Professor Amos Laar
Professor of Public Health Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of Ghana
Amos Laar, a Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the University of Ghana, is recognized for his research on the nexus between food environments and diet-related non-communicable diseases, as well as the impact of social forces, commercial influences, and structural violence on health. He has co-led over 25 research projects valued at more than $20 million and published over 150 peer-reviewed papers in top journals, including The Lancet, Nature Foods, BMJ Global Health, PLOS One, & Food Policy.
Prof. Laar has played a significant role in food systems transformation research and advocacy, contributing to policy development with UNICEF, WHO, ECOWAS, Ghana and five other African countries. He was recently appointed by the African Union to facilitate the development of Africa’s Food Systems Strategy for 2026 – 2035.
He has served as an expert reviewer for four WHO guidelines and is currently a member of the WHO Guideline Development Group on optimal intake of animal-source foods. He served as President of the African Nutrition Society from 2016 to 2020, and currently convenes the Africa Food Environment Research Network (FERN).
In 2019, he was spotlighted in The Lancet for his contributions to combating NCDs in Africa. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.