The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), with support from Partnership for Healthy Cities, has begun metro-wide public sensitisation on the dangers of unguarded use of salt in food service establishments and homes.
So far, the Assembly, bent on prioritising the health of its inhabitants, has organised community durbars at Amanfom and Atasemanso, also aiming to visit churches and other public spaces.
At a durbar held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, at Atasomanso, stakeholders, comprising food vendors, restaurants, hotels, caterers, regulatory authorities, health professionals, and traditional leaders, were convinced it’s about time they joined the crusade to ban the open display of salt on dining tables in Kumasi.
As proposed earlier on November 27, 2025, at the Assembly’s first stakeholders meeting at Adum, Amanfrom, participants at Atasomanso unanimously suggested that the KMA should enact a bye-law that will forbid the display of salt in eating places.
“Te nkyene no so!” a phrase meaning “Reduce salt intake!”, was palpably endorsed by the audience with a raise of their right hands.
Mr. Jones Kani, a Senior Budget Analyst who represented the Mayor of Kumasi, explained KMA and Partnership for Healthy Cities’ desire to improve the health conditions of inhabitants of Kumasi and beyond through reduction of salt intake in food service establishments.
He urged the public to support the crusade and fight against hypertension.
Zeinab Acheampong, a staff member of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), stated that research conducted in the Kumasi Metropolis revealed that about 62% of 150 food service establishments displayed salt openly.
She said the research found that the open display of salt at food service establishments was a common practice, noting it could have dire consequences on the health of consumers who consume it excessively.
Dr. Patricia Darko of Kumasi Technical University underscored that the time has come for stakeholders to collectively join the crusade against excessive salt intake, urging everyone to roll up their sleeves.
She commended Partnership for Healthy Cities and KMA for their efforts in saving lives by campaigning against excessive salt intake, urging food service establishments and homes to use salt prudently.
For her part, Sandra Ama Pomaa Asuming of the Metro Health Directorate explained that salt acts as a preservative, helps digestion, enhances taste, and aids muscle and nerve function, but it could be harmful to one’s health if not properly used.
According to her, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily salt intake of five grams, and she appealed to the public to stick to that.
High blood pressure, blockage in the nerves, kidney destruction, stomach cancer, and other illnesses, she hinted, are consequences of wrongful intake of salt.
The Convenor and Health Sub-Committee of KMA, Hon. Abraham Boadi, also added his voice to the call for the public to impose a ban on open display of salt in food service establishments.
He said the call to reduce the overuse of salt is very important and needs the Assembly’s approval.
Prominent among the gathering were Hon. Abdul Samed, Assembly member for Atasomanso, Hon. Isaac Kofi Yamoah, Assembly member for Santasi, Mr Silas Boadu, Nhyiaeso Sub-Metro Administrator, Mr Atakorah Amaniampong, Nhyiaeso Sub-Metro Environmental Health Officer, some traditional leaders of Atasomanso and nearby communities.
Nana Osei Okuradom, Nkosuohene of Atasomanso, thanked KMA and Partnership for Healthy Cities for prioritising the health of inhabitants of the city, promising that traditional leaders would join the campaign to minimise salt intake.
Other participants were given the opportunity to express their concerns about salt intake and left the durbar with education to contribute to sharing knowledge on the good use of salt.
BY Thomas Awuah Asem
