In Ghana, many children face daily challenges getting the right nutrition to grow, learn, and thrive. Building our business in Ghana was not just a coincidence. Besides the climate being perfect for spirulina production, we aim to make a positive impact by contributing to the high potential of Ghana’s next generation. For every kilogram sold, we enrich 20 Ghanaian school meals, together with Food For All Africa. But how big is the current malnutrition problem really? And how is spirulina going to help?
The reality of malnutrition in Ghana
Malnutrition continues to be a serious public health challenge in Ghana. It doesn’t just mean not having enough or too much food, but also not having the right kinds of foods with the nutrients your body needs. According to UNICEF, nearly one in five children under the age of five in Ghana are stunted, meaning they are shorter than they should be for their age. One in ten children is underweight. Nearly half of all children suffer from anaemia, which can be caused by not getting enough iron in their diet (1). Among schoolchildren aged 5-14 in Ghana, nutritional deficiencies are the number one cause of illness and death (2). The primary nutritional deficiencies in children in Ghana are protein-energy malnutrition, dietary iron deficiency and vitamin A deficiency (2).
But the problem is not only caused by an insufficient amount of food. It has a lot to do with the variety of food consumed. UNICEF uses a term called “child food poverty”, which means a diet that is insufficiently nutritious and diverse and therefore impairs healthy growth and development (1). In Ghana, 2.4 million children under five live in child food poverty. Nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables are often missing from the diet, leading to nutrient deficiencies (3,4).
At a young age, the consequences of malnutrition can be big and long-lasting, with a serious impact on physical and intellectual development (5). This can result in a vicious cycle of poor health, lower learning capacity and subsequently fewer economic opportunities (5).
Spirulina as a force for good
Spirulina is often described as the most nutrient-dense food on earth, because it’s packed with protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and pigments (6). The FAO and WHO have recognised spirulina as a promising, cost-effective solution for combating malnutrition (7).
In the Ghanaian context, spirulina’s nutrient profile makes it a promising complementary food. It is rich in protein (55–70% of its content), provides iron in a form the body can easily absorb and contains beta-carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A (6). By adding spirulina to school meals, we may help improve children’s intake of these key nutrients and contribute to broader efforts aimed at reducing malnutrition.
If you’re curious and want to know more about spirulina’s nutrients, you can check out our 'spirulina insights' articles!
Collaboration for change
We’re not the first to recognise spirulina’s potential. In Burkina Faso, the Spiruline Nayalgue Project supports children, women, and people living with HIV through spirulina supplementation (9). Similarly, Antenna France has been using spirulina for over 15 years in Africa and Asia to combat malnutrition (10). These initiatives showcase that spirulina is more than a theory and can play an important role in combating malnutrition.
At Chalé Spirulina, we believe that real impact comes from collaboration. That’s why we’ve partnered with Food For All Africa, a Ghanaian organisation committed to improving food security for vulnerable populations. Together, we are enriching school meals with spirulina so that children have increased access to the essential nutrients they need to grow, learn, and thrive. To be more exact, for each kilogram sold, 20 local school meals are enriched with spirulina.
Sources
1. UNICEF. Unicef Ghana Bulletin [Internet]. 2025. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/media/6356/file/UNICEF%20Ghana%20Bulletin_English_High%20Quality%20pdf.pdf.pdf
2. Halvey S. Nutrition Budget Brief 2021.
3. Booth A, Barnes A, Laar A, Akparibo R, Graham F, Bash K, et al. Policy Action Within Urban African Food Systems to Promote Healthy Food Consumption: A Realist Synthesis in Ghana and Kenya. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2021 Feb 9;10(12):828–44.
4. Global Nutrition Report | Country Nutrition Profiles - Global Nutrition Report [Internet]. [cited 2025 Aug 6]. Available from: https://globalnutritionreport.org/resources/nutrition-profiles/africa/western-africa/ghana/
5. De P, Chattopadhyay N. Effects of malnutrition on child development: Evidence from a backward district of India. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health. 2019 Sep 1;7(3):439–45.
6. Podgórska-Kryszczuk I. Spirulina—An Invaluable Source of Macro- and Micronutrients with Broad Biological Activity and Application Potential. Molecules. 2024 Jan;29(22):5387.
7. FAO Regional Office-Africa-RAF [Internet]. [cited 2025 Sep 9]. Angola: FAO supports spirulina production to improve the food situation of vulnerable populations in south of the country. Available from: https://www.fao.org/africa/news-stories/news-detail/Angola-FAO-supports-spirulina-production-to-improve-the-food-situation-of-vulnerable-populations-in-south-of-the-country/en
8. Tzachor A, Smidt-Jensen A, Ramel A, Geirsdóttir M. Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) Production in Hellisheidi Geothermal Park Iceland: Life Cycle Assessment. Mar Biotechnol. 2022 Oct 1;24(5):991–1001.
9. La spiruline humanitaire – Spiruline Burkina [Internet]. [cited 2025 Aug 6]. Available from: https://spirulineburkina.org/la-spiruline-humanitaire/
10.Spirulina – Antenna Trust [Internet]. [cited 2025 Aug 6]. Available from: https://antennatrust.org/spirulina/
