Hannah Oduro-Obeng (34) is a PhD candidate studying Food Science at the University of Manitoba (Canada).
Growing up in Ghana, Hannah was excited to study the sciences from a very young age. She also found herself becoming interested in nutrition, particularly, undernutrition, something that was common in her community. Hannah strongly believes that understanding the science behind food can lead to better nutrition and health choices. This is even more important for the case of women and children. Hannah finds that women and children are the most vulnerable members of society and are affected by food, nutrition insecurity, and poverty.
After receiving her master’s from a university in Israel she returned to Ghana and worked in the Food Research Institute while researching and writing several peer reviewed journal articles. Hannah also wrote technical reports and attended many workshops and conferences to learn as much as she could.
Hannah’s education, research and experiences have equipped her to focus on a niche area in the world of food and nutrition. Specifically, the sustainability, and utilization of indigenous, locally acquired and culturally acceptable foods for optimum food and nutrition security. She empowers women as she involves them with their concerns in food preparation, production and sales. This was apparent in her project where she worked to cultivate nutrient rich oyster mushrooms using biotechnological advances which ultimately aided the women who operated in the mushroom business.
Continuing with her spirit of improving the lives of women and children, Hannah has been a mentor to female agricultural scientists in Africa. After completion of her PhD she plans on mentoring future female scientists as well as lead research in the area of nutrition and food science with emphasis on locally acquired food. Her vision is to set forth a pathway for a more resilient agricultural economy in Ghana.
