FDA and FAO for the initiative, adding that it would enhance school food environments.

Mr Gordon Akurugu, Volta Regional Head of the FDA, explained that the 2025 commemoration was decentralised to ensure impact by engaging key food safety actors, including street food vendors, market traders and school coordinators.

He stressed that SHERP coordinators were now equipped with food safety ethics and practices and were expected to ensure that vendors within schools sold safe food to pupils. He also disclosed that the FDA would continue its market inspections and licensing of vendors, especially ahead of the Christmas season, to guarantee consumer safety.