Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) and Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) have teamed up to conduct extensive research into the use of cocoa in the treatment of some of the world’s most deadly diseases.
The goal of the collaborative project is to learn more about the health benefits of cocoa in order to promote its consumption.
This latest move by GAAS and COCOBOD is also intended to strengthen a deeper and closer collaboration in order to further the agenda of encouraging cocoa consumption due to its numerous health and nutritional benefits.
The study will look into how cocoa can help with hypertension, diabetes, high and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, overweight or obesity, and thrombosis, among other cardiovascular diseases.
Emeritus Prof. Sefa Dede, President of GAAS, stated that the collaboration with COCOBOD would aid in the promotion of research and development as well as the discovery of solutions to some of the challenges preventing Ghana’s industrialization and economic expansion.
“GAAS pledges its support for this collaboration in order to provide desperately needed relief to our people,” he said.
Given the multibillion-dollar cocoa and chocolate industry’s estimated value of US$120 billion, he believes the partnership between science and industry extends to businesses.
With a per capita consumption of 0.6kg, Africa, the world’s largest producer of the commodity, earns only about 5%. (600g).
Joseph Boahen Aidoo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, emphasized the importance of cocoa as an integral ingredient in the confectionery and cosmetic industries, as well as the need for it to be scrutinized.
In light of this, he believes that in today’s age of innovation, adequate empirical facts are required to back up claims about cocoa’s health benefits.
“Anecdotal evidence alone is no longer enough. The claims must be backed up by scientific evidence, and our scientists are driving this innovative collaborative approach in Ghana,” he added.
Meanwhile, the GAAS-COCOBOD collaboration is expected to make a business case for increased cocoa consumption not only in Ghana but throughout the West African Sub-region.
GAAS hopes to start work as soon as possible now that all of the necessary approvals have been obtained and the study sites are ready to go.
Source: CitiNews
