For a long time, we treated non-communicable diseases as diseases of the rich, diseases of abroad, diseases that other people suffer from.
The numbers should end that illusion.
About 2.4 million Ghanaians are living with diabetes, while approximately 7.5 per cent of adults have Type 2 diabetes, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Non-communicable diseases — diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancer and kidney failure — now account for about 45 per cent of all deaths in Ghana, according to the WHO and the Ministry of Health.
We are not dying only from infections and accidents anymore.
We are dying from what we eat, what we drink, and what we have refused to regulate.
That is why the mass media campaign launched in Accra last week to push for Front-of-Pack Warning Labelling (FOPWL) on packaged foods deserves the full support of the government, parliament, the media and the public.
Spearheaded by SEND Ghana and supported by the Ghana Food Policy Coalition, the Ghana Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (GAND) and Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development (VAST Ghana), the campaign is simple in its demand: packaged food manufacturers must clearly indicate on the front of their products, in simple, visible terms, whether the sugar, salt or unhealthy fat content is high.
It sounds modest, but it is revolutionary.
Today, the average Ghanaian shopper faces a wall of deception. At the supermarket, in the school canteen, at the lorry park or at the market, products shout "no sugar," "natural sugar," "low sugar," "immune booster," "fortified" in bold letters on the front, while the truth about sodium and saturated fats is hidden in tiny print at the back, written in technical language that even university graduates struggle to interpret.
The current back-of-pack nutrition table is not designed for ordinary decision-making. It is designed for compliance.
It tells you that a drink has 32g of sugar per 250ml serving, but does not tell you that this is more than your entire daily recommended intake.
It lists sodium in milligrams without telling you it will raise your blood pressure.
FOPWL changes that. A simple black octagon that says "HIGH IN SUGAR" or "HIGH IN SALT" or "HIGH IN UNHEALTHY FAT" allows a mother, a student, a driver or a trader to know the risk in two seconds.
At the launch, the Director of Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, Dr Hafiz Adam Taher, captured it well: healthy eating and active living are not merely lifestyle choices, but important foundations for preventing diseases, maintaining productivity and improving quality of life.
He reiterated what public health experts have been saying for years that we have refused to pay heed to: "We cannot wait until people become sick before we act."
FOPWL does not ban any product.
It does not tell anyone what not to buy.
It simply tells the truth, clearly and upfront.
If your product is high in sugar, say so.
Let the consumer decide.
That is not anti-business; that is pro-transparency.
Indeed, it will reward good business — companies that reformulate their products to reduce sugar, salt and unhealthy fats will not attract warnings and will gain consumer trust.
Ghana should not be experimenting.
The evidence is global.
Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay and South Africa have adopted mandatory front-of-pack warnings and have seen measurable declines in consumption of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods, and increased reformulation by industry.
Why must Ghana wait until we have 5 million diabetics before we act?
We therefore call for these decisive actions.
The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Standards Authority, together with the Food and Drugs Authority, must move this from a voluntary campaign to mandatory regulation.
Voluntary labels have failed everywhere because no company will voluntarily put "HIGH IN SUGAR" on its best-selling drink.
It must be law, with clear thresholds based on WHO standards and clear penalties for non-compliance.
Second, the campaign must go beyond Accra and beyond mass media.
It must reach communities without television, in local languages, in schools, churches, mosques, markets and lorry stations.
Nutrition literacy must become part of basic education.
Also, FOPWL must be part of a broader NCD prevention package — higher taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, regulation of marketing of unhealthy foods to children, promotion of healthy local foods, and expansion of screening at CHPS compounds and health centres.
Every Ghanaian has the right to know what is in their food.
It is time to enshrine that right in bold, black warnings on the front of every package.
Our lives depend on it.
