Stop eating banku and heavy food after 7pm – Pres. Mahama begs Ghanaians

• Mahama urges Ghanaians to stop eating heavy meals like banku and fufu after 7pm to improve health.

• Free Primary Healthcare policy will focus on lifestyle education and preventing non-communicable diseases.

• Policy aims to complement NHIS by promoting healthier living and increased public health awareness.

President John Dramani Mahama has urged Ghanaians to adopt healthier eating habits, advising against consuming heavy meals such as banku and fufu late in the evening as part of efforts to curb non-communicable diseases.

Speaking at the launch of the Free Primary Healthcare policy in Accra on Wednesday, April 15, he said public education on lifestyle changes will form a key pillar of the initiative.

"I mean, if you are the kind of person who likes eating heavy foods, you are not physically active, you are sitting in one place and yet when they give you your fufu or banku, you say it's too small, you want a big bowl of fufu.”

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He added:

“Sometimes you eat it at night before you go and sleep. All those dietary changes you'll be educated on. Please by 7 o'clock, eat your dinner and don't eat again. If you are hungry, just take some cup of tea or something. Don't eat any heavy food, banku in the evening, you come from work in the evening and then your poor wife is tired. Come and stir banku for me at 10 o'clock in the night.”

President Mahama explained that the policy is not only focused on expanding access to healthcare but also on prevention through behavioural change and public education.

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“So an aspect of the free primary healthcare will be education on how to maintain a decent lifestyle. Our fathers used to eat banku and fufu late in the night, but they were physically active. They used to go to the farm and the expended energy. Now we don't do any physical activity.”

He noted that the decline in physical activity among many Ghanaians has contributed to rising cases of diet-related illnesses, making preventive healthcare education critical to the success of the policy.

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Meanwhile, President Mahama said the Free Primary Healthcare policy is designed to complement the National Health Insurance Scheme by improving access to basic healthcare services while promoting healthier lifestyles across communities.