The Officer in Charge of the Children’s Ward at the Wa Municipal Hospital, Remy Konkuri, is calling for more investment towards the production of Ghana-made chocolate. He said when this is done, the prices of Ghanaian chocolate will fall allowing more families purchase them to meet their nutritional needs; particularly the nutritional needs of children.
He said this when the Upper West Regional Tourism Authority visited the ward to interact with staff and children in the ward as well as share Ghana-made chocolate and chocolate products in celebration of Ghana’s ‘National Chocolate Day’.
The National Chocolate Day is Ghana’s variant of the Valentine’s Day celebrated across the globe. It was instituted in 2005 by the Ghana Tourism Authority together with the Ghana Cocoa Board and the Cocoa Processing Company to promote the consumption of Ghana-made chocolate and chocolate products.
The Officer in Charge of the Children’s Ward at the Wa Municipal Hospital, Remy Konkuri, commended the Upper West Regional Tourism Authority for spending time with the 33 children admitted at children’s ward. He said the show of love will help in the healing process of the children. Mr Konkuri called on Ghanaians to purchase made in Ghana chocolate to help boost the local economy.
The Upper West Regional Director of the Tourism Authority, Moses Ndebugri, said the celebration of the National Chocolate Day is important on such a day because it removes the negative connotations associated with the globally celebrated Valentine’s Day. Mr Ndebugri added that since the inception of the National Chocolate Day, consumption of made-in-Ghana chocolate and chocolate products has increased significantly.
He said the chocolate is important because of its high nutritional benefits to children.
“Our mission here is to come and donate some chocolate and chocolate products to the children in the hospital [Wa Municipal Hospital]. The children are our future leaders and there is the need for us to show love [to them] and we do this by giving them the chocolates. We are showing them love because as they are in the hospital, they need recovery and showing them love is a form of therapy,” he explained.
A Nutrition Officer at the Wa Municipal Hospital, Mavis Dery, said the presence of high density lipoproteins in chocolates help reduce risk of heart diseases as well as remove unwanted forms of cholesterol from the blood stream.
Miss Dery added that the zinc found in dark chocolate can boost the immune system of children, helping them to heal faster and lower risk of contracting diseases. Items presented by the Upper West Regional Tourism Authority included chocolate and chocolate products, bottles of water, baby diapers and toilet rolls.
Story filed by Mark Smith.
