Lucy Adoma Yeboah's Stories

I’ll bring Ghana back where it belongs — Nana Konadu

2011-07-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

NANA Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, a former First Lady and the President of the 31 December Women’s Movement, says her decision to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is not because of what she will gain, but because of what she plans to give back to the party and the country.
She has stated that because every government was given birth to by a political party through its manifesto, such a government must not be seen to be straying from the ideology, policies and the programmes of the party, an act the former First Lady accuses the current NDC government of doing.
The female presidential aspirant, who is contesting the sitting President, Professor J.E. A Mills, who is in his first term of office, maintains that her quest for the presidency is based solely on the fact that she is a die-hard NDC member who has the capacity to rejuvenate the party by pursuing a grass roots agenda.
Throwing more light on her decision for contesting the sitting President who is in the same party as she, Nana Konadu told traditional rulers in the Asogli Traditional Area in Ho on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, that, “When we won the last election, we wanted the NDC to pursue an agenda that would enable the party to perpetuate the development of our country and the development of its people but we can see that the party is withering like a flower. It is dwindling and almost collapsing”.
She poured her heart out to the chiefs and queens when she said, “Members of our party are actually defecting to the opposition. Whoever heard of a party in government having its people defecting to the opposition? Something is wrong,” she maintained.
She explained that she did not just get up to contest but she took the decision after “Members of the party came together; the youth came together; elders came together; they have talked to our founder; they have talked to a lot of our colleagues here; they have talked to me for almost a year; they were putting a lot of pressure and I accepted to be a candidate for the NDC”.
The former First Lady stepped down as a Vice-Chairperson of the party to enable her to contest the election scheduled for July 8 to July 10, 2011 in Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo regional capital.
Nana Konadu stated that there was a clear indication she was on the right track due to the huge air of rejuvenation that had flooded her party since she decided to contest President Mills.
She has, therefore, described as erroneous the assertion that it was improper for her to contest the presidency because her husband had been a President before.
She stressed that it took a certain level of vibrancy to be able to win elections from a determined political party like the New Patriotic Party (NPP), adding that surveys conducted on the NDC clearly show that “if we don’t change the candidate we are going back into opposition”.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic on June 16, 2011, Nana Konadu, who spoke through her Spokesperson, Mr Kofi Adams, expressed her preparedness to unite the NDC if she emerged as the presidential candidate of the party at its July congress.
She noted that the ugly situation where some leading party members broke away from the NDC after congresses would be a thing of the past under her administration as the flag bearer of a party which her husband formed in 1992.
She pointed out that the party had always been the loser whenever such leaders, as well as ordinary members, resigned or defected to other political parties.
Leading members of the party such as Mr Kofi Asante, Dr Obed Yao Asamoah, Goosie Tandoh, Bede Ziedeng and Ms Frances Essiam resigned from the NDC to either form their own political parties or join others.
Nana Konadu had made it clear several times that she was contesting for the position to lead the party to strengthen its structures, as well as provide sterling and inspiring leadership for the country.
To put her words into action, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings made history on May 3, 2011 when she became the first female to have pick nomination forms to vie for the flag bearer position of a political party in Ghana.
After picking the forms, she told the crowd that was waiting outside, “I will bring Ghana back to where it belongs.”
Nana Konadu later presented the forms to her husband and Founder of the NDC, former President Jerry John Rawlings, at the Ridge office of the former President, where he congratulated her, saying the task ahead would not be easy.
“We will be fighting all the way through and we’ve got to remain very vigilant,” said the former President, whose statement put to rest the perception that he was not in support of his wife’s ambition.
To put her intentions to action, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, on June 1, 2011, returned her nomination forms to the executive of the party in Accra.

Her profile
Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was born on the November 17, 1948 in Cape Coast in the Central Region. She schooled at Achimota School, where she met her future husband, Jerry John Rawlings.
She continued at the then University of Science and Technology, where she read Art, specialising in Textiles. She was a student leader and an executive of Africa Hall, her hall of residence.
In 1975, just three years after graduating with honours from the University of Science and Technology with a bachelors' degree in graphic design, she earned an interior design diploma from the London College of Arts.
She pursued her education into the next couple of decades, acquiring a diploma in advanced personnel management from Ghana's Management Development and Productivity Institute in 1979 and a certificate in development from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration in 1991.
Nana Konadu got married to her ‘sweetheart’ Jerry John Rawlings, an Air Force officer in 1977. She gave birth to her first child, Ezanetor Rawlings in 1978. Two other daughters and a son followed later; Yaa Asantewaa, Amina and Kimathi.
Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings came into the political limelight when her husband became Head of State briefly in 1979 and then from December 31, 1981 to January 6, 2001. She has been the president of the 31st December Women's Movement since 1982. The 31st December Women's Movement is a non-governmental organisation with the aim of projecting the interest of Ghanaian women irrespective of their social and economic standing. In 2009, she was elected the 1st Vice Chairperson of the NDC at a congress in Tamale.
In 1995 she received honorary doctorate degrees together with her husband at Lincoln University in Lincoln, Pennsylvania.
Realising Agyemang Rawlings’s "charm" and "substance," the New York Amsterdam News reported that she was praised by Ghana's permanent representative to the United Nations, Mr George Lamptey, when he said, "For the past 12 years she has stood by her husband in the struggle to restore Ghana”.
When not busy with her family or at work, Agyeman-Rawlings enjoys swimming, reading, dancing, camping, and collecting dolls from around the world. She also devotes time and money to such charitable causes as the National Radiopathy Project, Friends of the National Zoo, and the Ghana Girl Guides Association, to name a few.
When interviewed in Africa Report in January and February, 1995, Mrs Rawlings recalled that in the early 1980s, a few women approached her wanting to form a women's organisation and after a few meetings, little happened.
She said that after asking the women what they wanted to do as an organisation, "It was clear that we had to start with things that would earn money to develop their communities in the social sector.
Most of the women wanted things like water."
Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings spent time listening to women who came to her with their problems. Her movement taught some Ghanaian women how to generate income and save money for community projects. It encouraged them to become part of the decision making process in their villages, and explained policies of health and education.
The movement also offered an adult literacy programme to teach women to read and write — except that majority of the women could not do that. In addition, early marriages among female children were discouraged and programmes were offered on nutrition and immunisation.
In 1991, through the efforts of the 31st December Women Movement, Ghana became the first nation to approve the United Nations Convention on the Right of the Child. The movement also played a crucial role in the adoption of an "Intestate Succession Law," which is applicable to the survivors of anyone dying without a will. Traditionally, Ghanaian women had little or no rights of inheritance upon the death of their husbands. The new law provides a standard of inheritance.
Nana Konadu’s movement helped some village women to become involved in the electoral process.
"We literally just pounded it into them until they realised, hey, we don't want any of these people who are living outside our areas to come and stand in our areas to be elected," she said in Africa Report. "A lot of women are now on committees in their villages and districts, some are chairing the committees.... I can only say we've made a lot of impact, and I can see from the self-esteem and near arrogance of the women that now we've actually been able to break through this thick wall," she said.
Pointing to the area of finance as one of their problems, Agyemang- Rawlings told Africa Report: "Most of the western embassies said we were just a political group and they didn't take time to listen. It took a lot of time just getting people to understand.... The more women enter politics, the better the world will be, because we don't think of wars and who is going to manufacture arms and who is going to kill the next person. We want to form linkages, network, and make the world a better place to live in."

If you’re in Sunyani, welcome (Graphic Showbiz)

2011-07-07T02:42:00.000-07:00

SUNYANI, the capital of the Brong-Ahafo Region will this week-end shake. It will certainly change from its usual quiet atmosphere to a hot spot where all attention will focus.
This is because, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has chosen the city for its delegates’ congress scheduled between tomorrow July 8 and Sunday July 10 at which about 3,000 delegates will elect a flagbearer for the 2012 general election. President John Evans Atta Mills and the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, are vying for the flag-bearership position of the party.
In addition to the delegates, other people who are expected to move to Sunyani for the event are dignitaries, observers, party supporters as well as the media. These people are going to add up to the about 90,000 residents in the municipality.
Sunyani is a seven-hour drive from Accra linked by a first-rate highway from Kumasi. A quiet but interesting municipality, Sunyani has over the years been a place where many people, especially first time visitors have felt welcome. It has also been a home of many strangers. Many public servants have made it their permanent abode after retirement from active service.
Nana Asor Bosoma Nkrawiri is the Omanhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area and Nana Yaa Nyamaa II is the Ohemaa.
One thing that stands out is the relative neat environment of the city as well as its calmness. Another thing is the relatively low price of food items, transportation and accommodation that one finds in the city.
Well known as the home of quality fufuo, visitors have the luxury of sampling from many of the local fufuo bases in town. Some of these are Good Mark (opposite the former GNTC building), Woaye Afere (behind the former Rex Cinema), Berlin Spot (close to the Residency roundabout), Priory (after Cocoa Village), Leo’s Kitchen (on the Kumasi Road) and Sweet Touch (opposite the old lorry park).
Others are Surprise (on the Dormaa Road), Mandela (close to the first roundabout), Jakosa (behind the Jubilee Park), Supreme (behind the Law Courts) and many more smaller eateries dotted all over the city and most especially in and around the old market which is a walking distance from the Coronation Park where most the congress action will take place.
Sunyani is an especially interesting place to be, at this time that the weather is so cool and there is green all over. The city is close to many other big and famous towns such as Berekum, Bechem, Abesim, Dumase, Fiapre and if one wants to drive a bit farther, Dormaa, Wenchi and Techiman. It boasts of being perhaps the only town that has its Zongo located right in the middle of town.
Sunyani features a thriving economy. The society is predominantly agrarian with approximately 48 percent of the population engaged in agriculture production. About 24 percent of the population is employed in the service sector, followed by commerce and industry which employ 15 percent and 13 percent of the populace, respectively.
Historically, Sunyani was an outpost camp for elephant hunters during the 19th century. The name Sunyani derives from the Akan phrase 'Sono dwae' which means a place where elephants are butchered. In 1924, the British colonial government designated Sunyani as a district headquarters. Following the construction of a road connecting Sunyani and Kumasi, Sunyani became an important hub for the distribution of cocoa, kola nuts, and staple foods such as maize and yams. Other common food items available in Sunyani are plantain, cassava and cocoyam.
Currently, Sunyani is a home to both the regional administration and the municipal assembly. Many of the region's tertiary institutions are also based in the city; which are Sunyani Polytechnic, the College of Renewable National Resources and the Catholic University.
Several of the country's best primary and secondary schools can be found within Sunyani and its suburbs, including: St. Mary's; Holy Spirit; Wesley's; Divine; Twene Amanfo Secondary Technical School; and Don Bosco Vocational Technical Institute. Attracting students from throughout the region and beyond, is the highly ranked Sunyani High School and St. James Seminary.
Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sunyani East, with Sunyani as the constituency headquarters.
Although considerably smaller than nearby Kumasi, Sunyani is growing rapidly and is home to modern communication facilities which include fixed telephone and fax lines, pay phones, mobile phones, Internet and e-mail services. Additionally; postal services are available in the form of post office, as well as expedited mail services provided by EMS (Express mail service), DHL and FedEx.
The city’s growth is boosted by the its high-quality water supply. Water sources include pipe borne water, bore holes, hand-dug wells, rain water and water from streams, rivers and springs. Sunyani is provided with electricity by the Volta River Authority.
The city has a number of financial institutions including a branch of the Bank of Ghana, two Ghana Commercial Bank branches, Barclays Bank, Social Security Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, National Investment Bank and lately Stanbic Bank, Sahel Sahara Bank, Ecobank, Zennith Bank as well as six rural banks, a number of credit unions and insurance institutions complementing the financial service provision of the city.
The city also has three hospitals, one of which, Sunyani General Hospital, is a state-of-the-art health facility, which opened in 2003. There are also about 10 private clinics and a number maternity homes which operate in Sunyani.
The Sunyani airport, which was opened on 13 July 1974 is still operational. Due to runway length limitations, the airport is suitable only for use by medium range aircraft, and generally only connects passengers to the Kumasi and Accra airports .
In recent times, tourists are beginning to venture to Sunyani in greater numbers, attracted by the areas of natural beauty surrounding the city. Such visitors can take advantage of the city’s three 3-star hotels and rated hostels. As already mentioned, a number of guest houses and restaurants can also be found in the city.
Among the city’s attractions is the Cocoa House, a high rise building that dominates the Sunyani skyline. The building houses the headquarters of several regional offices including the Graphic Communications Group Limited.
There are also five radio stations which are Radio BAR which is owned by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Sky FM, Space FM, Dinpa FM and Ark FM where like other places, residents take advantage of their existence to have their say on both local and national issues.

Cabinet identifies sanitation a major problem

2011-07-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

CABINET has acknowledged that the country lags behind in achieving clean sanitation as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
This is because, with barely four years to reach the MDGs’s target year of 2015, Ghana is among the countries “very off track” to halve the proportion of the population without access to improved basic sanitation.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on government business in Accra yesterday, a Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, said since the MDGs represented only the “floor”, it meant a lot of efforts and multiple approaches ought to be applied if any meaningful progress was to be achieved.
Mr Ablakwa gave the assurance that the government would work hard to improve the sanitation conditions, adding that, “as the government works to deepen the middle-income status of the nation in line with the “Better Ghana” agenda, improving environmental sanitation is one sure way of success”.
He, therefore, called on Ghanaians to ensure that the environment was clean and urged responsible citizens in society to educate others who littered their surroundings.
The deputy minister said the Cabinet recognised the approval of the memorandum on a Strategic Environmental Sanitation Investment Plan (SESIP): 2011-2015 as crucial, adding the plan would provide the platform for the development partners to resource and assist the country to implement a direction and focus on government’s plan to tackle the sanitation challenge.
He explained that in addition to the issue of inadequate basic household sanitation, there was the need to improve all the other aspects of environmental sanitation, which included improving solid waste management, sewage and storm water conveyance, treatment and disposal of wastes, both liquid and solid, as well as provision of health care facilities.
He said the Cabinet had approved a request for tax and duty exceptions for the Northern Rural Growth Programme, which was in line with the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), and the exemptions border on VAT, NHIL, GCNet, Destination Inspection and ECOWAS Levy which amounted to US$512,758.
Mr Ablakwa touched on the government’s intention to create a wholly state-owned special purpose company with a reviewed contract to replace Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL).
He said the Cabinet also endorsed the recommendations of the committee on Finance and Economy, which included the need to build capacity, especially on staffing and remuneration; review the existing Public Procurement Act to facilitate the smooth implementation of PPP, and hold discussions with the development partners on procurement activities for project and programmes supported by them.
“Cabinet apprised itself on the general performance of the economy. Apart from being impressed, it also noted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had approved Ghana’s 2011 programme,” he said.

House of Chiefs to meet on Ga Mantse issues (Front Page)

2011-06-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

THE National House Chiefs will today begin a two-day meeting in Kumasi to deliberate on the confusion surrounding the Ga Mashie chieftaincy affair.
The meeting, which will also deliberate on other issues, will try to find a way out of the controversies which have emerged in the Ga Traditional Area since an attempt was made to find a successor to the late Ga Mantse, Boni Nii Amugi II, who passed away six years ago.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Wulugunaba Naa Professor J.S. Nabila, reiterated that the various groups in the Ga Traditional Area should exercise patience and allow the law to take its course.
He said the law must be respected, adding that since the case was before the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, there was no need for the installation of other people.
“They should have waited for the outcome of the case,” he stressed.
So far, two other people have laid claim to the Ga Stool, while King Tackie Tawiah III, who was installed in 2006, is still in office.
On Saturday, June 25, 2011, the newly enstooled Ga Mantse, King Boni Nii Tackie Adama Latse II, was introduced at Amugi Naa, opposite the Ussher Fort in Accra.
Nii Latse, known in private life as George Adama Tackie Abia, works with Maersk Company, an international shipping company, as a shipping analyst and co-ordinator.
Another person, popularly known as Ayittey Canada, was also in the news some few weeks ago, claiming to be the rightful occupant of the Ga Stool.
The issue of who qualifies to be the Ga Mantse has been thorny since Nii Amugi’s death, with several people laying claim to the stool.
According to Ga State tradition, the kingship rotates among four Royal houses, namely, Teiko Tsuru We, Amugi We, Abola Piam We and Tackie Kommey We.
It is generally acknowledged that it is the turn of the Abola Piam We to enstool a Ga Mantse.
Meanwhile, the Spokesperson for King Tackie Tawiah, Nii Obi Abbey, has described the installation of a new chief as contempt of court.
He said the Ga Stool was not vacant and that before a new king was installed, there was the need to destool the occupant by preferring the necessary charges against him, noting that nothing of that sort had been done.
The latest twist adds to the number of chieftaincy disputes in several communities in the Ga State. Osu, Nungua and Tema are among communities embroiled in chieftaincy disputes.

Prez Mills stresses need to avoid lawlessness in health delivery

2011-06-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

PRESIDENT J.E.A. Mills has touched on the need to place premium on regulating the health sector, saying that without regulation, there is bound to be lawlessness leading to anarchy.
He stressed that where anarchy prevailed, there would be infiltration of untrained personnel, inability to deal with sub-standard practices and infamous conduct in the health fraternity.
“These will undermine efforts towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he stated.
President Mills said this in an address read on his behalf by the Minister of Health, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, at the opening of the 15th Annual Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Accra.
The four-day conference is on the theme, “Achieving the Health Related Millennium Development Goals: The Role of Regulatory Bodies”.
The primary purpose of AMCOA is to support medical regulatory authorities in Africa in the protection of the public interest by promoting high standards of medical education, registration and regulation and facilitating the exchange of information among medical authorities.
The President said health delivery in Africa was still a challenge and would continue to be so unless the people made definite efforts for change.
He talked about how developing countries, including Ghana, were struggling to make the level of progress that would lead to the achievement of the 2015 targets, adding, “Even though we have made some progress, our performance on the implementation of child survival interventions and efforts at reducing maternal mortality are lagging behind.”
President Mills attributed the challenges to weak health systems, lack of access to basic proven interventions, the large burden of endemic diseases, coupled with the challenges of malnutrition which continued to conspire to reverse some of the fragile gains so far made.
Giving background information on the formation of the association, a past Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Professor Paul Kwame Nyame, said 500 years after a legal onslaught on quacks on the medical field, the quacks still seemed to thrive and prosper, exploiting the ignorance of the peoples of Africa.
“It is imperative that you establish the mechanism which allows a timeous identification of bona fide practitioners from quacks, who sometimes claim forged foreign qualification,” he said.
The President of AMCOA, Professor Y. Mulla, lamented the fact that Africa was lagging behind in achieving the MDGs and added that medical councils should not be seen as book-keepers but entities to ensure quality healthcare delivery.
The Chairman for the event, who is the President of the National House of Chiefs, Wulugunaba Naa Professor J.S. Nabila, advised the participants to exchange ideas that would help improve healthcare delivery in their respective countries.

Eighty per cent of children have gum diseases— A study shows

2011-06-28T03:50:00.000-07:00

STUDIES conducted by the health sector have indicated that 80 per cent of schoolchildren have gum diseases, while 20 per cent of them suffer from dental caries.
The study also showed that poor oral health is most prevalent among the poor and vulnerable with poor children four times more likely to have dental decay in early childhood.
The Minister of Health, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, made this known at the opening of the 20th Annual Dental Congress of the Ghana Dental Association (GDA) in Accra. The theme for the event was; “Comprehensive oral healthcare for all: Challenges and solutions”.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health said, “to compound this problem, it is estimated that less than one in five children received even one preventive dental service in a year”.
He also pointed out dental diseases shared common risk factors with other diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.
Those shared factors, according to the minister, included tobacco smoking, inappropriate diet, alcohol consumption, injuries, poor hygiene and exposure to ultra violet radiation.
He, however, indicated that the government was making efforts to reduce the trend adding, “We cannot achieve the aims of the “Better Ghana” agenda if we do not provide opportunities for good oral hygiene care”.
Mr Chireh said the Ministry of Health (MoH) had over the years, raised the profile of oral health within the health sector by emphasising its vital importance in all its programmes.
The President of the Ghana Dental Association, Dr Josephine Sackyefio, said apart from initiating treatment for patients, dental surgeons the duty to maintain the patients.
She said the MoH and the GDA had embarked on an accreditation of more health facilities to accommodate new and old dental surgeons.
However, Dr Sackyefio said the newly-accredited health facilities lacked basic logistics for effective oral healthcare delivery.
She, therefore, stressed the need for the provision of appropriate tools to all dental clinics in the country to enable them to provide the public with comprehensive dental treatment.

NIA to start distributing ID cards

2011-06-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

Sat.June 25, 2011
THE National Identification Authority (NIA) will start the distribution of the national identification cards (Ghanacard) from July 4, 2011.
Only registered persons who are 15 and above will be given the cards personally after their fingerprints have been taken for verification. The exercise is free of charge.
The exercise, which is scheduled to begin from the Greater Accra Region, will proceed to the Ashanti, Central, Western and Eastern regions in that order.
They will be followed by the Volta, Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
At a press briefing in Accra to announce the timetable for the distribution in Greater Accra, the Executive Secretary of the NIA, Mr William Ahadzie, said residents of the Okaikoi Sub-Metro would be the first to receive theirs under the first phase of the programme starting from July 4 to 10, 2011.
The exercise will continue in the various sub-metros as follows: Ablekuma South, July 13 to 19; Ablekuma North, July 22 to 28; Osu Klottey and Ashiedu Keteke, July 31 to August 6, and Ayawaso, August 9 to 15, 2011.
Other sub-metros are Ayawaso and Kpeshie, August 18 to 24; Kpeshie, August 27 to September 2; Ga East, September 5 to 11, and Ga West, September 14 to 20, 2011.
Phase two of the exercise will cover the Dangme East and West districts, September 23 to 29; Tema East, October 3 to 9, and Tema West, October 12 to 18, 2011.
Mr Ahadzie said registered persons should patiently wait for their turns and then report where they registered with their collection slips or the registration receipts for the cards, adding that those whose slips were missing would have to produce the identification cards used for the registration for their cards.
He stressed that there was the possibility that some people might not receive their ID cards, although they registered, due to faults on the cards, adding that such people would be given the opportunity to do another registration at a latter date.
The executive secretary indicated that the Ghanacard would be valid for 10 years and went on to state that people who lost, damaged or had their cards tampered with could apply for re-registration but at a cost.

‘Amend Internal Audit Agency Act’

2011-06-23T01:57:00.000-07:00

THE Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has identified some aspects of its act (Act 658 of 2003), which do not make it possible for the agency to effectively deliver on its mandate in line with international standards.
To enhance professional practice of internal auditing, the Internal Audit Board has, therefore, called for the amendment of the act.
One of the key amendments being proposed by the board is the consolidation of internal audit resources of the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the metropolitan, municipal and district assembles (MMDAs) under the IAA, with the agency serving as the head of what it termed the Audit Class.
This according to the board, would go a long away to ensure the independence, objectivity and protection of internal auditors.
To begin the amendment procedures, a stakeholders’ workshop was held in Accra on Tuesday to enable participants to discuss the issue and to also come out with suggestions on additional information which in their opinion could help enhance the work of the agency.
The object of the IAA is to co-ordinate, facilitate and provide quality assurance for internal audit activities within the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the metropolitan, municipal and district assembles (MMDAs).
Addressing the participants, the Board Chairman of the IAA, Nii Adumansa-Baddioo said there were certain grey areas in the law as it presently stood which needed to be changed to enable the agency to effectively deliver on its mandate in line with international standards.
He explained that the proposal for the creation of the internal audit class was recommended through a Needs Assessment Exercise carried out by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IAA) based in Florida, USA with funding from the World Bank.
For his part, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey said if internal auditors were effective and efficient in the performance of their work, resources could be saved for infrastructural development such as schools, hospitals and roads.
“In fact, it is against this background that I strongly believe the Internal Audit Agency should be placed in a better position to deal with issues of recruitment, transfers and general supervision of internal auditors serving with MMDAs”, he stressed.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah indicated that good financial management was an integral part of good governance and should be enhanced.
He said that made the work of the IAA critical adding that auditors needed to be independent since a dependent auditor was a contradiction.
Presenting a paper on; “Achievements and Challenges of the IAA under section 3 of Act 658”, the acting Director General of the IAA, Mr Ransford Adjei said the agency did not have oversight responsibility over internal auditors because they were staff of the institutions in which they worked.
He said that made it impossible for the agency to apply sanctions on any auditor who was involved in wrong doing.

Health Service promotes safe motherhood

2011-06-23T01:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

THE Maternal Health Survey 2007 shows maternal mortality ratio of 451:100,000 live births in Ghana.
To help reduce this, the Ghana Health Service (GHS), in conjunction with the USAID Behaviour Change Support (BCS) project, has begun a campaign to educate the Ghanaian public, especially women, on birth and emergency preparedness to ensure that women have healthy pregnancies and safe delivery.
As part of the project, the Greater Accra Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service has embarked on series of educational programmes to reach out to as many women as possible for them to understand the issues of maternal health and safe motherhood.
Maternal health refers to the health of women during pregnancy, labour and after birth. Pregnancy and childbirth have an enormous impact on the physical, mental, emotional, and socio-economic well being of women and their families.
A release from the Greater Accra Health Directorate identified the main causes of maternal death as delays in recognising danger signs in pregnancy, labour and after birth; delays in making decisions to seek care; delays in reaching health facility; and delays in receiving care.
According to the release, one of the things that women should do to stay healthy during pregnancy, during labour and after birth so that they do not lose their lives is to attend ante-natal care early and that a pregnant woman should visit the clinic as soon as she realises that she is pregnant.
That is to make sure she and the baby are well and also to detect and treat any problems early before they become serious.
Pregnant women should eat energy-giving food such as maize, oil, rice, cassava and yam; and body building foods such as fish, meat, eggs and beans.
For protection against diseases, such women should consume enough fruits and vegetables, which include banana, pawpaw, mango, pineapple, okra, garden eggs and tomatoes.
There is also the need for expectant mothers to take the prescribed iron and folic acids until six weeks after the baby is born. These are blood-forming tablets and will help make the blood richer, make the woman stronger and healthier, and make her sleep better. They also make the foetus grow well.
To avoid catching malaria during pregnancy, all pregnant women should take the malaria-preventing drug that will be given to them by health centres as soon as they feel the movement of the foetus. There is the need for women who take the malaria tablets to report to the health centre if they experience fever after taking them.
Another intervention which is important for pregnant women is tetanus injection, which is given once or twice to protect the mother and the baby from getting tetanus.
To have safe pregnancy and delivery, a pregnant woman should report to a health facility immediately she experiences severe headache, blurred vision and excessive vomiting, and finds that the inside of their eyelids is pale.
During labour, some of the danger signs which women should not ignore include vaginal bleeding before the baby is born; green, brownish or foul smelling fluid from the vagina, persistent and severe abnormal pain which is tender to touch; no movement of the foetus; fever; baby not born within 24 hours of being in labour; convulsions, which are signs of pregnancy-induced hypertension, and the loss of consciousness.
The statement mentioned some of the danger signs a woman could experience after birth to include retained placenta and womb infection which could manifest in fever and chills; abdominal pains and tenderness; and also badly smelling fluid from the vagina.
It said women could help themselves and their unborn babies if they avoid drinking alcohol during pregnancy, stop smoking and also chewing of tobacco or exposure to poison as these could make the baby abnormal or underweight.
They are also to sleep under insecticide treated nets (ITN) to prevent mosquito bites, have enough rest and also do daily exercise such as walking to strengthen the muscles.

Sowutuom Disaster---4 buried (Front Page)

2011-06-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

THE plight of the family members of the four children who died in the fire outbreak at Sowutuom-Nsunfa, a suburb of Accra, last Monday worsened when news of the death of the children’s uncle who had tried to save the children hit them during the burial service for the four.
Midway through the service, word went round that 28-year-old Bismark Kofi Arthur, who had got severely burnt in the Monday night fire disaster, had also died.
He was a graduate of the Koforidua Polytechnic who was on national service at Sogakope in the Volta Region.
The Kwashieman Presbyterian Church of Ghana witnessed one of the saddest moments in its history last Saturday when the four little coffins containing the remains of the four children were lined up for the burial service.
The children — Lynette Brenya, nine; Freda Brenya, seven; Terry Akrofi Halm, five, all the children of Mrs Freda Brenya, and five-year-old Eugene Osei Kwame Aidoo, the only child of Freda’s younger sister, 30-year-old Louisa Boakye Dankwa — died in the blaze in their five-bedroom house at Sowutuom-Nsunfa on Monday night, June 13, 2011.
At the time of the incident, Mrs Brenya, whose husband lives abroad, was said to have responded to a call from her landlord at a different part of Sowutuom.
Before a tearful congregation, each of the coffins, adorned with flowers and bearing the names of the deceased, was lined up. The pictures of the children had also been placed by the coffins.
A large congregation attended the emotional service to mourn with the family which had experienced one of the most pathetic tragedies in recent times.
Among the congregation were Mrs Brenya and Ms Boakye Dankwa.
Others in attendance were relations of the deceased, the staff and pupils of Papty School Complex at Santa Maria where all the four children attended school, friends of the bereaved and members of the public.
The Head Pastor of the Kwashieman Presbyterian Church, Rev Andrew Odontor, preached the sermon which was based on Ruth 1:1-5.
A 10-year-old Class Five pupil of Papty School Complex, Afua Asiedua, made the congregation more sorrowful when she read a tribute in memory of the four children.
The tribute, which recalled some of the activities of the children, was so emotional that some members of the congregation had to walk out of the chapel to weep.
It was a sight difficult to behold when the four coffins were carried from the church into a waiting ambulance and a police vehicle en route to the Anyaa Cemetery for burial.
Schoolmates of the children who had gone to the service in their school uniforms did not help matters, as they were seen crying in groups outside the church. A school band was in attendance to bid the children farewell.
Preaching the sermon, Rev Odontor reminded the bereaved of the story of Naomi, who, because of the agonies of life in a foreign land, had to change her name to Mara, meaning ‘Bitterness’, but who later found favour in the sight of God.
He also touched on the story of Job, who lost all that he had but was blessed by God for him to give birth to children again and regain his property tenfold.
He advised the bereaved parents, especially the fathers, to stick to their wives and not allow the calamity to break up their marriages.
Rev Odontor asked for God’s mercy and protection for the bereaved and prayed that the Almighty God would replace all that they had lost in abundance.

NCA will not extend SIM card registration

2011-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday, June 18, 2011

THE National Communications Authority (NCA) says it will not extend the deadline for the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards.
It has, therefore, advised subscribers to use the few days left to register or risk losing their numbers by midnight, June 30, 2011, for good.
The NCA has also asked subscribers who are not sure of the proper registration of their SIM cards to text a blank message to short code 400 on all networks for status confirmation or lose their numbers after the June 30 deadline.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Director of Special Projects at the NCA, Major Emmanuel Owusu-Adanse (retd), said presently about 97 per cent of subscribers had registered to identify with their numbers.
Valid national identification (ID) cards for the registration are international travelling passports, voters ID cards, driving licences, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards and national ID cards.
The registration, which can be done in telecommunication sales outlets, as well as offices of the various service providers, is free.
The director reiterated that while the NCA did not want even one subscriber to suffer loss of his or her number after the June 30 cut-off date, it had no intention of extending the exercise.
He said to get all subscribers to register, all network operators, officers of the NCA, as well as the Information Services Department (ISD) of the Ministry of Information, had toured the length and breadth of the country sensitising end-users to the relevance of identifying with one’s telephone number, adding that the one-and-a-half-year period used to sensitise subscribers should be enough.
Major Owusu-Adanse said the last 12 weeks of the exercise had been used for verification by the NCA, in collaboration with the ID issuing agencies, to authenticate the data provided registration agents by subscribers.
He added that all telecom operators had been informed of discrepancies that had been unearthed by the verification exercise and instructed to inform subscribers who fell short of the recommended arrangements to correct the wrong.
“We take this opportunity to remind the general public to confirm identification details by simply texting toll free their mobile numbers to short code 400 on all networks or contact their network operators personally for clarification before the deadline of June 30, 2011,” he stated.
He also indicated that the mobile number portability (MNP) facility would be operational by July 1, 2011, adding that persons whose SIM cards were not registered could not enjoy the MNP facility.
Meanwhile, the NCA says it has encouraged the service providers to direct subscribers who claim they do not have any of the five national ID cards valid for the registration on what they (subscribers) can do to maintain the numbers they have been associated with.

Workers asked to exercise restraint on SSSS

2011-06-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

THE Director of Pay Policy, Analysis and Research at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Mr John Amankrah, has called on public sector workers who have not as yet been migrated onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) to exercise restraint.
He pointed out that representatives of the workers’ unions knew what was going on as far as the process was concerned and appealed to the workers to give the commission some time to properly complete the work before it.
Reacting to threats of industrial action by members of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA) in the past few days, Mr Amankrah said the FWSC was currently working on some data presented by the representatives of the workers, adding that as soon as the work was completed, they would be paid accordingly.
He explained that although the time given to migrate the affected workers onto the new pay structure had elapsed, there was the need for them to exercise patience to ensure that the right thing was done.
“The workers themselves have raised some concerns which need to be looked at before the work can be completed,” he stressed
When asked whether the workers were aware of the challenges the commission was facing, he said there had been a series of meetings and cited the example of a meeting which took place between officials of the FWSC and university workers last week Thursday and another one scheduled for yesterday.
Mr Amankrah agreed that those workers had been expected to enjoy the new salaries by the end of this month but that was not likely to happen.
He pointed out that some of the outstanding issues concerned allowances which needed to be solved in order not to create more problems on the labour front.
He gave the assurance that there was no way the government would renege on its promise to ensure that the necessary changes were made.
Mr Amankrah appealed to the aggrieved workers to understand the issues as they stood now and pointed out that migration from the old structure to the new one was not an event but a process which would need some time to complete.
Members of TEWU and GRNA have in the past few days served notice of their intention to embark on strikes if the government fails to fulfil its promise of migrating them onto the SSSS.
The workers began to agitate when news got to them that the government would honour its promise by the end of July this year, after it had failed to do that since January 2011.

Consumption of substandard foods— our health suffers

2011-06-17T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 16, 2011
ON February 17, 2011, President J.E.A Miills in the State of the Nation Address stated that “In respect of the Ghana Standards Board and the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), I expect them to collaborate to stop the dumping of substandard goods on the Ghanaian market”.
For the issue to find space in such an important document as the one under reference explains the level it had assumed.
In a recent article in the Daily Graphic, a retired civil servant and an educationist, Mr K. B. Asante wrote that imports could not be allowed to ruin our economy as shoddy and substandard goods flood the country.
He went on to state that “toxic waste of foreign countries should not be tolerated in the country. The waste they generate is a dangerous one. The polluted atmosphere they create kills. We also deserve healthy life”.
Substandard goods may be genuine products produced by legitimate manufacturers but do not meet the quality specifications that the producer says they meet.
In another vein, what is referred to as adulterated products comprise fake ingredients in recycled genuine packaging of known and legitimate brands that could deceive the consumer.
It is important to note that all counterfeit products are substandard because they are manufactured and distributed outside of regulatory control and their composition is unpredictable. In fact, one cannot be sure what they contain.
Substandard goods in any form and shape are bad but they become even dangerous when they involve food items which are consumed directly.
In Ghana, the issue of the importation of substandard goods is serious because we have no idea of the volume and quantity of such goods which enter our borders.
According to the Deputy Chief Executive of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Mr John Odame Darkwah, who is in charge of Foods, explained that the fluid nature of the Ghanaian market made it difficult to assess the situation properly.
He explained that things would have been easier if there were specific entry points where such items were checked to know which ones were of quality and which ones were substandard adding that Ghana’s free market policy allowed all manner of products to come to the country.
The President of the Ghana Employers’ Association (GEA), Mr Charles A. Cofie, looked at the issue in a broader sense when he wrote a paper on: “Illicit trade and counterfeit goods- The Impact on National Development”.
On the topic, he described substandard goods as genuine products produced by legitimate manufacturers that did not meet the quality specifications that the producer said they met.
Going further, he brought in counterfeiting and said it “delivers the benefits of skilled labour, efficient distribution and product technology without the associated investment in costly research, development and marketing in products that are not genuine brands”.
In 2004, the World Customs Organisation estimated the global trade in counterfeit products to be worth $512 billion and growing exponentially.
In Ghana, the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) and the Food and Drugs Board are trying to, if not stop the practice, reduce the importation of substandard goods to ensure consumer safety and protection.
It was in that direction that the Ashanti Regional Manager, Mr Charles Amoako, of the GSB said the board was determined to make sure that there was quality assurance to rid the market of fake and inferior products.
He, however, said the board would require the co-operation of other regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FDB and the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) to achieve this.
Mr Amoako was addressing a day's forum organised by the GSB for importers in the region. More than 150 importers and representatives from the Trade and Industry Ministry, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), FDB, EPA and NPA participated.
The meeting carefully examined the challenges the board faced and identified ways of addressing issues related to safety, quality and compatibility, enhanced sustainability and good regulatory practices. It also adopted effective strategies for collaboration in the protection of consumers and the environment.
The topics discussed included: "Inspection of high-risk goods and its challenges," "The role of CEPS in combating the clearance of counterfeit and substandard goods" and "The destination inspection scheme - a tool for consumer protection".
Mr Amoako gave the assurance that the GSB would see to it that designated goods were suitable and safe for consumer use before they were allowed for distribution and sale in the country.
To assist in getting rid of substandard goods in Ghana, Finatrade, a major importer and distributor of rice and other food items, raised concerns about substandard products on the Ghanaian market, and mentioned especially, a bad version of the famous Uncle Sam Rice.
The message of Finatrade, as contained in a newspaper advertisement, cautioned members of the public to be wary of substandard and dangerous food products and not to take things for granted but probe further what they bought.
This is enough to get consumers worried. The reason being that if such substandard goods can find their way onto the local market, it is possible that the authorities who are employed to check such things on our behalf are not doing their work well.
Apart from that, there is also the issue of political interference as it is found in many cases where people in authority do all that they can to help those at fault to beat the system.
The unfortunate aspect of the issue is that many of these alleged offenders are foreign companies yet they are able to get Ghanaians to come to their aid eventhough their activities affect the health of Ghanaians.

FOUR KIDS PERISH IN FIRE (Front Page)

2011-06-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

FOUR children aged between five and nine were burnt to death when fire gutted the five-bedroom house in which they lived at Sowutuom-Nsufan, a suburb of Accra, on Monday night.
However, a Bible in the room where the kids got burnt was left intact.
The cause of the fire is not officially known, but residents allege that it was due to power surges which caused some electric bulbs to burst.
At the time of the incident, the mother of three of the children, 37-year-old Mrs Freda Brenya, whose husband lives abroad, was said to have responded to a call from her landlord at a different part of Sowutuom.
The deceased children were identified as Linette Brenya, nine; Freda Brenya, seven, and Terry Akrofi Halm, five.
The fourth child, five-year-old Eugene Osei Kwame Aidoo, was the only child of Freda’s younger sister, 30-year-old Louisa Boakye Dankwa. Little Eugene had been sent to the house to spend the night with his auntie because his mother was preparing to travel the next morning.
Thirty-four-year-old Kofi Bismark, the children’s uncle and only adult in the house at the time of the incident, is in critical condition on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
He was said to be sleeping in a different room from where the children slept and got burnt as he tried to save the children, who were sleeping in their mother’s bedroom.
The house was completely burnt and burnt household items such as furniture and electrical appliances are what are left. There were also burnt suitcases, shoes, as well as adult’s and children’s clothing and toys.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene earlier, there was no relative of the children around and the place was quiet.
But when the family members returned from the Sowutuom Police Station about 10 a.m., the atmosphere turned into one of pain and agony as a number of women wailed uncontrollably while mentioning the names of the dead children.
The landlord, Mr George Asante Appiagyei, told the Daily Graphic at the scene of the disaster that Freda had only two months to vacate the house, since her rent advance would expire by the end of August 2011.
He said he had, therefore, invited her for discussions on whether or not she would continue to occupy the house.
Ironically, when a resident picked a Holy Bible which was burnt only at the edges and opened it, it opened at the Book of Ruth. (The Book of Ruth talks about the calamities which befell Naomi who lost all she had, including her two sons.)
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, an eyewitness said he had heard screams from the house during the night and rushed there to see Bismark in flames and standing on a veranda screaming.
He said with help from a few other residents, they managed to put out the fire which had engulfed Bismark, before they tackled the one from the rooms.
According to the eyewitness, with the help of other residents, they broke the lock of the door in which the children were sleeping, but it was too late, as the children were completely burnt.
The charred remains of the children have been deposited at the morgue of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for autopsy.

‘Community-based Health Services need more attention

2011-06-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

THE immediate past Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, has advocated the full implementation of the Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) as a positive step to improve the country’s health care.
He explained that it was the best system that worked in tandem with a conscious effort to improve the social determinants of health at the community level through health education to reduce the burden of diseases and also ensure the financial sustainability of health insurance.
“The rural health programme, CHPS must be rolled out fully without fail. Building regional and district hospitals, and health centres although necessary will not impact on the totality of the health of the people the way the CHPS programme will”, he stressed.
Speaking at an inaugural lecture organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra on Tuesday, Professor Akosa pointed out that human resource for health deficit, poor health financing and a weak governance and leadership regimes, among others, have made the health sector “very sick”.
“For many health professional groups, the country is operating on 10 to 30 per cent on need. Doctor: Patient ratio is 1:10,900. How do we get to 1:5000 by 2015 and 2020?”, he queried.
Speaking on the topic: “Treating Ghana’s Sick Health Service’’, he said the mal-distribution must be tackled with a committed political will.
Professor Akosa pointed out that health financing of about $40 per capita was woefully inadequate, adding “how could personal emoluments be 94.4 per cent of Government of Ghana budget for the health sector when we require more than twice the number of all categories of staff?”.
Professor Akosa said Ghana had been a beneficiary of a lot of Global Health Initiatives and pointed out that the Global Fund had contributed millions of dollars for HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis among other interventions from other sources.
He said the impact although significant had fallen short of expectation because of the underlying weak health system.
He said Ghana was not on track to achieve the health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs 4, 5 and 6) and targets by 2015.
“The 2008 Ghana Democratic and Health Survey show under five mortality and infant mortality of 80 and 50/1000 live births and Maternal Health Survey 2007 show maternal mortality ratio of 451/100,000 live births”, he stated.
Professor Akosa said Ghana being signatory to the many international conventions and treatise on health, “it is amazing how we have failed to fully and successfully implement any of them, the latest being the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.”
“We appear unable to ban smoking in public places even though the evidence is overwhelming. We seem trapped in a bubble of political inertia or in a state of paralysis that permits extraneous influences”, he pointed out.
Information provided by the academy as part of the lecture indicated that Ghana’s Health Service had over the years embarked on and successfully executed many if not all, the externally introduced health reforms which is much acclaimed by the international world and development partners.
It added that most of the reforms, however, had not translated into the expected health indices because of lack of support for scaling up the useful interventions.

Pentecost University sets up committee -To establish Law Faculty

2011-06-15T04:24:00.000-07:00

PENTECOST University College (PUC) at Sowutuom near Accra has set up an implementation committee to see to the establishment of a Faculty of Law as part of its curriculum.
Members of the committee are Rev. Professor H. E. Ofori Amankwah who is the chairman, Mr Yaw Benuah, Mr Ernest Owusu Dapaah, Ms Marietta Brew Oppong and Mr Peter Zweunes.
The committee whose membership consists of eminent lawyers and academics shall be under the supervision of the Vice Rector of the university and acting Rector, Professor Kwame Bosiako Omane Antwi.
The substantive Rector, Rev. Doctor Peter Ohene Kyei, has travelled to the United States of America (USA) to finalise exchange programme arrangements with Oral Roberts University.
As part of the their duties, the members are to study the feasibility of a Faculty of Law at PUC, plan the curriculum for some identified courses within the faculty, determine admission requirements into the various programmes and apply for the accreditation of the various programmes.
Other duties include advising on infrastructure, especially lecture halls, administrative and faculty staff offices, moot court and library, and staff recruitment.
At the inauguration, the acting Rector of the School, Professor Kwame Bosiako Omane-Antwi, said, “We believe that through law education, we can help to secure to all citizens justice on the platform of social, economic, political liberty and equality.”
Professor Omane-Antwi said one of the challenges facing Ghana was the implementation of laws and not the availability of laws, adding that on every field and aspect, there was no lack of numerous laws but lack of enforcement.
He pointed out that the role of a lawyer was not to make money; a lawyer, according to the acting Rector, had a duty towards society as well as the courts adding that “all the three can go hand-in-hand. That is why it is called a noble profession.”
The Rector expressed the hope that when established, graduates from the PUC Law School would be special owing to their core brand which was the undiluted teachings and Christ-like living standards set up by the Church of Pentecost.
He stressed that PUC would like to use its Law Faculty to keep the character of the citizens and the country afloat and not weigh anything in monetary term, adding that they would help government to uphold human rights of everyone, to fight violence, bribery and corruption, promote harmony and spread brotherhood, among other things.
Professor Omane -Antwi stated that with support from the Council of the Church of Pentecost, (CoP), the Executive Management of the university had set themselves to a 10-year agenda which formed PUC’s strategic vision.
“The capstone of this vision is to ensure that by 2017, PUC must achieve a fully fledged private university which is in a position to award its own certificate and degrees,” he indicated.
The Dansoman Area Head of the COP, Prophet J. O Amaniampong, prayed to God to guide the committee members in their endeavour.

Roll Back Malaria project makes positive impact

2011-06-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2011

GLOBALLY, deaths from malaria have been reduced from an estimated one million in 1998 to 850,000 by 2009. The overall reported cases also dropped from 350 million per year to 250 million within the same period due to the positive impact of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) project.
Although sub-Saharan Africa is an endemic area, the creation of the RBM partnership in 1998 set the stage for a new vision and energy that have become a key factor in mobilising and motivating major development actors and funders, among others, towards results-oriented collaboration and action.
Malaria remained a persistent public health problem and leading cause of death among more than three billion people who constituted half of the world’s population and lived in areas where transmission occurred.
These were contained in six different reports published by the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership highlighting progress and impact made in the fight against malaria which were launched in Accra.
The launch, which was on the theme, “Achieving progress and impact in the fight against malaria”, was undertaken by the United Against Malaria of the Voices of Malaria-Free Future programme and the Roll Back Malaria project.
The RBM progress and impact reports focus on the successes of countries that have achieved 50 per cent control of malaria over the last 10 years. The publication of the reports aim at encouraging other countries to learn from such best practices.
For children under age five in Africa, the report indicated that malarial deaths associated with that age also dropped from an estimated 3,000 children per day to approximately 2000 children per day.
Ghana’s Health Minister, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, who launched the report said recommendations made in the six reports should be the gold standard for all countries, including Ghana which was yet to achieve a 50 per cent success “in our march towards eliminating malaria”.
He said in the past 10 years, 736,700 children in 34 African countries had been saved from malaria through the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), effective medicines and preventive treatment during pregnancy.
Within the same period, household distribution and ownership of ITNs increased significantly in sub-Saharan Africa from three per cent in 2000 to 42 per cent in 2010.
He said malaria remained a persistent public health problem and a leading cause of death among more than three billion people who constituted about half of the world’s population and lived in areas where transmission occurred.
He reiterated that the creation of the RBM partnership in 1998 set the stage for a new vision and energy that had become key factors in mobilising and motivating major development actors.
“This is what has in turn led to the important progress and impact being achieved in malaria control and elimination in our various countries today” he added.
Mr Chireh said recommendations made by the six reports should be the gold standard for all countries in the march towards eliminating malaria.
He said Ghana’s journey towards achieving universal coverage with Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs) was on course and the implementation of the Affordable Medicines Facility was progressing steadily.
“I am hopeful that it would not be long when Ghana would join the 11 countries that have achieved the 50 per cent coverage for the key interventions and head towards the 80 per cent RBM targets” Mr Chireh said.
The Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, who spoke at the ceremony said in spite of the progress made in controlling the disease, there was the need to do more, particularly in the direction of community support for the preventive treatment in pregnancy, especially male support for their wives in ensuring compliance with the approved treatment regime.
For his part, the Dean of the School of Public Health of the University of Ghana, Prof. Fred Binka, who was the chairman for the occasion, said with current development in the area of malaria treatment, people did not have to die from the disease.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Daniel Kertesz, commended Ghana for its progress and used the opportunity to call for more efforts to consolidate the progress and impact so far made.
The reports recommended countries to support country-led development and implementation of strategic national plans based on evidence, including epidemiological assessments that targeted interventions of areas with the highest malaria burden.
They also called for increase in commitments from donors and endemic-country governments to ensure sufficient resources to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Global Malaria Action Plan targets.
Others are to scale up and sustain coverage of cost-effective prevention interventions such as ITNs, IRS and intermittent preventive treatment particularly pregnant women, infants and children.
The rest are increased access to and utilisation of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to identify malaria cases and provide appropriate treatment.

VRA assures public of sustained power supply

2011-06-09T03:41:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2011

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) has given assurance of sustained power supply now that the first phase of its maintenance work has been completed.
Although five more of the VRA’s six turbines are yet to be worked on, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the authority, Mrs Gertrude Koomson, said that would not affect the production capacity of the hydroelectric dam.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, Mrs Koomson said each of the turbines produced 150 megawatts of energy, and that was why there was shortage of supply during the period that the maintenance work took place on one of them.
She said just like other times when routine maintenance works took place, the recent repair works should not have created any problem if other sources of energy which could have made up for the shortfalls at Akosombo did not also have challenges.
The Public Relations manager explained that when the work was going on, the Aboadze Thermal Plant which supplied 200 megawatts was not operating fully and that affected the volume of supply to the country.
The production capacity at the Aboadze Thermal Plant was affected because gas supply from N Gas Company in Nigeria was reduced from 90 million cubic feet to 30 million cubic feet per day.
In addition, Mrs Koomson said one machine belonging to TICO at Aboadze and another one for the VRA broke down at the time of the maintenance work, thereby adding to the existing shortfall of power supply.
In an answer as to why there was shortage of gas supply from N Gas Company in Nigeria, she said although the West African Gas Pipeline through which the gas passed to the Aboadze Thermal Plant was in good condition, the suppliers said they had problems and, therefore, had to reduce the volume of gas to Ghana.
Mrs Koomson indicated that the 30 million cubic feet gas received from Nigeria was given to the Asogli Power Plant alone to generate power for the VRA.
She gave the assurance that now that the initial maintenance work had been completed, the load-shedding exercise would stop.
Last month, an extensive load-shedding exercise was initiated by the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDco) as a result of maintenance work being carried out by the VRA at Akosombo.
The exercise created a power deficit, leading to supply interruptions to many parts of the country.
The Public Affairs Manager of GRIDco, Mr Albert Quainoo, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra, said the exercise, which began on Monday, May 30, 2011, was expected to end in July 2011.

'Ghanaians are tired of Rawling's accusations'

2011-06-07T03:28:00.000-07:00

THE Office of former President J.A. Kufuor has challenged former President J.J. Rawlings to come out with any proof of corruption against Mr Kufuor or forever hold his peace.
Reacting to accusations of corruption made by former President Rawlings against former President Kufuor at the June 4 commemoration held in Kumasi last Saturday, the Spokesperson for former President Kufuor, Mr Frank Agyekum, said Ghanaians were tired of the persistent accusations by former President Rawlings against everybody except himself.
“If President Rawlings has any proof that President Kufuor stole money while in office, he should come out with the facts for all to hear. He cannot continue to throw allegations around without coming out with any proof,” he stated.
Mr Agyekum pointed out that former President Kufuor served the nation diligently with all his heart and mind and, therefore, it was unfortunate for former President Rawlings to persistently accuse Mr Kufuor at the least opportunity.
He said during his eight-year tenure as Head of State, President Kufuor was accountable to the people and also put in place many measures to check corruption among his appointees, an action which needed to be commended.
On whether former President Kufuor was disturbed by the negative utterances from former President Rawlings against his personality and his government, Mr Agyekum said President Kufuor was not bothered, noting that due to his good stewardship as President of Ghana, although he was out of office, he continued to be recognised globally and often given the opportunity to serve humanity in varied ways.
He described President Rawlings’s attitude as irresponsible and called on all Ghanaians to condemn it outright.
On media reports of an invitation by Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR) to former President Kufuor to attend the commemoration of June 4, Mr Agyekum said no such invitation got to the Office of the former President.
He stated that even if he (Kufuor) had been invited, he would not have attended the event because he did not believe in the ideals of the uprising.
He said those who went public with the story about the invitation told a lie because nothing like that took place.
During the commemoration of June 4 in Kumasi, former President Rawlings once again accused former President Kufuor of looting the nation’s coffers during his eight-year rule of the country.
Former Rawlings has consistently accused former President Kufuor and his government of being corrupt.
On a platform in Kumasi last Saturday, the founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is also the longest-serving leader of the country, stated that Mr Kufuor, together with his appointees, illegally amassed wealth by stealing from the state.
He said because the money former President Kufuor stole was so huge, he still had enough to enable him to make a president for the country.
He alleged that former President Kufuor was capable of using his money to influence the outcome of elections in the country, adding that the immediate past President was a threat to Ghana’s democracy.

Residents lack access roads to their homes--- due to road works in western part of Accra

2011-06-06T04:05:00.000-07:00

RESIDENTS in parts of the western part of Accra who get to their homes through Kwashieman junction have complained about lack of access roads to their homes.
This is because the road which cuts through the Abeka Lapaz -Mallam Junction motorway through Kwashieman to Santa Maria all the way to the Achimota - Ofankor road had been blocked because of ongoing construction works.
The residents have, therefore, appealed to the Ga South Municipal Assembly and other relevant authorities to assist by working on some of the access roads within the community to enable them drive safely.
Similar situations exist at both the Awoshie and Mallam junctions where motorists had to struggle to go to town in the morning and also to get back home in the evening.
Currently, a major construction work under the Millennium Challenge Authority (MCA), sponsored by the United States (US) government is taking place between the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange to Mallam Junction.
Because all the good roads that enter Santa Maria have been blocked, motorists have to force their way in-between houses and other alternative roads which are simply unmotorable.
In the case of the Kwashieman junction, residents are complaining because a bypass which was created some metres away from the junction to enable vehicles coming from the Presbyterian Church area to join the main road near Been-To Complex has been blocked for no apparent reason.
Another road which passes through Hong Kong that residents are supposed to use is as deplorable as others.
What has made matters worse is the recent rains which have turned many of the alternative byroads into drains in which large volumes of water pass and thus creating pot holes which make driving difficult and unpleasant.
A journey which could previously take five minutes can now take 45 minutes , that is if one is fortunate to drive without damages to his or her vehicle.
Mr James Plange, a 53 year old civil servant who said he had lived at Santa Maria for the past 27 years said his car had been to the workshop three times in the last six weeks.
He said driving in and out of the area had become a nightmare which he dreaded doing.
Madam Martha Mensah, a resident of Sowutuom told the Daily Graphic that she parked her car at a friend’s house at Odorkor every evening from work to join trotro back home.
A group of students who live at Odorkor and attend Odorgonno Senior High School at Awoshie complained that they find it difficult to get to school as well as back home because of the condition of the road.
The situation is no better for motorists and communtors from Mallam and Gbawe.
Due to the road construction, the Mallam Junction has been relocated, hence motorists have to drive up the Macharty Hill steep to enable them to turn around and join the main road towards Odorkor.
Somehow the police and Trafitac personnel who control traffic at the intersection, insist that the vehicles from Mallam should all drive up the hill when in actual fact, they could just wait at the foot of the hill and be directed to turn.
This results in situations where some drivers of vehicles, particularly the old commercial vehicles which have difficulty climbing such a steep hill due to the nature of their vehicles are seen virtually struggling to make the climb while at the same time trying to avoid crashing into other vehicles as the road up the hill is very narrow.
There has been frightening situations where very old Tipper trucks loaded with sand or stone have been seen struggling to make the climb to the chagrin of other vehicle drivers who hold their breath, anticipating a tragedy any minute.
The motorists have therefore called on the head of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) to review the current operations at the Macharty Hill Junction to avert any future loss of lives.

Kufuor invited to June 4 ?

2011-06-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

Sat. June 4, 2011

the Spokesperson for former President Jerry John Rawlings, Mr Kofi Adams, has confirmed that former President John Agyekum Kufuor has been invited to the June 4 celebrations, but an official of the immediate past President says Mr Kufuor has not received any such invitation.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the official, who is with President Kufuor in Germany, said there was no such invitation to that effect when they were leaving Ghana on Thursday, June 2, 2011.
“When President Kufuor heard the news from home that he had been invited to the June 4 event, he expressed shock because he was not aware of any such invitation,” the official said.
When asked whether the former President would have attended the event had he received the invitation, he said since the man was not in the country, there was no way he could have attended.
There is speculation that Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR) had extended the invitation to the former Ghanaian leader to attend the event, which is scheduled to take place in Kumasi.
The June 4 Uprising, which was led by Flt Lt Rawlings in 1979, is 32 years and the celebration is taking place at the Jubilee Park in Kumasi.
Speaking on Peace FM in Accra yesterday, Mr Adams said since Mr Kufuor had served under the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), he was welcome to the June 4 event.
For his part, a leading member of FONKAR, Saint Osei, said Mr Kufuor had briefly served under Flt Lt Rawlings during the PNDC era, a situation which made the two former Heads of State have some relationship.
As has been the tradition over the years, members and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and admirers of former President Rawlings throughout the country are expected to converge on Kumasi today for the commemoration.
Many Ghanaians are anxious of this year’s June 4 commemoration because of utterances from the former President to the effect that he would come out strong on certain issues within the NDC when he delivered his June 4 speech.

NDC MPs meet Rawlings (Front Page)

2011-06-03T02:22:00.000-07:00

THE recent impasse between former President Jerry John Rawlings and President J.E.A. Mills has driven some Members of Parliament of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to hold an emergency meeting with the former President to seek peace and party unity.
The meeting, which took place last Wednesday, was also to enable the MPs and the former President to discuss the party’s July congress which will select a presidential candidate for the 2012 general election.
The Deputy Majority Chief Chip, Mr George Kuntu Blankson, in an interview with an Accra-based radio station, stated that the meeting yielded the desired results.
He, however, said the purpose of the meeting was not to ask former President Rawlings to convince his wife to withdraw her candidature.
Mr Kuntu-Blankson stated that the meeting became necessary because the MPs were concerned about the acrimonious campaigns of President Mills and Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, who were contesting for the position of the flag bearer of the party.
Supporters of both President Mills and Nana Konadu,who have constituted themselves into two main groups, “Get Atta Mills Endorsed” (GAME) and “Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings” (FONKAR), respectively, have in recent times, been trading accusations at each other as the party prepares to hold its congress in Sunyani between July 8 and July 10, 2011 to elect a flag bearer.
Last Tuesday, the situation compelled the party’s regional and constituency youth organisers to initiate moves to patch up the perceived differences between the two groups.
Consequently, representatives of the groups presented a petition to President Mills and former President Rawlings, who is the founder of the NDC, appealing to them to iron out their differences to ensure a peaceful congress and victory for the party in the 2012 general election.
The more than 200 youth, who wore T-shirts bearing the NDC umbrella symbol with the inscription: "NDC - Unity Now", presented the petition first to President Mills at the Castle, Osu.
Thereafter, the group went to the Ridge residence of former President Rawlings but could not meet him personally because he was said to be in a meeting.
The Director of the office of former President Rawlings, Naval Captain Afeku-Amenyo, received the petition on behalf of former President Rawlings.
By the close of nomination last Wednesday, both President Mills and Nana Konadu had submitted their nomination forms together with the approved fees to indicate that they were ready to contest each other come July 10, 2011 at the congress scheduled for Sunyani, the Brong Ahafo Regional capital.

* Portraits of President J.E.A. Mills and former President J.J. Rawlings

Nana Konadu submits nomination forms (Front Page)

2011-06-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

A FORMER first lady and a National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential aspirant, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, today returned her nomination forms to the executive of the party in Accra.
The forms, together with a GH¢10,000 nomination fee, was presented by a Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr Kofi Adams, who is also the Spokesperson of former President Jerry John Rawlings.
The forms and fees were received by the General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, in the company of the other party executive members, including the Propaganda Secretary, Mr Richard Quashigah and some administrative staff at the party’s head office.
Nana Konadu’s forms were endorsed by two executive members of the party in each of the 230 constituencies.
Present at today’s event were some members of the Friends of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings (FONKAR) as well as supporters of the female presidential aspirant.
Notable among them were Dr Josiah Aryeh, Mr Ernest Owusu Bempah, Mr Dela Cofie, Mr Daniel Tamakloe, Ms Mildred Annan and Mr Kwabena Boadu.
After receiving the forms, Mr Asiedu Nketia said that the vetting of aspirants would take place on June 7 and June 8, 2011. He asked Nana Konadu to indicate which of the two days she would be available for vetting.
Responding to a question on what could make Nana Konadu rescind her decision to contest President J.E.A Mills, Mr Adams said she would do that only if she wanted the NDC to lose the general election.
On the question as to why Nana Konadu wanted to overturn a convention by contesting President Mills after one term, Mr Adams said the NDC was a political party which runs on a constitution and not on conventions.
On allegations of intimidation from some members of FONKAR, he said the group had adopted a strategy to deal with that issue.
The former first lady picked her nomination forms on May 3, 2011, to vie for the NDC flagbearership at a party’s congress scheduled from July 7 to July 9, 2011, in Sunyani.
Meanwhile, President Mills submitted his nomination forms to the General Secretary of the NDC on Monday, May 30, 2011.
At that event, a Spokesperson of the President’s Campaign Team, Get Atta Mills Endorsed (GAME), Ms Barbara Serwaa Asamoah, supported by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Aryittey, and a Presidential aide, Nii Lante Vanderpuije, presented the forms on behalf of President Mills at the NDC Headquarters.
She also paid the filing fee of GH¢2,000 on behalf of President Mills.
At the close of nomination yesterday, another NDC presidential aspirant, Dr Ekow Spio Garbrah, could not submit his nomination forms which was picked on his behalf on May 10, 2011.
According his Spokeman, Alhaji Naziru Seidu, Dr Garbrah could not submit the nomination forms because he could not get the number of people required to endorse the forms.

GBA Prez disagrees with four lawyers

2011-06-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

THE President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr Frank Beecham, has expressed disagreement with four of his fellow lawyers who have accused judges and some members of staff of the Judicial Service of bribery and corruption without proof.
He, however, indicated that if the four who had been summoned to the General Legal Council were able to prove the allegations, they would become heroes.
Another senior member of the GBA, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Tony Forson, also indicated that he did not understand why his colleagues did not make use of the Complaints Committee set up by the association to take up cases of corruption on behalf of its members but chose to go public with those allegations.
Explaining the areas of their disagreement, the two senior lawyers told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the four lawyers, being opinion leaders whose actions made an impact on society, would have saved everybody the recent hullabaloo if they had reported or named those judges they allegedly accused, instead of making those blanket statements and, in the process, tarnishing the image of all judges.
They said the GBA had, in 2008, established a Complaints Committee with the objective of encouraging members to report cases of corruption within the Judiciary to enable the committee to tackle matters, without even mentioning the names of the complainants, but not even one complaint had been made to date.
Mr Beecham, who stressed that the association had not met on the issue, for which reason he was speaking as an individual, indicated that being lawyers who always relied on evidence, the four should not have fed into speculations that judges were corrupt, without any justification.
The four lawyers — Dr Raymond Atuguba, Mr David Annan, Mr Abraham Amaliba and Mr Laary Bimi — upheld the perception that the country’s judicial system was corrupt and stressed the need for the corrupt judges and staff of the Judicial Service to purge themselves of that perception.
They made the allegations during a roundtable discussion organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in Accra on April 8, 2011.
On the complaint by the National Executive Council of the Association of Magistrates and Judges of Ghana (AMJG) to the General Legal Council, Mr Forson said the association could have chosen the option of citing the four lawyers for contempt, adding that it behoved the four lawyers to come up with proof of their allegations.
He reiterated that it was wrong for the lawyers to make those sweeping statements which seemed to tarnish the image of all judges, pointing out that the fact that some judges were corrupt did not mean all judges were corrupt.
“As lawyers and opinion leaders whose utterances have a huge impact on other people, it is important to ensure that we always come up with facts,” he said.
On judges’ refusal to sit on a case in which Dr Atuguba is counsel, Mr Forson said under the circumstance, he could not blame the judges for their stance and added that until the matter was cleared, a client whose lawyer had allegedly accused judges of being corrupt might feel insecure before the same group of people.

Govt asked to restructure National Youth Council

2011-06-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Friday, May 27, 2011

PRINCIPALS of Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institutes of the National Youth Council’s (NTC), have reiterated their call on the government to restructure and redesign the council with the responsibility to handle all programmes directed towards the development of the youth.
The new NYC which the principals suggested should be called the National Youth Development Authority (NYDA), should be given the responsibility to be in charge of the National Youth Employment Programmes (NYEP) as well as the National Service Scheme (NSS).
These were contained in a Communiqué read at the end of the 37th Conference of Principals of the Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institutes of the NYC. The conference was held at Nalerigu in the Northern Region.
The objective of the conference was to afford the principals the opportunity to deliberate on issues concerning the effective operation of the institutes and also embark on programmes to benefit the trainees and the country at large.
The principals said the appropriate legal framework for the change of the council should also be developed to give effect to such a change.
In the communiqué which was signed by the Chairman of the conference, Mr Daniel Arhin-Sam, the group said the youth institutes had the potential through various programmes to keep a good number of the youth off the streets and provide them with employable skills to respond to the middle level artisanal manpower needs of the country’s small and middle scale enterprises.
The communiqué indicated that in spite of the importance of the institutes, the necessary funds, facilities and infrastructure to make for the effective and successful implementation of programmes had not been received, thus affecting training.
“Consequently, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is urged to quickly identify all bottlenecks and resolve to remedy the situation”, the principals pointed out.
The group observed that for well over 25 years, the National Youth Council’s Training Institutes have seen very little expansion and improvement.
“Admission quota has remained at 75 students per year and government subvention towards students’ feeding still covers only 150 students for two years in each of the institutes”, they stated.
The principals went further to stress that feeding grants per student per day was woefully inadequate and was invariably received very late making planning and management very difficult and also added to high cost of feeding.
“We urge the Ministry of Youth and Sports to intervene to facilitate the growth and expansion of our institutes and ensure increased and timely release of funds”, stated the principals.
The principals also called for the review of the GETFUND law such that Youth Leadership and Skills Training Institutes could benefit from it.
“We realise that our institutes has enormous potential to train and churn out quality middle level artisanal manpower for the Industries if well resourced and given the opportunity”, they pointed out.
The principals, however, resolved to continue to work harder with renewed commitment and zeal in spite of the daunting challenges and deficiencies to ensure the realisation of the government’s laudable vision for the empowerment and development of the youth of the country for the national good.

Korle-Bu records more kidney cases

2011-03-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

Chronic kidney disease in Ghana is said to be on the increase, with the Renal Unit of the Medical Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) recording 3,281 cases in 2010.
The figure, according to the Head of the unit, Dr Charlotte Osafo, was a 38 per cent increase over the cases recorded in 2009.
Risk factors of kidney disease are the presence of high blood pressure, diabetes, overweight, as well as smoking, excessive alcohol intake, adults aged 50 and above, people with family history of kidney disease, abuse of over-the-counter pain killers, indiscriminate use of all kinds of herbal medicines, among others.
Addressing journalists at the launch of this year’s World Kidney Day organised by the Ghana National Kidney Foundation, Dr Osafo said recent data from the KBTH showed that 15 per cent of all medical admissions were kidney diseases.
“In addition, 10 per cent of all deaths at the medical wards of the hospital are due to chronic kidney disease,” she stated.
Dr Osafo explained that most patients with chronic kidney disease were aged between 20 and 50, adding it was unfortunate that the disease affected and killed young economically active Ghanaians.
She said the early detection of kidney impairment was essential and allowed suitable treatment before kidney damage or deterioration or before such a condition manifested itself through other complications.
She said since the management of kidney impairment, especially the chronic type which involved dialysis and surgery (transplant), was very expensive, it was important for people to know their status early enough to enable them to go for early treatment to prevent further damage to the organ.
Kidney function test, according to her, could be done at many medical facilities and laboratories at a minimum cost.
She, therefore, called on the public to check if they were at risk for kidney disease through a simple test which involved blood pressure, weight and height measurement, as well as urine and blood tests.
As part of the programme, media personnel who attended the programme were offered medical screening for kidney disease and also counselled on healthy living.
A 14-year-old kidney disease patient, Priscilla Asare from Agona Swedru, shared with media personnel some of the problems she had been experiencing as a patient, including constant bodily pain, lack of sleep and, most importantly, her inability to go to school.

Glaucoma-30,000 LIKELY TO GO BLIND (Front Page)

2011-03-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

AN estimated 600,000 Ghanaians are said to be suffering from glaucoma, a debilitating eye disease which causes blindness.
Out of the number, 30,000 are likely to become blind if the disease is left untreated.
The Minister of Health, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, made this known at the launch of this year’s World Glaucoma Awareness Week organised by the Glaucoma Association of Ghana (GAG), in collaboration with other stakeholders.
The World Glaucoma Day falls on March 12, each year and the theme for this year’s event is, “Glaucoma — Don’t lose sight of your family”.
Glaucoma is a condition in which the fluid pressure inside the eye becomes too high, causing damage to the optic nerve. If left untreated, vision around the edge of the eye becomes increasingly restricted, narrowing the field of vision. Eventually, total blindness can occur.
If detected early enough, the damaging affects of the disease can often be treated with various drugs. Laser or conventional surgery can often relieve pressure and prevent further sight loss.
Launching the week, Mr Chireh said the Ministry of Health had decided to provide GH¢10,000 every year to strengthen glaucoma awareness creation, adding that the fund would be increased when the ministry’s resources increased in the future.
He said 2011 had been set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a year to focus on non-communicable diseases, with special emphasis on glaucoma.
In that direction, he said, the National Eye Care Programme of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had come up with a policy direction and strategy for managing glaucoma in the country.
That would include awareness creation for people to know about the disease and report early, putting in place screening facilities to detect cases early and managing cases early and properly.
Mr Chireh said to support the glaucoma control programme and the management of other eye diseases in the country, the Ministry of Health had increased intake into the Ophthalmic Nursing Training School to produce more eye nurses.
“Additionally, more doctors were enrolled with the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2010 to be trained as ophthalmologists. The ministry has also placed an order for basic ophthalmic equipment to support the staff in their work to make screening for conditions such as glaucoma and other eye diseases possible in our district hospitals,” he stated.
The President of the Glaucoma Association of Ghana (GAG), Mr Harrison Kofi Abutiate, indicated that too many people were going blind unnecessarily, pointing out that it behoved the association to do everything possible to prevent blindness and restore sight.
He said a global programme, dubbed “Vision 2020, the Right to Sight”, which was launched in 1999 was half way through, adding that the world had 10 years left to achieve the goal of eliminating avoidable blindness.
Mr Abutiate called on the government to waive duties on equipment and other products for eye care to enable more professionals to provide better eye care services for the public.
As part of the event, there will be a free eye screening at the El-Wak Stadium at 2.00 p.m. on Saturday, March 12, 2011.

Cholera cases on the rise

2011-03-09T00:58:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Cholera cases which stood at 1,396 as of February 18, 2011 had risen to 2,376 by March 2, 2011, with more cases being reported at health facilities in the three affected regions, namely, the Greater Accra, Eastern and Central regions.
The number of deaths resulting from the epidemic remained at 34, with the Greater Accra Region topping the list with 16 deaths and 1,670 cases.
The situation prompted the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to convene an emergency meeting of the National Disease and Epidemics Management Technical Committee in Accra on March 2, 2011 to deliberate on the issue.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the meeting, the Public Relations Officer of NADMO, Major Nicholas Mensah, indicated that looking at the number of cases involved, there was the need for extra reception centres to be established to enable health personnel to accommodate the patients for treatment, since health facilities within the affected areas were congested.
Present at the meeting were the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo; a Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Bisiw; the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory; the Director of Public Health of the GHS, Dr Joseph Amankwah; the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, as well as other top officials from those institutions.
There were also representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Information, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
Giving an update on the cholera situation in the country, Dr Amankwah said the GHS and other stakeholders had worked hard to contain the situation but there was still a lot to do to contain the problem.
He identified indiscriminate dumping of refuse, defecation along the banks of rivers and streams, lack of potable water, poor handling of food, selling of food near open gutters and poor personal hygiene as some of the causes of the spread of the epidemic.
He suggested that water should be made available to enable people to keep their hands, other parts of their bodies and their environment clean of the virus that caused cholera.
For his part, the Country Representative of the WHO, Dr Daniel Kertesz, commended the GHS for its effective management of the epidemic.
Dr Sory assured the nation that the GHS was doing everything possible to contain the situation.
He called for the allocation of adequate funds for the Health Promotion Unit of the GHS to facilitate its public education and sensitisation programme on preventive measures.

The need to support the aged

2011-03-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

02-03-2011

THE Minister of Health, Mr Joseph Yiele Chireh, has emphasised the need for Ghana to have a policy that will promote active ageing and also make use of existing structures to cater for the aged.
He said in a situation where our joint family system and family values were gradually eroding and taking away the traditional safety nets for the elderly, we need to find appropriate measures that will provide the elderly with some support and care.
In an address read on his behalf by the Director of Human Resource at the Ministry of Health, Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, the Health Minister said he intended to put together a team of experts to advise him on developing a framework for such policy guidelines.
The address was read at the First International Seminar on Ageing in Ghana, organised in Accra by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Akrowa Aged Life Foundation (AA-LF). The event which was on the theme “Changing the Face of Ageing in Ghana: New Horizon, New Hope” was in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Health Concern Ghana.
According to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, persons aged 65 years and above and considered aged, constitute 5 per cent of Ghana’s population of more than 24 million.
As part of his address, the Health Minister indicated that “from a health perspective, we need to organise our health services with emphasis on addressing active ageing and the life course. In short, we need a policy on geriatric care in Ghana; a policy that will bring on board all other services that will promote active ageing and make use of existing structures to cater for people in old age in this country,” he stressed.
Apart from the issue of income security, Mr Chire said perhaps health security represented one of the basic pre-requisites of an enjoyable life for elderly people, adding that “health in old age depends on people’s lifestyle and behaviour during their life-span.”
For her part, the Executive Director of Health Concern Ghana, Mrs Mary Aboagye, said Ghana was committed to the Copenhagen Declaration which sought to promote social development that would be beneficial to all members of society, including the aged.
Giving some facts about the aged, she said globally there was an increase in the proportion of the population aged 60 years and above and stated that in Ghana the proportion of aged people increased from 4.0 per cent in 1984 to 5.3 per cent in 2010, according to the 2010 census figures.
Mrs Aboagye said Ghana’s life expectancy had increased from 45.5 years in 1986 to 58.1 years in 2000, adding that it had increased the demand for health services, thereby increasing the cost of healthcare and medication.
Speaking on “Care for the Aged: The need for capacity building”, she called for holistic care for the aged and categorised such care into economic factors, social factors, physical factors and spiritual factors.
Speaking on Capacity Building for Eldercare, the Principal of a training institute in Denmark (SOSU Silkeborg), Ms Bente Strager, said there was the need for professional care givers for aged and pointed out that although nurses provided treatment to the aged, they were trained as care givers.
Citing examples from Denmark, she said many of the aged were cared for in their homes and advised care givers to show respect and understanding as well as engage in dialogue with the aged if they wanted to provide proper care.
Other speakers who addressed the participants were the Chairman of AA-LF, Ambassador Charles Agyei Amoama, Mr Richard Larry Tetteh also of AA-LF, Mrs Joana Ansong of Health Care Ghana and Mr Neil Vestergaard of SOSU AASRHAUS, Denmark.

Superior Medical Centre to mark 20 years -Of dedicated quality health care

2011-03-03T04:20:00.000-08:00

02-03-2011

FOR the past 20 years, the Superior Medical Centre (SMC), a private non-profit, non-missionary facility has served the people of Ghana with dedication and passion. To celebrate its 20 years of existence, the staff of the centre led by Dr Edward Nasigrie Mahama, has laid down elaborate plans.
In an interview with Dr Mahama in his consulting room at Dome, he said the week-long programme was scheduled to take place in March 2011.
In the course of the interview, Dr Mahama, who is a leading politician and had been the flag bearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC), indicated that “today I am not talking politics but health”.
He said events lined up for the occasion included clean up campaigns, healthy life awareness creation, encounter with media practitioners, radio and television interviews, free screening and consulting doctors, anniversary lectures, dinner and awards night and a non-denominational thanksgiving service, among other activities.
The Superior Medical Centre (SMC) which was established in March 1990, is located in Paradise Estates, Oko-Dome, a suburb of Accra. It is owned and operated by the Superior Medical Foundation, a private non-profit organisation established in March 1990 as the counterpart of the Ghana Medical Foundation based in Chicago, in the United States of America (USA).
With Dr Mahama as the leader, the SMC has a group of duly qualified and registered physicians and nurses who care for clients and patients with zeal and passion.
That is the reason why in 2010, the centre was given an award for rendering exceptional service to subscribers of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
A citation titled “Excellence in Service Provision” and signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah, indicated that “For exemplary customer service provided to subscribers of the NHIS in the Greater Accra Region of the Republic of Ghana in the year 2010, for accuracy and integrity in the submission of claims for services rendered to subscribers of the scheme and for generally contributing to the development of the scheme, this citation is conferred on Superior Medical Centre, Dome, Accra”.
For years, the centre has provided community based health delivery in the area of: Primary health care service which include immunisations, obstetrical services at the specialist level, gynaecological services at the specialist level, laboratory services and 24-hour emergency services.
The rest are infertility/fertility control and family planning services including artificial insemination, paediatric services at the specialists level, pathology services including pap smears and histology (tissue diagnosis) and consulting surgical services.
Dr Mahama said the centre had over the years provided quality services to especially people in the surrounding areas and also beyond.
“People travel from the sub-region and even beyond to seek medical attention,” he stated.
He explained that there were times that the centre, with support from other stakeholders in the health sector provided free services to local people which were geared towards health promotion.
To acquire the needed expertise to do what he loves to do best, Dr Mahama studied for his medical degree at the University of Ghana Medical School, Korle-Bu. After a year of housemanship, he returned to his home town, Nalerigu in the Northern Region of Ghana where he served as a General Practitioner with the Baptist Mission Medical Centre. He then proceeded to the United States of America (USA) where he did Residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology under the late Ernest Nora, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Columbus Medical and Professor John Jack Sciarra of North-western University, Chicago.
He became the Chief Resident at the Columbus-Cuneo-Cabrini Medical from July 1979 to June 1980. He was appointed Clinical Instructor (Lecturer) at North-western University, Chicago after his Residency.
He returned to Ghana in 1990 to start the Superior Medical Centre Project and as a Lecturer with the University of Ghana Medical School. His return was encouraged by Prof. J.J. Sciarrha, who in collaboration with the late Prof. Tom Elkins, Prof. Tim Johnson and others from the UK, strengthened and elevated the Obstetric-Gynaecology Training Programme at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to international status and recognition.
This was founded by the Carnegie Foundation. Under this funding, Dr Mahama taught Obstetric-Gynaecology Residents how to repair Vesico-Vaginal Fistulae (women who leak urine uncontrollably on account of neglected labour) in out-lying stations like the Baptist Medical Centre at Nalerigu and Nkawkaw.
During the interview, Dr Mahama said his main focus has been to use Superior Medical Centre as a starting point for reversing medical brain drain from Ghana.
As a reminder, the slogan of the Superior Medical Centre Project has remained "Stop the brain drain; join the brain gain", “Return and serve mother Ghana”.
To achieve the objective, Dr Mahama and his colleagues at the SMC, have for the past 20 years been collaborating with a number of medical practitioners who would have hitherto stayed abroad, to offer quality health care services to Ghanaians.
Cuurently, the centre’s major challenge is how to acquire land to expand the facility for many more Ghanaians to benefit from the quality services it has been offering over the years.

GHS holds crisis meeting on cholera outbreak

2011-02-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

24-02-2011
CHOLERA cases recorded over the last six months in three regions have risen to 1,396, claiming the lives of 34. The regions are the Greater Accra, Central and Eastern.
To bring the outbreak under control, a strategic meeting was held by top officials of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and other stakeholders in Accra yesterday to plot out technical details of a national response to the epidemic.
Health officials have predicted that the incidence of the disease and the death toll could increase, especially with the onset of the rains.
Present at the meeting were the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias Sory, and the Director of Public Health, Dr Joseph Amankwah.
Officials from other ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) who formed a national technical co-ordinating committee on the disease, however, failed to attend the meeting.
The officials of stakeholder organisations who were supposed to attend the meeting but failed were from the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the Ministry of Information, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Ghana Education Office (GHS).
In his presentation, Dr Emmanuel K. Dzotsi of the Disease Surveillance Department of the GHS said about 21 districts had so far reported cases, adding that “the outbreak is not under control”.
He gave the breakdown as six districts in the Eastern Region, six in the Central Region as well as the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and all the other districts in the Greater Accra Region.
Dr Dzotsi stated that the first case in the current cholera outbreak was recorded in the Central Region in September 2010, adding that so far 18 people had died of the disease in that region.
He said that was followed by the Eastern Region with three deaths and then the Greater Accra Region where 13 deaths had been recorded.
He explained that there were widespread cases and raised the issue of inadequate isolation wards for case management as a challenge.
He also said the possibility of the disease spreading to other regions and districts was high and pointed out that risk factors pertained in areas where there were poor environmental hygiene and inadequate safe water.
Dr Dzotsi called for enhanced diarrhoea surveillance, improved case management, the intensification of public education, community involvement, among other measures.
For his part, the Deputy Director of Public Health at the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate, Dr Edward Antwi, said the interventions being used by the directorate included press releases, inter-agency meetings, the provision of case management protocols/training of health staff, the supply of logistics for the management of cases and health promotional activities in various media houses.

Give cholera national attention — Dr Nortey

2011-02-22T03:37:00.001-08:00

THE Head of the Korle-Bu Polyclinic, Dr David Nii Narh Nortey, has called for a national response to the cholera outbreak, since the disease seems to be assuming an alarming rate.
In an answer to a question at this year’s annual performance review meeting held by the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra yesterday, Dr Nortey said the epidemic seemed not to subside and, therefore, called for a national approach to it.
He said the polyclinic alone had, since January 2011, taken care of 322 cases, with four deaths, adding that the polyclinic expected more patients, since the problem had not ended.
In his welcoming address at the review meeting, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Nii Otu Nartey, told participants that many of the directors of the hospital were in a meeting over the outbreak of the disease, for which reason they would be late for the review meeting.
He called on the media to intensify education on the disease to stop its spread, since it was deadly.
Prof Nartey, however, pointed out that the best approach under the circumstance was prevention, since the disease could claim the life of an infected person if he or she delayed in getting health care.
Earlier this month, an increase in the reported cases of cholera in the Greater Accra Region prompted the Regional Health Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to reiterate its warning to residents to observe personal hygiene and also adhere to advice provided by health professionals to curb the outbreak in the region.
In an interview, the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Director of Public Health, Dr Edward Antwi, said, “Although there is an outbreak, it is possible not to get infected,” and advised residents that in case of diarrhoea and or vomiting, the affected person should rush to the nearest healthcare facility for treatment which was free.
Cholera is an acute bacterial disease characterised by profuse diarrhoea and vomiting. Its incubation period is about a minimum of two to 48 hours and a maximum of two to three days.

NHIA launches new medicines list

2011-02-22T03:34:00.000-08:00

10-2-2011
THE National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) yesterday launched a new medicines list to serve as a guide to service providers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The list, which will come into effect from March 1, 2011, contains 552 different medicines that could treat about 95 per cent of disease conditions in Ghana.
At the launching ceremony in Accra, the Minister of Health, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, said there had been new additions to the existing list to improve the quality of health of the people.
He mentioned some beneficial medicines which had been added to the new list as sulfadoxine+ pyrimethamine tablets 525 mg for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy and zinc tablets for the treatment of diarrhoea in children.
The inclusion of the two medicines is to help in the country’s drive towards achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5.
Mr Chireh, who himself is a pharmacist, explained that the medicines list was to serve as a guideline to prescribers so that they would not over-subscribe, a situation he said could be harmful and also confuse patients.
He added that the provision of the list was not to make the work of prescribers difficult but rather improve quality to health care, promote rational use of medicines and contain cost to the NHIS.
In his presentation, the Director of Research at the NHIA, Mr O. B. Acheampong, indicated that as the list had new additions, some of the medicines had been excluded because there were other sources under which users could benefit.
He mentioned such medicines to include those for childhood immunisation, for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB), child delivery care and also for mental health care.
He also indicated that anaesthetic medicine had also been exempted from the list, since it was to be added to the tariffs to be charged by providers.
He stated that the list was based on World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, adding that the work was done with all stakeholders who worked within the NHIS.
In his welcome address, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah, apologised for the delay in coming up with the list and gave an assurance that the next one would be prepared on time.
The chairperson for the occasion, who is also a member of the NHIA board, Mrs Czarina Ribeiro, talked about the importance of the medicines list and advised that service providers should work with it to ensure efficient healthcare delivery.

Cholera outbreak in Greater Accra-Residents advised to observe personal hygiene

2011-02-09T01:59:00.000-08:00

THE increase in the reported cases of cholera in the Greater Accra Region has prompted the Health Directorate of Ghana Health Service (GHS) to reiterate its warning to residents to observe personal hygiene and also adhere to advice provided by health professionals to curb the cholera outbreak region.
That is because the number of cases seem to be increasing since the first case was reported on January, 10, 2011. Reports from the health sector indicates that cases have been reported from all the districts within the region with the Accra Metropolis (AMA) having the highest number.
In an interview, the Deputy Regional Director of Public Health, Dr Edward Antwi said so far four people had been confirmed dead and more than 200 had contracted the disease.
He said that had made health workers in the region to stem up their educational programme to prevent more people from being infected adding that “although there is an outbreak, it is possible not to get infected”.
Dr Antwi has, however, advised residents that in case of diarrhoea and or vomiting, the affected person should rush to the nearest healthcare facility for treatment which was free.
Cholera is an acute bacterial disease characterised by profuse diarrhoea and vomiting. Incubation period is about a minimum of two to 48 hours and a maximum of two to three days.
Asked to explain what the health sector was doing to curb the spread of the disease, Dr Antwi said there had been several press releases to encourage the media to support in public education campaign.
In addition, he said there had been stakeholders meetings to find solution to the outbreak and said health facilities in the region were well prepared in readiness to receive and treat all cholera cases.
He, however, pointed out that the best approach under the circumstance was prevention, since the disease could claim the life of an infected person before he or she could access healthcare.
A statement from the directorate and signed by the Head of the Regional Health Promotion Unit, Ms Honesty Numetu mentioned risk factors for the disease as over-populated communities characterised by poor sanitation, unsafe drinking water and increase person-to-person transmission.
Other risk factors are poor personal hygiene, floods leading to contaminated domestic water sources and broken down water and waste disposal system.
It indicated that one could get cholera through eating food that contained cholera germs, eating fruits and vegetables, especially those grown by irrigation with waste water and also when fruits and vegetables are eaten raw and not properly washed.
Other mode of transmission, according to the statement, were drinking water contaminated with cholera germs, attending to a person with the cholera disease and not washing hands properly with soap and water.
“Handling cholera corpse, touching materials or objects that contain the germ, house flies carrying the germ from infected stool which is not properly disposed off. If hands are not properly washed before eating, cooking, after visiting toilet and attending to someone who has the disease, are all risk factors”, it indicated.
Signs and symptoms of cholera are sudden onset of profuse painless watery diarrhoea, occasional effortless vomiting, rapid dehydration, severe muscle cramps, weak pulse, cold clammy skin, thirst and stupor.
“In case of diarrhoea and or vomiting, immediately rush to a hospital for treatment. Treatment for cholera is free,” the statement pointed out.

*Unhealthy practice such as selling food close to refuse dumps is a risk factor for the spread of cholera

“Don’t sell ACTs drugs above recommended price” (Graphic Business)

2011-02-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, Feb.1, 2011

THE National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has issued a stern warning to facilities which sell the Global Fund subsidised artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) for the treatment of malaria at exorbitant price to desist from it.
The medicine which has a logo of a green leaf is said to be selling illegally between GH¢10 and GH¢12 instead of the recommended price of between GH¢1 to GH¢1.50p.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra organised by the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Communications Study under it Voices for Malaria Free in Africa Programme, the Programme Manager of the NMCP, Dr (Mrs) Constance Bart-Plange said, the Global Fund was subsidising the cost of the drug under its Affordable Medicines Facility – malaria (AMFm) programme and therefore should not be sold above the recommended price.
The Affordable Medicines Facility – malaria (AMFm) is an innovative financing mechanism designed to expand access to the most effective treatment for malaria, artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).
The AMFm is a new line of business hosted and managed by the Global Fund and financial support for the initiative come from UNITAID, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and other donors. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership will continue in its important role as a partner to the Affordable Medicines Facility – malaria.
The AMFm aims to enable countries to increase the provision of affordable ACTs through the public, private and non-governmental organisation (NGO) sectors. This will save lives and reduce the use of less-effective treatments to which malaria parasites are becoming increasingly resistant. It will also reduce the use of artemisinin as a single treatment or mono-therapy, thereby delaying the onset of resistance to that drug and preserving its effectiveness.
To achieve this aim, the Global Fund, as host and manager of the AMFm, has negotiated with drug manufacturers to reduce the price of ACTs, and to require that sales prices must be the same for both public and private sector first-line buyers.
Private importers now pay up to 80 per cent less than they did in 2008 and 2009. The Global Fund pays most of this reduced price (a ‘buyer co-payment’) directly to manufacturers to further lower the cost to eligible first-line buyers of ACTs purchased from manufacturers.
This means that first-line buyers only pay the remainder of the sales price for the ACTs. First-line buyers are expected to pass on the highest possible proportion of this price benefit so that patients are able to buy ACTs across the public, private, not-for-profit and for-profit sectors at prices that are less than those of oral artemisinin mono-therapies.
AMFm Phase 1 is being implemented through nine pilots in eight countries: Cambodia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania (including Zanzibar) and Uganda. Following the Global Fund Board’s decisions on successful applications to Phase 1 in November 2009, grant amendments or new grant agreements have been signed with most AMFm Phase 1 countries and implementation has started in several countries. The first co-paid ACTs were delivered to Ghana and Kenya in August 2010.
The WHO Country Advisor on Malaria in Ghana, Dr Felicia Owusu-Antwi at a media briefing said the GPARC plan was to protect Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs) as an effective treatment for malaria.
She said ACTs were anti-malarial combination therapy with an artemisinin derivative as a component which act simultaneously and independently with an aim to improve efficacy as well as retard the development of resistance to individual components of the combination.
The plan of the GPARC was to mobilise global and local stakeholders for the containment and ultimate elimination of artemisinin resistance where it has emerged and also for the prevention of it emergence in or spread to new localities.

Lotto operators protest (Front Page)

2011-01-20T02:26:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011

PRIVATE lotto operators in the country have taken their grudge against the National Lottery Authority (NLA) to the Presidency and accused the NLA of trying to render them jobless.
Twenty-six national and regional executives of the National Lotto Receivers Union (NLRU) who signed an 11-point resolution on behalf of their 8,000 members gave a litany of allegations against the NLA and called for the removal of the director general of the authority and his two deputies.
The 11-point resolution accused the NLA leadership of a deliberate attempt to make members of the union irrelevant and jobless by creating a distribution line which was parallel to what the private operators were doing.
It said the management of the NLA had indicated that intention by “their indecent rush to recruit 10,000 more people and equip them with new portable mobile terminals to be used to conduct door-to-door sales of lotto tickets”.
Led by its National Chairman, Mr Dan Mensah, the NLRU called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, replace the director general of the NLA and his two deputies, “else we shall take steps to advise ourselves”.
The resolution, which was the outcome of a meeting held on January 12, 2011, was addressed to President J.E.A. Mills and copied to the Speaker of Parliament, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, the Board Chairman of the NLA, the Director General of the NLA, the Chairman of the National Labour Commission (NLC) and some media houses.
The union expressed disagreement with measures being taken by the authority to “dilute” the income of lotto receivers by a proposal to reduce lotto commission from 25 to 20 or 15 per cent.
It argued that comparing what pertained here to commission payable to lottery ticket sellers in Europe and elsewhere was wrong and misleading, since in those areas lottery tickets were sold in shops, at filling stations, in supermarkets and similar places where the operators had their core business and, therefore, lottery sales were on the peripheral point of their business.
“In Ghana, lotto receivers sell lotto as their main occupation,” it stressed.
It also called for investigations into the importation of the 10,000 small portable mobile machines at a cost of €8 million.
“It beats our imagination why samples of the small mobile machines were not imported for testing before making the bulk purchase,” the union pointed out.
It also challenged the management of the NLA to reduce its expenditure, instead of reducing lotto sales commission, and added that the government should take steps to dissolve the board of the NLA for it to be reconstituted to include former directors of the NLA who had better understanding of the lotto business.
As part of its demands, the members of the union wants to be recognised as individual retailers/operators and not to be forced to operate as marketing companies.
They also indicated that all imported machines should first and foremost be allocated to existing lotto receivers before consideration was given to new entrants.
The union said it represented 8,000 lotto receivers all over Ghana who constituted the core and bulk sales force of the NLA, adding that it had been pre-financing NLA operations by more than GH¢35,000 per week.
“We have over the years assisted the NLA to mobilise substantial amounts of revenue to support economic endeavours of successive governments .... We are expressing serious concern over the contemptuous style and attitude towards lotto receivers ever since the National Lotto Act of 2006 was passed,” it stated.

Ministry of Health budget for 2011 (Graphic Busines)

2011-01-19T02:19:00.000-08:00

THE Ministry of Health (MOH) has been allocated an amount of GH¢987,475,507.00 to implement its activities and projects for the 2011 fiscal year.
Out of the amount, GH¢406,642,442.00 will come from government sources while GH¢356,407,532.00 is supposed to be raised as internally generated funds (IGFs). Donor support amounts to GH¢219,487,125.00 with additional GH¢4,938,410.00 for health-related social intervention programmes.
The figures were contained in the 2011 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana which was presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Kwabena Duffuor on November 18, 2010.
Just like the previous year, the government will focus on its core objectives of delivering accessible, affordable and quality health services to all by undertaking interventions to improve health service delivery and reduce the inequality gap.

Mother and child care
In line with the achievements of the health related Millennuim Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, the government promised to continue to concentrate on improving health outcomes by targeting resources towards the health of women and children, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The sector also has plans to implement the National Child Health Policy and strategy which seeks to increase access to maternal, new born and child health services (MNCH). In addition, the ministry will also within the year, implement the adolescent health policy and adopt measures to ensure safe blood product transfusion.

Bridging Gaps in Access to Health Services
In line with the health sector Medium Term Development Plan for 2011, the budget indicated that the MOH will accelerate the implementation of Community-Based Health Planning Services (CHPS) strategy in under-served areas through the involvement of district assemblies. A total of 30 uncompleted and on-going CHPS compounds will be completed, while an additional 30 will be constructed and equipped to be functional. Government will also seek the required funds for the completion of about 391 health infrastructure uncompleted projects dotted around the country.
In addition, health training institutions will be expanded and renovated while basic utilities such as water and electricity be provided in institutions where these facilities are lacking. In addition, beds will be provided “to remove patients on the floor”.

Institutional Care
The government has plans to develop a subsidiary legislation and adopt a community mental health care strategy to facilitate the implementation of the Mental Health Act when passed.
To strengthen the control and prevention of disease in 2011, the MoH will strengthen surveillance, reporting and emergency response systems. Also, case detection and management at health facility level will be improved and vector control strategy scaled up. The ministry will in addition restructure all monitoring and evaluation units under optimal performance.
The health sector will within the year intensify healthy life style promotion by implementing Behaviour Enhancing Communication. To this end, Public Health Education will be intensified with the state-of-the-art communication.

National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS)
The scheme will continue to provide financial risk protection against the cost of basic quality health care for all citizens in Ghana. In addition, the implementation of the integrated ICT Platform project will be scaled up while work will continue with Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare to identify the very poor for subsidised NHIS membership. Efforts will also be made to intensify clinical audit of claims in operations to improve cost-containment.

Human Resources Strategy
The government will this year focus on scaling up the production of middle level cadres such as Community Psychiatric Nurses, Midwives, Medical Assistants, Laboratory Technologist and core auxiliary staff and also develop a human resource redeployment plan based on revised staffing norms.

Health Infrastructure
Construction works on district hospitals at Tarkwa and Bekwai, four regional hospitals and staff housing in Wa, Kumasi, Sekondi Takoradi and Tema for doctors, nurses, midwives and other paramedics will be carried out. Other projects to be undertaken include the refurbishment of the Tamale Teaching Hospital and the expansion of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Centres at Korle-Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals as well as the construction of six district hospitals in Adenta/ Madina, Twifo Praso, Konongo-Odumase, Nsawkaw, Tepa and Salaga.
Blood transfusion centres will be established at the teaching hospitals in Kumasi and Accra. In addition, construction works will be carried out on 12 district hospitals with two at Kumawu and Effiduase in the Sekyere East district and 10 in the Krobo areas in the Eastern Region and other newly created districts which have no district hospitals.
Within the year, the construction of five polyclinics at Lambusie, Babile/Brifo, Ko, Wechau and Han in the Upper West Region will be initiated. Additionally the Phase three of the Bolga Regional Hospital project will be continued.

Labour Commission receieved 775 complaints

2011-01-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 13, 2011

THE National Labour Commission (NLC) did, from January to November 2010, receive 775 complaints/petitions.
Out of the figure, 414 were settled, with 361 of them currently at various levels of settlement at the NLC.
Cases that go before the commission involve disputes related to summary dismissals, termination of appointments, retirement benefits/end-of-service benefits, unpaid salaries, workmen compensation, redundancy and severance pay, non-payment of social security contributions and non-compliance with signed agreements.
A report from the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare indicated that in addition, 23 cases were settled as the High Court, while four cases were settled as the Court of Appeal.
The report also pointed that the total payment by respondents to petitioners through the commission was GH¢320,727.51.
According to the report, a number of strikes were, however, witnessed during the period, including workers of Maersk Limited, the local union of the Songhor Salt Project and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT).
Others were the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG), the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Junior Nurses of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
The report, however, indicated that through negotiations, those industrial actions were resolved.
The NLC was established under Section 135 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).
It is to develop and sustain a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations environment through the use of effective dispute resolution practices within the context of the law, promote co-operation among labour market players and mutual respect for their rights and responsibilities.
On employment, the report said the Labour Department was able to secure job placement for 3,078 jobs seekers who registered under its National Employment Service.
The department, according to the report, registered eight trade unions and received 13 collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) concluded between employers and trade unions.
Within the period between January and December 2010, 49 CBAs were issued to trade unions, 140 labour inspections were completed and also 314 workmen’s compensations cases involving public sector workers were received and an amount of GH¢1,207,217.07 paid to beneficiaries.

New executives for Girl Guides

2011-01-11T02:07:00.000-08:00

GHANA Girl Guides Association last Saturday organised an impressive ceremony in Achimota where newly elected officers were commissioned and funds raised for its activities. The theme for the event was “Girls World-wide say, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment”.
The new officers, who were commissioned to steer the affairs of the 90-old-year association for the next three years, were the Chief Commissioner, Mrs Juliana Adade Ofori, the First Deputy Chief Commissioner, Mrs Jane Bour Donkor, the Second Deputy Chief Commissioner, Ms Regina Abba Selby, the International Commissioner, Ms Alice Boateng and the National Treasurer, Ms Cecilia Parker. They were elected during the association’s annual general meeting in November, 2010, but were commissioned on January 8, 2011.
Present at the ceremony were both past and present girl guides from all over the country, invited guests, as well as relations and friends of the guides who contributed to make the event a very interesting one.
Also present were the Omanhene of the Asokore Traditional Area, Nana (Dr) S.K.B Asante, a former President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mrs Elizabeth Villars who was the guest speaker, the President of the Association, Princess Eva Monica Boateng, the Executive Secretary, Mrs Zakyia Wahab, a representative from Nigeria, Madam Muina Bisi Alayiwe and the immediate past Chief Commissioner, Mrs Patience Aniagyei.
The Ghana Girl Guides Association is a member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts which is made up of 10 million girls and young women in 145 countries in five regions across the world. The African region where the Ghana Girl Guides Association belongs, comprises 500,000 girls in 31 countries.
The mission for the association the world over, is to enable girls and young women develop their potential as responsible citizens. In addition, the association offer girls and young women opportunities for leadership and personal achievement and non-formal education that they may not otherwise receive.
The members work on projects around literacy, peace-building, nutrition, HIV and AIDS prevention, as well as prevention of violence against women and children and as advocates for women’s rights. Many of these projects are in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In Ghana, the Girl Guides Association works with other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the various UN agencies to promote awareness about international youth programmes, where they are given the opportunity to attend international seminars, conferences and camps.
Guiding can be found in nine regions of Ghana with the exception of the Brong Ahafo Region which the association hopes to establish a branch this year. So far, there are 13,000 members country wide.
After her swearing in, Mrs Adade Ofori praised her predecessors who she indicated, had contributed immensely to the growth of the association over the years and promised to build on their achievements.
She said the association had come a long way over the past 90 years and helped to develop the potential of girls and young women in the society, making them responsible citizens in the society and the world at large.
Touching on the theme, she said “achieving our theme will not be easy, but a Guide has courage and is cheerful in all difficulties. If we persevere and act in unity, we will reach our goal”.
The chief commissioner also urged the girl guides to be at the forefront of social issues concerning women and also support other women to attain high positions in the society.
In her address, Mrs Elizabeth Villars encouraged females to effectively play their role in nation building.
She touched on the theme and said almost all the MDGs affected women in one way or other adding that if women issues were handled properly, nations would achieve many of the targets by 2015.

Ministry of Health to eradicate common diseases

2011-01-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

Sat. Jan 8, 2011.
THE Ministry of Health (MoH) will this year intensify its role of prevention, control and eradication of common illnesses and diseases including malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS.
This was contained in Ministry of Health (MoH) report presented at a Health Summit held in November 2010. The report dealt with programmes and activities of the various agencies and departments under the MoH.
Part of the report which dealt with TB and HIV/AIDS in Ghana indicated that, 991 TB patients tested positive to HIV out of a total of 4,191 patients who were tested for the disease between January to June 2010.
The figure accounted for 23.6 per cent of the patients who were tested within the period.
Meanwhile, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), has described TB as the leading infectious killer of people living with HIV which accounts for an estimated 13 per cent of AIDS deaths world-wide.
It said HIV and TB were so closely connected that they were often referred to as co-epidemics or dual epidemics. The epidemics drive and reinforce one another: HIV activates dormant TB in a person, who then becomes infectious and able to spread the TB bacillus to others.
For that reason, the UNAIDS has advised member countries which include Ghana to appropriately respond to both epidemics and avoid more widespread drug resistance, care and prevention of both diseases should be priority concerns of all TB and HIV programmes.
The MOH report indicated that, currently, Ghana had a record of an estimated 267,069 Persons Living With HIV (PLHIVS).
The figure represents 112,457 males, 154,612 females
and 25,666 children.
The report also said there were new HIV infections which involved 22,177 adults and 3,354 children.
According to the report, there were 20,313 annual AIDS deaths out of which 2,566 were children.
It pointed out that, cumulatively, 2,051,748 people had tested to know their HIV sero-status as at June 2010 and 6,390 sero positive people were put on anti-retroviral therapy (ART). That makes the cumulative total of ART clients since the therapy started in Ghana to 40,135.
On Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) of HIV, the report indicated that out of 259,559 pregnant women who were tested as at June 2010, 5,201 tested positive to the virus which represented two per cent.
It added that 2,679 which was 52 per cent of pregnant women due to receive ARV to prevent mother-to-child transmission received their doses.
On TB control it said treatment success rate in 2009 stood at 85.5 per cent.
Meanwhile the UNAIDS, has indicted that more collaborative action was needed to widely implement programmes to combat HIV-related TB.
That, according to the organisation, could be done through HIV testing and counselling for all TB patients, screening of all people living with HIV for TB disease and provision of TB treatment or preventive therapy to all co-infected people.
It also advocates provision of cotrimoxazole and anti-retroviral treatment to all TB patients with HIV as well as, ensuring TB infection control in all health care facilities and high HIV prevalence settings.
Ghana’s median HIV prevalence in 2009 was 2.9 per cent whiles the country had an estimated adult national HIV prevalence of 1.9 per cent during the year.

GRCL opens 4 more stops for shuttle train

2011-01-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011
FOUR more stops with platforms have been created by the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) for the benefit of increasing commuters along the Accra-Tema rail line.
The new stops, which are at Nungua, Adegonor (Nungua Junction), Shangri La and Dzorwulu, bring to eight the number of stops for the shuttle trains on that route.
The old stops are at the Odawna (Kwame Nkrumah Circle), Achimota, Batsonaa and Asoprochona railway stations.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of the GRCL, Mr J. Abaka-Amuah, explained that until the new stops were made, the trains were not stopping at those points because there were no platforms or steps for passengers to safely board the trains or disembark from them.
He added that it became necessary to build the platforms because the designs of the steps on the Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) coaches currently being used by the GRCL were such that it was impossible for passengers to board or get down from them at places where there were no platforms.
Mr Abaka-Amuah said the new coaches had helped to stop passengers who failed to buy tickets and rather chose to hang dangerously on trains, since the stairs to the new trains folded up and the gates closed immediately the engines were put in motion.
A visit to the Adegonor Rail Stop at Nungua Junction by a Daily Graphic team revealed that new staircases had been constructed to ensure that passengers safely boarded and disembarked from the trains.
Mr Abaka-Amuah said sheds would soon be constructed at all the new stops to protect passengers from the weather, just as prevailed in existing railway stations.
He said there was now the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) which had the responsibility to provide infrastructure and oversee the assets of the railway sector.
For his part, the Accra Area Traffic Manager of the GRCL, Mr Arthur Mends, said the rail stops had helped to increase the number of passengers who boarded the trains and stated that on Friday morning, 277 passengers boarded the train at the Adegonor train stop alone.
He said that had been the situation ever since the new stops were put into use from December 29, 2010.
Meanwhile, a statement signed by Mr Abaka-Amuah stated that the time schedule for the trains remained the same.
“In the morning, the first train leaves Tema at 5.45 a.m. and arrives in Accra at 6.45 a.m. The second train leaves Accra at 6.50 a.m. and arrives in Tema at 7.50 a.m., and the third train leaves Tema at 7 a.m. and arrives in Accra at 8 a.m.,” it said.
It said the “first train in the evening leaves Accra at 5.40 p.m. and arrives in Tema at 6.40 p.m.”, adding that the second evening train left Tema at 6 p.m. and arrived in Accra at 7 p.m., with the last evening train leaving Accra at 7.10 p.m. and arriving in Tema at 8.10 p.m.
The GRCL advised passengers to always buy tickets before boarding the trains, since failure to do so was an offence.

GMA President bemoans frequent changes of Health ministers

2011-01-06T02:45:00.000-08:00

THE President of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful, has bemoaned the frequent changes of ministers at the Health Ministry and said it does not promote long-term planning.
He said the association he headed was non-political and, therefore, did not warrant him to comment on the Cabinet reshuffle. He, however, noted that frequent changes generally did not help in achieving set targets.
On the ongoing negotiations between the ministry and the GMA, he stated that although there were documents to enable whoever was appointed the Minister of Health to continue with, it never helped when there was a new face.
Dr Winful’s response comes in the wake of the nomination of a third person as the Minister of Health within two years of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
The first Health Minister under the administration was Dr George Adja-Sipa Yankey, who resigned over a bribery allegation. His deputy, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, took over and worked for some months, only to be replaced by Mr Joseph Yiele Chireh in a reshuffle which was announced on Tuesday.
The GMA President said although some might argue that changes were sometimes good for strengthening institutions, he was of the view that appointees should be allowed to work a bit longer to enable them to implement some of the programmes they initiated, if not all.
He indicated that although there were technocrats at the ministry to continue with the work started by one minister and also help the new one to continue from where his predecessor left off, there was the possibility of a new appointee lacking the political will needed for the successful completion of a programme.

Korle Bu going through face lift (Graphic Business)

2011-01-04T04:17:00.001-08:00

THE Korle Bu Teaching (KBTH) Hospital the nation’s premier hospital is going through various face lift to improve the quality of its service delivery.
The hospital through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has acquired 13 lifts at the cost of GH¢2.4 million.
The amount is from a special fund set aside by the NHIA to use for the enhancement of services at accredited health facilities. The authority had previously assisted in the installation of a helicopter landing pad at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.
Installation of the new lifts at the KBTH which has already begun, is to facilitate movement of paramedical and medcial staff as well as patients.
For about five years, lifts at the nation’s premier hospital had become obsolete and dysfunctional and as a result, patients had to be carried on stair cases to wards, particularly before they could be cared for.
But the hospital administrators explained that acquisition of the new lifts had delayed because of procurement procedure as well as the need to dismantle the old ones before the new lifts could be installed.
During a recent media tour of the hospital, four double system elevators weighing 1,600 kilograms were being installed at the Maternity, Surgical, Medical and Child Health Blocks. The Chief Executive of the hospital, Professor Nii Out Nartey took the media personnel round. He assured them that the installation of the first lifts at the Maternity Block would be completed by the end of January, 2011.
Each of the lifts has the capacity to lift 21 people. They are being installed by CFAO Ghana Limited, a trading firm and all expected to be ready for use by the end of March, 2011.
Another five single lift, weighting 1,000 kilograms with the capacity to take 13 people were being installed at the Chest, Eye, Ward A and G, and the Radiology Departments of the hospital.
At a media briefing which took place before the tour, Prof Nartey said work was progressing steadily and all the lifts would be installed and handed over to the hospital on schedule, barring any unforeseen contingencies. He also assured the public that the installations would not, in any way disrupt service provision to patients and clients adding that installation work was being handled in a calculated manner in order not to disrupt service provision to patients and clients.
The CEO took the opportunity to thank patients, staff and visitors to the hospital for their loyalty and co-operation in spite of the inconveniences associated with the replacement of the elevators.
After the completion of the installation work, the hospital board and management have the responsibility to institute maintenance programme to guarantee their longitivity.
On water supply, the management of the hospital had acquired a water tanker to ensure that water supply to the clinical areas was not disrupted.
Soon the hospital would embark on the expansion of its water reservoir to ensure that the clinics at the hospital function effectively.
In addition, the hospital has established information and complaints desks at the various out patients departments (OPD) to afford clients and patients the opportunity to address their grievances instead of going to the media.
The core duty of the committee would be to address grievances of patients and clients bordering on our services
In addition, the hospital is to form a Clinical Ethics and Professional Committee to address concerns and grievances of patients and clients.
The committee would comprise experienced medical and para-medical professionals, religious leaders and individuals from other interest groups. When put in place, such a committee would help the hospital to step up its drive to improve quality health care.

Gt Accra records 33 fatalities in disasters

2011-01-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

Monday January 3, 2011

THIRTY-THREE fatalities, 715 injuries and 16,211 displaced persons was the picture of the disaster situation in the Greater Accra Region for 2010, according to a report issued by the Greater Accra Regional Directorate of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).
The report said unlike the year 2009 where disasters occurred mainly in the Accra Metropolitan Area with seven deaths and 7,969 displaced persons, in 2010, there were incidents in some of the municipalities and districts within the region.
It said there were series of hydro-meteorological disasters (floods, rainstorms, wind), fires and conflicts, which caused a number of fatalities, injuries and displaced a number of people from their homes.
The performance review report signed by the NADMO Regional Co-ordinator, Mr Winfred Tesia, and made available to the Daily Graphic covered January to December 24, 2010.
The fire outbreak at the Makola Number Two Market in Accra which destroyed 920 facilities belonging to 648 persons, caught the attention of the presidency and a committee of enquiry was set up to investigate it. The committee had since submitted its report to the Greater Accra Regional Minister.
The report said, in spite of the numerous disasters which occurred during the year, the regional NADMO directorate proved equal to the task and successfully managed the situation towards saving lives, preventing injuries and protecting properties and the environment.
It said that was achieved as a result of capacity building that ensured effective collaboration with other stakeholders including the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the region.
It said a two-week course in disaster management with resource persons from Florida State University and North Dakota University was organised for 10 senior management staff to equip themselves technically with modern international standards on the job.
In addition, separate workshops on different dates were also held at the various MMDAs for respective disaster management committee members with guidance of resource persons from NADMO headquarters as well as a day’s workshop for NADMO district co-ordinators and operation officers to equip them for efficient management of disasters.
“In pursuit of the regional agenda to equip all staff with the know-how, series of workshop for all staff has started at the Adenta Municipality and will continue in the other MMDAs in 2011”, it stated.
During the year under review, 64 district volunteer groups (DVGs) were formed in the region to serve as first line response in any emergency situation.
It pointed out that the national secretariat provided four motor bikes which were distributed among the regional directorate, the Ga South Municipality and the Dangme West and East districts respectively.
It pointed out that its greatest challenge in the year had been lack of logistics, operation rooms and rapid response units in the region, lack of co-operation from building inspectors at the various MMDAs and inadequate funding from the district assemblies.
To sustain the achievements so far made this year, the organisation said it would intensify fire prevention activities in collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) with markets, public places and industrial concerns as the main target.

2010 IN RETROSPECT.....Modest gains made in the health sector

2010-12-31T02:39:00.000-08:00

THE country’s health sector in the year 2010 continued with the good works the sector has been doing over the years. Notable among them are the efforts at the eradication of guinea worm and increase in immunisation coverage.
That is, in spite of the high incidence of maternal and child mortality which prompted the sector’s development partners to propose that maternal and child health be repositioned as a national emergency.
Ghana has a maternal mortality ratio of 350 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (UN estimates of Ghana in 2008) and under five mortality ratio of 80 deaths per 1000 live births (GDHS 2008).
To the partners led by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the acute mortality issue will hugely affect the country’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adding that the goals could be achieved through greater focus on health systems strengthening. They also suggested that a lot could be done if Ghana prioritised primary health care and scale-up all interventions which had proven successful.
Maternal and Child Care
In the year under review, the health sector sought to intensify and implement strategies for children under five years of age and maternity women. That was done through continuation of existing inventions.
The specific interventions included: Free maternal and child health services under NHIS, equipping of hospitals with obstetric equipment, improving on referral system, leadership training to improve on staff attitude.
To meet the MDGs four and five by 2015, training of midwives is being expanded to include Community Health Officers (CHOs).
Other interventions
There were also interventions towards prevention, control and eradication of common illnesses and diseases including Malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS
There was the provision of adequate health infrastructure and equipment that will enhance the localisation of medical treatment.
Under the period, there was expanded coverage of CHPS including construction of additional 29 compounds as well as increase in access to primary healthcare services.
One-time Premium Payment
The government has stated its commitment to ensure unhindered financial access to healthcare for residents of the country through a one-time premium payment for membership of the NHIS.
Towards this end, a nation-wide survey to determine the willingness of the citizenry to pay the one-time premium was conducted in 2009 and in 2010. The roadmap towards the implementation of the one-time premium was developed awaiting passage of the new NHIS law to pave way for the launch.
Health Sector Bills
Due to the multiplicity of laws within the health sector, cabinet in June 2005 directed that the laws should be consolidated as appropriate to reduce the number of laws by grouping the various laws under specific subject matters. In line with this, the laws which were regrouped was sent to Cabinet for approval. Within the year under review, all nine bills were approved by Cabinet and forwarded to Parliament for approval as part of the Health Sector Legal Reform initiative.
They included the Health Services Bill, the Mental Health Bill, the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Bill, the Health Institutions and Facilities Bill, the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill, the Medical Research Training Bill, the Health Co-ordinating Council Bill, the Health Insurance Bill and the Public Health Bill.
Traditional Medicine Practice
One major achievement was the induction of 47 pioneer medical herbal practitioners into professional practice at a ceremony in Accra after they had completed six years of medical training.
The graduates completed four years of studies at the Department of Medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and two years’ internship at the Mampong Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine.
Projects
To ensure equitable health care for all, the following key projects were completed in the health sector in the fiscal year 2010:-600,000 Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits for the confirmation of malaria cases were supplied; the 100-bed hospital with Malaria Research Centre at Teshie, Accra was completed; five Polyclinics in the Northern Region (one each at Kpandai, Tatale, Kanga, Chereponi and Karaga); and 21 health centres were completed.
In addition, phase two of the rehabilitation and the upgrading of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital was completed; essential nutrition actions, aimed at preventing neo-natal deaths and enhancing health services for children, were implemented in all the 10 regions of the country and also 140 trainers of trainers were exposed to the use of the new World Health Organisation Growth Chart.
The rest are; five new midwifery training colleges established to run courses in Post Basic Certificate in Midwifery
Way forward
At a five-day health summit held in November, concerns were raised over the weak level of governance at the district level. The meeting
agreed that leadership and governance at all levels form an essential component of health system strengthening, and endorsed the current initiative, the Leadership Development Programme, on which MOH and GHS have started to develop capacity within the system.
Noting that facilities supervision systems in the sector were weak, the meeting was briefed on the initiative in Upper West Region on support and supervision systems. It was agreed on that the UWR initiative should be explored further as a way of addressing the weak supervision systems.

EC: WE'RE SORRY. We're tied down by quantum of work (Front Page)

2010-12-30T00:49:00.000-08:00

THE Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has apologised to Ghanaians for the widespread inconvenience caused to candidates and voters in the district level elections.
The EC boss also appealed to the electorate not to be disappointed but exercise their franchise by voting massively within their localities at the opportune time.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Dr Afari-Gyan said, “yes, we will apologise to the Ghanaian electorate for the inconvenience but not any political party because the election is not partisan”.
He explained that the problem arose because of the quantum of work involved in the exercise, especially the number of ballot papers to be printed but not lack of funds.
He said just like all elections in the country, money was not released in bulk but rather based on the timetable/schedule prepared by the EC to the government.
Dr Afari-Gyan, who spoke from the field where he took part in monitoring the election process, said the Commission could not complete the work on time due to the fact that it had to wait for Parliament to finish its work on the instrument involving the local level elections.
Giving other reasons for the uncertainties, Dr Afari-Gyan said since both the district level and unit committee elections were being held on the same day, it involved the printing of more than 12,000 different sets of ballot papers.
He also said the number of candidates in the electoral areas was overwhelming such that in one particular electoral area, as many as 42 candidates stood for the position of a unit committee member.
He said unlike the presidential and parliamentary elections which involved fewer numbers of people, the local level elections involved thousands of candidates who all had to have their pictures on the ballot papers to enable voters to identify and vote for them.
When he was asked why so many people were allowed to stand in one area, Dr Afari-Gyan said “there is no way anybody could stop a qualified candidate who wants to stand. Until we find a constitutional way to deal with that, we will continue to see such things”.
On the postponements which were announced after the initial one, the Electoral Commissioner said those were local arrangements involving the regional and district directorates of the EC which thought they needed time to get things right.
When contacted, the Local Government Minister, Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, appealed to Ghanaians to bear with the EC to enable it to carry through the ongoing local level elections.
Mr Chireh, who said he was returning from his home town in the Upper West Region after voting, said what was going on as far as the election was concerned was regrettable and urged the electorate to exercise patience and support the EC to discharge its mandate.
Mr Chireh explained that the EC needed to carry out the exercise at all cost because any postponement would affect the Commission's preparation towards the next general election scheduled for December 2012.
The minister also pointed out that there was the need for the election to be held since all the 170 metropolitan, municipal and districts (MMDAs) had been without assembly members since October 30, 2010.
The postponement of the district level elections in eight regions across the country on December 28, 2010, the day scheduled for the elections in all the 10 regions of the country, was said to have caused confusion in some electoral areas since many of the voters did not hear of the changes on time.
Meanwhile some voters the Daily Graphic interviewed said the situation had made the whole exercise confusing and that it was likely to kill voters’ enthusiasm and willingness to vote.
One such voter, Mr Tetteh Mensah, told the Daily Graphic at Kaneshie yesterday that he travelled from Agona Swedru in the Central Region to Accra to vote but had to go back since he was expected to report for duty today, the day voters in the Greater Accra are finally expected to vote.
The 1992 Constitution provides that elections of the district assemblies shall be held every four years, except that those elections and elections to Parliament shall be held at least six months apart.
In the absence of the assembly members at the various MMDAs, the chief executives and the co-ordinating directors hold the fort but in some cases, they would have to get an approval from the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development before certain decisions concerning the area could be taken.

Breast cancer treatment, early detection is key

2010-12-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Doctors contend that early detection of breast cancer enhances treatment and increases survival rate of patients. For this reason, participants at a three-day workshop in Accra raised concerns as to why the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) covers breast cancer treatment but not screening for the disease.
The issue was brought to the fore by the Manager of the Non-Communicable Disease Control Programme of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr William K. Bosu, who recommended to the government for inclusion of cancer screening under the NHIS.
The??? was at the end of a three-day workshop on Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Breast Cancer Control and Policy Development in Ghana in Accra. The programme was organised by the Ghana Cancer Society with support from Ghana Health Service (GHS), the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Participants were of the view that the survival rate of the disease could increase if the NHIS covers screening services for clients to enable those who have it present themselves for early treatment.
Breast cancer (malignant breast neoplasm) is a condition that originates from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk.
World-wide, breast cancer constitutes 10.4 per cent of all cancer incidence among women, making it the most common type of non-skin cancer in women and the fifth most common cause of cancer death.
The report adds that the number of cases is set to increase in the coming decade given our healthy lifestyles, rapid urbanisation and increased survival.
Breast cancer is about 100 times more common in women than in men, although males tend to have poorer outcomes due to delays in diagnosis.
Quoting from a WHO report, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, said 17,000 new cancer cases and 13,000 cancer deaths occur each year.
In 1996, cancers were the third leading cause of deaths at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). These accounted for 2.6 per cent of all admissions and 5.6 per cent of all the 2,502 deaths at the KBTH. Fifteen per cent of all patients with cancer died.
In all these, breast cancer was considered the sixth commonest cause of admission in women aged between 45 and 64 and the disease constituted 12.8 per cent of all cancer admission.
The term cancer typically evokes fear of pain and death among many members of society. There are misconception about causes, treatment and effects. In our part of the world, cancers are sometimes linked to witchcraft. In the case of breast cancer, there is the fear of one losing one’s breast under the surgeon’s knife.
Another point worth discussing is the fact that in Ghana there is little access to systematic screening to detect the potential incidence of breast, cervical and prostrate cancers.
These factors partly explains why the average duration of symptoms among patients seen at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital within a three-year period is said to be about 10 months.
According to Mr Mettle-Nunoo, among these patients, the interval between when symptoms were first noticed to the time of presentation ranged from two weeks to five years.
The WHO revealed that the number of cancer cases was set to increase in the coming decade given our healthy lifestyles, rapid urbanisation and increased survival.
It also estimated that in low and middle income countries, alcohol use, over weight and obesity, and physical inactivity were the underlying factors in 18 per cent of breast cancers. The prevalence of several of these risk factors is said to be worsening.
For instance in Ghana, the proportion of women who were overweight or obese increased from 13 per cent in 1993 to 30 per cent in 2008.
Contrary to popular belief, breast cancer affects young women. The average age of cases from the KBTH was 41 years. The cases actually ranged from 24-75 years and a third of the cases were aged 40-49 years. Fourteen per cent of the cases were said to be unsuitable for breast surgery due to the advanced stage of the case and 26 per cent also ran away (absconded) from surgery or refused it.
In spite of these worrisome statistics, there is hope after all since according to the WHO, about one-third of all cancer cases are preventable through changes in lifestyle such as stopping smoking, consuming healthy food, immunising against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, and human papilloma virus, treating certain infections linked to cancers and avoiding exposure to cancer causing elements (carcinogens).
It is also a welcoming news to know that one-third of cancer cases could be treated effectively if detected early.
The government has secured a loan of US$13.5 million to improve radiotherapy facilities at the KBTH and the Komfo Anokye Teaching hospitals, as well as to strengthen screening and prevention programmes. The Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons has over the past few years, been training specialists to provide cancer care in the country.
With these in place and the efforts being made by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) notably Reach for Recovery Ghana, Breast Care International, Mamocare, Palliative Care Society of Ghana and the Cancer Society of Ghana, we hope to see reduction in cancer cases in Ghana.

Korle Bu establishes complaints desks

2010-12-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

THE Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) has established information and complaints desks at the various out patients departments (OPDs) to afford clients and patients the opportunity to seek redress for their grievances instead of going to the media.
In addition, the hospital is to form a Clinical Ethics and Professional Committee to address concerns and grievances of patients and clients.
At a media briefing in Accra last Friday, the Chief Administrator of the hospital, Professor Nii Otu, said the committee would comprise experienced medical and para-medical professionals, religious leaders and individuals from other interest groups.
He said such a committee would help the hospital to step up its drive to improve quality health care, adding that “the core duty of the committee would be to address grievances of patients and clients bordering on our services.”
Briefing media practitioners on the progress made on the installation of new lifts and other developments at the hospital, he said the new lifts had been procured and installation work had begun.
Prof. Nartey said the acquisition of the lifts needed for some of the blocks within the hospital had delayed because of the new procurement procedures as well as the need to dismantle the old ones before the new ones could be installed.
He said the lifts were procured with funds from the government through the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) at the cost of GH¢2.4 million.
He pointed out that work was going on steadily and all the 13 lifts would be installed and handed over to the hospital by the end of March 2011, barring any unforeseen contingencies.
He further stated that work on the installation of the lift at the Maternity Block had progressed, with assurance from the contractor that it would be completely fixed before the end of January next year. After that, work will also begin at the Child Health Department, Department of Medicine, Allied Surgery Sub-BMC and the Radiology blocks.
Prof. Nartey said the installation work was being handled in a calculated manner in order not to disrupt service provision to patients and clients and expressed gratitude to patients, staff and visitors to the hospital for their patience in spite of the inconveniences associated with the replacement of the lifts.
Reacting to a question as to why the NHIA assisted the KBTH in the purchase of the lifts even though the authority owed the hospital huge sums of money in claims, Mr George Oppong, a Public Relations Officer at the Corporate Affairs Division of the NHIA, told the Daily Graphic that the authority had separate funds for different purposes.
He pointed out that the authority had, as part of its mandate, the responsibility to enhance services at the accredited health facilities, adding that it had previously assisted in the installation of a helicopter landing pad at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi.

New vaccine for Africa (Graphic Business)

2010-12-22T00:31:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A NEW conjugate vaccine against meningococcal A which costs $0.5 a dose and developed for use in Africa. has been launched in a national vaccination programme in Burkina Faso.
The campaign to vaccinate all children and young adults from the ages of one to 29 years with the vaccine, MenAfriVac, began in Burkina Faso on December 6, 2010. Niger and Mali will follow with similar vaccination campaigns with other countries awaiting their turn.
“MenAfriVac has been developed specifically for Africa—to provide protection against meningitis A, the commonest form of the disease in African countries, and at an affordable price,” said Mark LaForce, the Director of the PATH Meningitis Vaccine Project.
Until now, the only measure to reduce the impact of meningitis has been reactive vaccination programmes with polysaccharide vaccines, but these provide protection for only about one year and not the long-lasting cover required for a preventive vaccination programme.
In a release ahead of the vaccination campaign in Burkina Faso, Jean-Marie Okwo-Bele, Director of Immunisation, Vaccines and Biological with the World Health Organisation (WHO), said “Having this new vaccine is a huge accomplishment in public health because it will affect the lives of 450 million people who are at risk of this disease and who live in the well documented African meningitis belt.”
The model has been described as dramatically different to the usual patent-based, profit driven model. Its developers have succeeded in tailoring the product to suit developing country medical needs, and keeping the vaccine affordable. This is a contrast to the blockbuster vaccines developed by the largest commercial developers for Western markets, that fetch extremely high prices and are not produced with developing country needs in mind.
It is estimated that at least 70 per cent of the population in meningitis belt countries would need to receive at least one dose of the new vaccine to establish herd immunity. After the initial catch-up vaccination programme in each country, regular campaigns will be needed to vaccinate new birth cohorts.
Clinical trials with MenAfriVac have shown the vaccine is safe and highly immunogenic, achieving 95 per cent protection. Protection lasts for 10-15 years, but long-term surveillance studies will establish whether a booster dose is needed to maintain immunity.
The Meningitis Vaccine Project has adopted a new paradigm for developing vaccines for low income countries.
It started with research in Africa to understand the constraints previously limiting the development of new vaccines in countries in the meningitis belt. African public health officials emphasised vaccine price as a key component and suggested that unless a new vaccine cost less than $0.5 per dose, it would not be sustainable.
The project brought together a consortium in which different companies and organisations provided the technical expertise to develop the vaccine, supplied basic materials and manufactured the vaccine at an affordable price.
“The fact that the project to develop this vaccine was tailored to the needs of the meningitis belt in Africa at a price that they could pay, is a real breakthrough and should be used for other problems of this sort,” said Cathy Hewison, medical adviser with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
MSF welcomed the vaccination campaigns in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali but called for further funding to extend provision to other African countries.
So far, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation has only committed to helping pay for vaccines in the first three countries and no donor has offered financing for campaigns elsewhere.

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Audit Agency to deepen accountability

2010-12-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

THE Internal Audit Agency (IAA) says it will make efforts to increase public access to information on internal audit activities as part of its re-branding strategy.
That would be done through the employment of a multi-media approach to effectively market the unique product of a value-added internal audit functions.
This was made known by the Board Chairman of the IAA, Nii Adumansa-Baddoo, at a strategic planning workshop held at Sogakope in the Volta Region.
Participants in the workshop were members of the agency’s executive management as well as representatives of the Internal Audit Units of the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
The key focus of the new strategic direction of the IAA is the re-branding and effective promotion of internal audit practice in Ghana.
The rationale is to bring internal audit functions to the forefront of the national developmental agenda through the building of strategic partnership with the relevant stakeholders such as the Ghana Audit Service, the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), the legislature, the judiciary, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) and the media, among other stakeholders.
Addressing the participants, Nii Adumansa-Baddoo said the IAA Board was planning to chart a new direction for the agency that would drive its vision of providing value-added internal audit services to all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
“This is particularly so, given the fact that at this stage of Ghana’s democratic governance, most well-meaning Ghanaians would expect the IAA to make a much greater impact by leading the crusade against corruption and promoting probity and accountability within the public sector,” he pointed out.
To achieve its aim, the IAA board is advocating the consolidation of the internal audit resources of the MDAs and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) under one umbrella which would then be considered as the head of the Internal Audit Class.
The proposed change, when implemented, will ensure the independence, objectivity and protection of internal auditors in line with international standards on the practice of internal audit profession.

‘Develop staffing norms in health sector’ (Mirror)

2010-12-19T04:22:00.000-08:00

Saturday, December 18, 2010

stakeholders in the health sector have raised concerns on the continuing inequalities in the distribution of health professionals in the country and, therefore, called for the development of staffing norms to improve human resource distribution in the country.
This was contained in an aide memoir signed by the Ministry of Health, its development partners and other stakeholders after a five-day health summit held in Accra on the theme: "Going beyond strategy to action: Accelerating activities towards meeting the MDGs".
At a ceremony in Accra, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, signed the document on behalf of the Government of Ghana while the Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz, and representatives of the other development partners signed on behalf of their respective organisations.
The aide memoir represents the discussions, conclusions and agreements arrived at during the November 2010 health summit and the business meeting between the MoH, development partners and interest groups within the health sector.
The meeting considered various comments and recommendations from the summit and agreed that a limited number of priorities should be identified for each strategic objective.
Challenges in the area of performance management were also discussed. It was agreed that inter-agency performance management systems should be firmed up, while individual agencies were encouraged to initiate staff performance appraisal.
Concerning leadership and governance, concerns were also raised about the weak level of governance at the district level.
The meeting ,therefore, agreed that leadership and governance at all levels formed an essential component of health system strengthening and endorsed the current initiative- the Leadership Development Programme which MoH and GHS had adopted to develop capacity within the system.
Noting that facilitative supervision systems in the sector were weak, the meeting was briefed on the initiative on support and supervision systems adopted in the Upper West Region (UWR). It was agreed that the UWR initiative should be explored further as a way of addressing the weak supervision systems.
Another significant issue discussed at the meeting was malaria. It was agreed that because of the fragmented implementation of malarial interventions, further discussion on the disease was required, and should take place within the context of the existing strategic plan for malarial prevention and control.
To achieve the desired objective as far as malarial control was concerned, the MoH was tasked to convene a meeting between technical experts and implementing agencies on the way forward by the end of June 2011.
Concerning future reviews and summits, it was noted that there was increasing recognition that the funding implications for such activities could change in the future and that MoH and the health partners needed to reflect upon potential future funding modalities for these critical activities.
Dr Kunbuor commended the health partners for their support for Ghana over the years and pointed out that aide memoir would serve as a guide for all activities within the health sector.
Dr Kertezs expressed happiness at the outcome of the summit, adding that for once, specific issues which were related to the theme for the event should be discussed and recommendations made.
The Health Summit which reviewed the draft 2011 annual Programme of Work , came off from November 22- 26, 2010 at GIMPA.
Participants were drawn from government Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA), the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, academia, civil society, private sector and development partners.
The summit began with an update on the Sector Medium Term Development Plan (SMTDP), followed by the findings of the Joint Assessment of National Strategies (JANS) mission.
The opening ceremony came off on the first afternoon, with joint chairmanship from the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Fiifi Kwetey, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Dr Mustapha Ahmed.

GHS undertakes deworming exercise -To fight elephantiasis

2010-12-16T00:43:00.000-08:00

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its development partners have over the years implemented a number of interventions which have proven to be globally effective in the control of a worrisome disease called lymphatic filariasis.
In that direction, the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate has devoted the period between December 13 to 17, 2010 to embark on mass administration of dewormer (Albendazole and Ivermectin) to prevent the infection which could bring about elephantiasis.
A statement from the directorate and signed by Ms Honesty Numetu, the Head of Health Promotion Unit (HPU) indicated that the lymphatic filariasis could render an individual inactive, less productive and prevent him/her from socialising.
For families, infection could force them into poverty, malnutrition and with communities they could experience famine, less communal labour and outbreak of other diseases due to filthy environment.
Filariasis is a parasitic disease and is considered an infectious tropical disease, that is caused by thread-like filarial nematodes (roundworms).
Filariasis is "considered" endemic in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Central, South America and Pacific Island nations, with more than 120 million people infected and one billion people at risk of infection.
In communities where lymphatic filariasis is endemic, as many as 10 per cent of women can be afflicted with swollen limbs, and 50 per cent of men can suffer from mutilating genital symptoms.
There are eight known filarial nematodes which use humans as host. In all cases, the transmitting vectors are either blood sucking insects such as flies or mosquitoes over a long period of time.
Human filarial nematode worms have a complicated life cycle, which primarily consist of five stages. After the male and female worms mate, the female gives birth to live micro-filariae by the thousands. The micro-filariae are taken up by the vector insect (intermediate host) during a blood meal. In the intermediate host, the micro-filariae moult develop into third stage larvae. Upon taking another blood meal, the vector insect injects the infectious larvae into the dermis layer of the skin. After about one year, the larvae moult through two more stages, mature into the adult worms.
The disease is spread from person to person by mosquito bites. When mosquito bites a person who has lymphatic filariasis, microscopic worms circulating in the person’s blood enter and infect the mosquito. Human beings get lymphatic filariasis from the bite of an infected mosquito. The microscopic worms pass from the mosquito through the skin and travel to the lymph vessels. In the lymph vessel, they grow into adults. An adult worm lives for about five to seven years.
The adult worms mate and release millions of microscopic worms, called micro-filarae, into the blood. People with the worm in their blood can give the infection to others through mosquito bites.
Repeated mosquito bites over several months to years as well as people who live in endemic areas are at risk.
Signs and symptoms
The most spectacular symptom of lymphatic filariasis is elephantiasis—oedema with thickening of the skin and underlying tissues —which was the first disease discovered to be transmitted by mosquito bites. Elephantiasis results when the parasites lodge in the lymphatic system.
Elephantiasis affects mainly the lower extremities, while the ears, mucus membrane and amputation stumps are affected less frequently. However, different species of filarial worms tend to affect different parts of the body such as the legs, arms, vulva, breasts and scrotum.
Most people develop these clinical manifestation years after being infected. It is caused by the inability of the body to fight infections due to swelling and decrease function of the lymph system. This results in the hardening and thickening of the skin, which is known as elephantiasis.
Prevention
In 1993, the International Task Force for Disease Eradication declared lymphatic filariasis to be one of six potentially eradicable diseases.
Studies have shown that transmission of the infection can be broken when a single dose of combined oral medicines is consistently maintained annually for approximately seven years.
With consistent treatment, and since the disease needs a human host, the reduction of micro-filariae will not be transmitted, the adult worms will die out and the cycle will be broken.
In Ghana, there are free pills called Albendazole and Ivermectin which could be taken to prevent it. The pill is taken once a year.
The drug is for everybody aged five years and above with height ranging from 90 centimetres and above, however, children under five years, pregnant and lactating mothers and seriously ill patients would not be given the drug.
The strategy for eliminating transmission of lymphatic filariasis is mass distribution of medicines that kill the micro-filariae and stops transmission of the parasite by mosquitoes in endemic communities.
It can also be prevented if people avoid mosquito bites between the hours of dusk and dawn, sleep under treated mosquito nets, wear long sleeves and trousers and use mosquito repellent on exposed skin between dusk and dawn.
The deworming exercise is starting from Monday, December 13, to
Friday, December17, 2010 and people have therefore been advised to avail themselves of the drug. Volunteers would move from house to house to administer the drug in the endemic districts of Ledzokuku Krowor, Ga West, Ga East, Ga South, Ayawaso, La, Ablekuma and Ashiedu Keteke within the Greater Accra Region.
The GHS advise that people with swollen legs, scrotum and any other parts should seek healthcare from the nearest health facility.

Govt to install speed cameras on highways— As a measure to improve road safety

2010-12-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

THE Ministry of Transport will next year introduce speed cameras at vantage points throughout the country to improve road safety.
In that direction, a service agreement has already been signed with some operators under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme for work to begin.
The Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, disclosed this when he took his turn at the weekly meet-the-press programme in Accra yesterday.
He described the carnage on our roads as unacceptable and identified old and dilapidated commercial vehicles plying the roads as part of the problem, adding that those vehicles must be removed.
He reiterated that when the new road traffic regulation finally became law, a ban would be placed on the use of mobile phones while driving, while everything possible would be done to reduce the tragedies on our roads, if not eliminate them completely.
In addition, Mr Hammah said the ministry would collaborate with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to engage some youth for road safety education in schools as part of the road safety programme.
The Transport Minister pointed out that the proposed law had provision to ensure disability friendliness in commercial vehicles to make things easier for the disabled who had to struggle to access public transport.
To make it easier for the public to travel, the government supplied 50 additional buses to the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) in March 2010, he said.
On the rail sector, the minister indicated that the ministry had plans to rehabilitate the Western rail line, as well as existing sub-urban railway lines, extend the rail line from the Tema Port to Japan Motors, embark on feasibility studies and the construction of the proposed ECOWAS rail line on the Aflao-Winneba-Cape Coast-Omapa route, modernise the Eastern line comprising the Accra-Kumasi-Paga rail lines, among other projects.
On the Boankra Inland Port project, Mr Hammah said the installation of utilities, which was the first phase of the three-phase project, was completed, a development which had opened the way for companies in the private sector to show interest in the long-awaited project.
He stated that three patrol boats had been acquired for surveillance on the Volta Lake, while 2,300 lifeguards had been trained to save lives on the lake.
He touched on the continuation of the modernisation of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), a project to develop the Tamale Airport to serve as an alternative to the KIA and also ways to encourage more domestic airlines with opportunities for neighbourhood flights in line with the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Banjul Accord.
The ministry, according to Mr Hammah, had the mandate to ensure a safe, efficient, reliable, effective and accessible transport system with the provision, expansion and maintenance of infrastructure and services to make Ghana the transportation hub in the sub-region.

Ghana makes efforts to curb child labour

2010-12-14T00:14:00.000-08:00

CHILD labour refers to the engagement of children in exploitative labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organisations and is illegal in many countries.
In many developed countries, it is considered inappropriate or exploitative if a child below a certain age is made to perform certain duties. These however exclude household chores, assisting in a family shop, or school-related work.
In those countries, an employer is usually not permitted to hire a child below the minimum age, mostly below 18 years. This minimum age depends on the country and the type of work involved.
But what do we see in developing countries such as Ghana? Child labour is very prevalent in most, if not all developing countries. In 2008 there were about 215 million children working illegally in the eyes of international law across the world. About 14 per cent of children around the world under age 18 are said to be engaged in child labour. In addition, an estimated number of 115 million children under age 14 are said to be engaged in hazardous work.
These hazardous works include handling of chemicals, carrying of heavy loads and enduring long hours of work, which threaten the safety and health of these children.
In Ghana, the Western and Eastern regions of the country, as well as the three regions of the North, have the most reported cases of child labour. Majority of these children are engaged in hazardous forms of labour.
One major problem which causes child labour in Ghana is poverty. There are reports to indicate that poor parents who can hardly fend for themselves and their children send their under-aged children to work under unfavourable conditions, sometimes away from home and in strange lands.
Attempt to eliminate child labour have most of the time failed because of the high rate of illiteracy. Poor parents are unable to send their children to school either because of high cost of schooling or inaccessibility. In some cases cultural pressures also undermine long term value of education especially for the girl child. Because of this, girls are most often compelled to quit education for marriage at a tender age.
In most cases, poor parents who find it difficult to make ends meet sell out their children to child traffickers who in turn use them for all manner of work.
These children are sometimes sold into slavery, engaged in hazardous activities, such as rock quarrying in mining areas, illegal mining activities, fishing especially in the coastal areas and on the Volta Lake and other big rivers in parts of the country.
The news that Ghana now has a Child Labour Monitoring System in place, is therefore a welcome news. That is in addition to the development of a National Plan of Action for the elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Ghana. The Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr E. T Mensah made reference to the issue at a recent meet-the-press in Accra and said the initiatives were being worked at in collaboration with other agencies.
The document, according to the Minister had been approved of by Cabinet for implementation to benefit the Ghanaian child.
Touching on the child labour monitoring system, he said it was initiated to help combat child labour in Ghana. It is a data-base monitoring system in which active mechanism of repeated observation and identification are used to track down child labour cases.
It facilitates effective child labour interventions by identifying child labourers and linking them to satisfactory and sustainable alternatives such as schooling and skill training.
Mr Mensah noted that there had been several actions taken by various agencies of governmental, non- governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations and other corporate bodies towards eliminating child labour.
The purpose of Child Labour Monitoring System is to integrate efforts of all interest groups into action to achieve a common goal of eliminating child labour.
Several laws have been passed by the government on child labour. A number of treaties have also been signed to guard against exploitative child labour. Article 28 of the 1992 constitution prohibits labour considered as injurious to the health, education or development of a child.
As we all know, Ghana has also signed three key international treaties that ban certain practices of child labour. There is also the Children’s Act of 1998 and the Labour Act of 2003, both of which address child labour in details but the problem still persists.
It is unfortunate that,in spite of all these efforts, child labour persists in Ghana even though there seem to be some reduction in recent time as many parents prefer to send their children to school.
Child labour in Ghana, according to child rights activists has been the result of poverty, illiteracy or lack of education as well as less stringent implementation of child labour laws.
To help reduce the phenomenon, the government should make education more accessible to children through the provision of infrustructural facilities and educational materials.
For their parts, parents should be held responsible for the neglect of the upbringing of their children and to ensure that the guidelines as contained in the Child Labour Monitoring System, works; monitoring system should be effective.

Construction to attract VAT, NHIL

2010-12-14T00:13:00.000-08:00

CONSTRUCTION works will next year attract Value Added Tax (VAT) and National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL).
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ghana Institute of Surveyors (GhIS) have, therefore, begun a series of educational programmes to bring to the notice of the public and especially contractors, consultants, employers, clients and other stakeholders in the construction industry the need to comply.
At a press conference held in Accra yesterday, the President of the GhIS, Ms Yvonne Sowah, said the educational programmes had become necessary because even though the amended VAT Law, Act 629 of 2002, required that works contract attracted VAT and NHIL, that had largely been overlooked.
She said non-compliance with the law had occurred among parties in the construction industry in Ghana because of implementation challenges which had brought in the GhIS and other stakeholders to address.
She noted that before applying the remedies for non-compliance, the GRA thought it prudent to fine-tune the guidelines and develop methodology, which included the modalities and procedures for the application of VAT in the construction industry in the country.
“Furthermore, the GhIS intends to use this forum to inform the general public that beginning from 2011, the GRA shall apply the necessary sanctions for non-compliance with the application of VAT to construction in accordance with the amended VAT Law, Act 629 of 2002,” she stated.
The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr George Blankson, said authority had made it a point to interact with the affected groups and individuals in the construction industry to ensure that proper understanding of the issue was achieved.
He explained that tax from the sector would help in developing the nation and, therefore, asked those affected to comply.
Mr Blankson said the application of the tax was not new, since it was introduced in 2002, adding that some contractors had already started paying.
He said if fully implemented, it would broaden the country’s tax base and ensure that tax levels became tolerable and manageable for all taxpayers.
The GRA Commissioner indicated that the payment of VAT and NHIL on construction works by contractors would encourage other professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants to emulate the practice.

Health directorate embarks on deworming exercise

2010-12-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate has devoted December 13 and December 17, 2010 to embark on mass administration of dewormer for the prevention of Lymphatic Filariasis (elephantiasis) in parts of the region.
The drug, Albendazole and Ivermectin, according to a statement from the directorate, would be administered in the endemic districts of Ledzokuku Krowor, Ga West, Ga East, Ga South, Ayawaso, La, Ablekuma and Ashiedu Keteke, all in the Greater Accra Region.
The statement which was signed by the Head of the Health Promotion Unit (HPU), Ms Honesty Numetu, indicated that during the period volunteers would move from house to house to administer the drug and advised people within the affected communities to avail themselves for the exercise to protect themselves from the disease.
In addition, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) had also advised that people with swollen legs, scrotum and any other parts of their body should seek treatment from the nearest health facility.
It explained that the drug was for everybody aged five years and above with height ranging from 90 centimetres and above, however, children under five years, pregnant and lactating mothers and seriously ill patients would not be given.
Studies have demonstrated that transmission of the infection can be broken when a single dose of combined oral medicines is consistently administered annually for approximately seven years.
In Ghana, Albendazole and Ivermectin can be taken once in a year to prevent it.
Additional information provided by the GHS indicated that the lymphatic filariasis is spread from person to person by mosquito bites.
When a mosquito bites a person who has lymphatic filariasis, microscopic worms circulating in the person’s blood enter and infect the mosquito. Human beings get lymphatic filariasis from the bite of an infected mosquito.
The microscopic worms pass from the mosquito through the skin and travel to the lymph vessels. In the lymph vessel, they grow into adults. An adult worm lives for about five to seven years.
The statement indicated that when infected with lymphatic filariasis , an individual could be rendered inactive, less productive and could not socialise.
Filariasis is a parasitic disease and considered an infectious tropical disease that is caused by thread-like filarial nematodes (roundworms).

REST AT LAST - For Gambia victims

2010-12-13T00:26:00.000-08:00

Sat. December 11, 2010

THE eight Ghanaians who lost their lives in The Gambia under tragic and strange circumstances in July 2005 were yesterday given final resting places at the Osu Cemetery, after a state-assisted funeral at the Forecourt of the State House.
The deceased comprised six males who were identified, as well as two others whose identities were not known but were believed to be Ghanaians.
The six were Prince Nkrumah Mensah, who was said to have come from the Ashanti Region but the actual town remained unknown, and Isaac Kwadwo Ampadu, whose home town was not known.
The rest were Richmond Addai, Asokore; Kwaku Agyekum, Effiduase; Eric Kwasi Nketia, Jaman North District in the Brong Ahafo Region, and Kwabena Kissi, Asiri.
The bodies were carried to the funeral grounds by personnel of the Ghana Police Service amidst the singing of hymns by the Tema Youth Choir. Poems were recited and dirges were also sung in their memory.
Present at the solemn ceremony were Ministers of State, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the various political parties, members of the Council of State, members of the Diplomatic Corps, the clergy, traditional rulers, as well as family members of both the deceased and those reported to be missing.
Mr Martin Kyere, the only survivor of the gruesome act who first broke the news, was also present and made a short statement.
He commended the government and other interested groups and individuals who had supported his call for investigations into the matter.
Conspicuously missing was a delegation from The Gambia which, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Integration, Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, could not attend because of flight problems.
As the ceremony proceeded, some female members of the bereaved families were seen wailing while mentioning the names of their lost relations.
Delivering the sermon, which was based on Psalm 23, Romans 6:3-9 and John 11:20-27, the Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Dr Paul Kofi Fynn, advised Ghanaians not to spend too much on funerals and the dead but rather spend their resources on the betterment of the living.
In a statement, Alhaji Mumuni gave the assurance that the government would continue to follow up on any leads which could help the country to find out what exactly happened on that fateful day on the seas of The Gambia.
He took the opportunity to advise Ghanaians, especially the youth, not to embark on illegal journeys which might put their lives in danger.
A spokesperson for the bereaved families, Mr Oduro Mensah, expressed gratitude to the government and the various human rights activists who had supported the families in their effort to get the matter investigated and also bring home the remains of their loved ones.
Yesterday’s ceremony took place after five years of controversy over the death of some Ghanaians in The Gambia which had nearly sparked a conflict between the two countries.
The resolution of the matter followed the findings and recommendations made by a joint United Nations/Economic Community of West African States (UN/ECOWAS) investigation team.
Though the report did not blame The Gambian government as having had a hand in the death of the Ghanaians, the Gambian government agreed to make a donation of US$500,000 to the families of the deceased towards the burial and funeral rites of the dead.
The contribution made by the Gambian government was received on January 7, 2010.
In July 2005, a number of Ghanaians lost their lives, while others were unaccounted for, in rather tragic and strange circumstances in The Gambia.
The issue was first reported by the only survivor of the incident, Mr Kyere, who alerted the security agencies.
At the initial stages, the number of the dead was reported to be 44, but investigations into the incident revealed that six people had rather lost their lives, while others were unaccounted for.

Minister blames delayed migration onto SSSS on lack of data

2010-12-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, has slammed some institutions in the public sector for the slow pace at which they are providing data to enable their employees to be migrated onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
He did not name the institutions involved but said the situation was leading to accusations that the government was deliberately slowing the process to defer the implementation date of the SSSS to next year.
Consequently, Mr Mensah said the ministry had planned to hold meetings with those institutions in the next few days to resolve the sticky points which were preventing them from providing the necessary data to fast-track the implementation process.
Speaking at his turn at the weekly meet-the-press series in Accra yesterday, the minister said the reluctance of those institutions to submit data for the migration was due to the fact that they did not have evidence of approval for some of the current allowances they were enjoying from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
He said another reason for that attitude was the unauthorised use of internally generated funds by some institutions to pay allowances not approved by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and said some of the institutions feared that the disclosure of those unapproved allowances would lead to their withdrawal by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
Mr Mensah hinted that by the end of December, five more institutions, comprising the GRATIS Foundation, the Ghana Dance Ensemble, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), civilian employees working with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR), would have been migrated onto the SSSS.
He said to meet the demands of the oil and gas industry, the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), as part of its mandate, had developed a training course for which 3,000 people had been registered to begin training by the first quarter of next year.
He pointed out that the institute would also run various Masters degree programmes in general management for public service officials, adding that through that programme, the institute intended to re-position itself as one of the training institutions providing relevant skills training and knowledge for public sector workers.
On the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), the minister said this year alone it had provided skills training for 9,648 trainees in the field of instructor training, school-based apprenticeship, defensive driving and on-the-job-training.
He announced that Ghana had been taken off the list of countries identified by the United States Department of Labour Executive Order 13126 to be using child labour for the production of cocoa.
He said that became possible after Ghana had established the National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa which put in place measures as a direct response to international agitation and the possible boycott of Ghana cocoa on the world market.
On the Osu Children’s Home, Mr Mensah said following media reports of neglect and abuse in the home, a committee was set up to investigate the allegation and it had since presented its report to him. He stated that a White Paper on it would be released in the next few days.
The minister took the opportunity to touch on other departments and agencies under his ministry, including the Labour Department, the Department of Social Welfare, the Department of Co-operatives, the Department of Factories Inspectorate and the MDPI.
Others are the NVTI, Integrated Community Centres for Employable Skills (ICCESS), the Opportunities Industrialisation Centres (OIC), Ghana and the Ghana Co-operatives College.

Hope for sickle cell patients (Graphic Business)

2010-12-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

THE Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi last week cut the sod to begin work on the construction of a GH¢13.66 million clinic for the treatment of sickle cell.
Funds for the project was a grant committed by the government of Brazil to facilitate the fight against the disease which mostly people of the black race.
When completed, the three-storey edifice, will serve as a centre for the management of sickle cell patients in the West African sub-region.
Dubbed, the Kumasi Blood and Sickle Cell Centre, the project would include a blood transfusion centre, an out-patient clinic for sickle cell patients and other blood diseases as well as serve as a research centre for related conditions.
With these facilities in place, the centre is expected to provide greater impetus to enhance quality of life of sickle cell patients through the provision of quality service care.
The agreement for the project came into being when the Brazil-Ghana Technical Co-operation Agreement on Sickle Cell Disease was signed on October 7, 2009. That was at the closing ceremony of the 5th Brazilian International Symposium on Sickle Cell Disease held in Belo Horizonte.
Under the agreement, Brazil agreed to assist Ghana to expand the national new-born screening programme, by upgrading the screening laboratory, training the technical personnel, developing the educational and training programmes in the sickle cell disease and provide supplies for the initial expansion of the national screening programme.
At the sod cutting ceremony in Kumasi, a national new-born screening programme for sickle cell and other diseases was also launched by the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, who cut the sod for the project to begin.
In addition Dr Kunbuor also inaugurated a 12-member New-born Screening Committee to draft new-born screening policy for the Ministry of Health. He charged the committee to start work immediately and submit drafts of the national new-born screening policy and the technical plan and budget for the implementation of the national screening programme by March 1, 2011.
The objective of the national new-born screening programme is to offer every baby born in Ghana screening test for sickle cell diseases to make it possible for early diagnosis of the disease before symptoms and complications develop.
This allows health workers to educate parents about the special needs of the children so as to begin preventive treatment before they develop the complications of the disease.
Many of these complications, especially bacteria and malaria infections can kill young children before parents and doctors even suspect that the victims have the disease.
Before the screening and early diagnosis and treatment, more than 90 per cent of babies born with sickle cell disease in Africa died before the age of five.
In Africa, the largest and most advanced of the pilot projects to screen new-borns was started in Kumasi-Tikrom, in 1993.
It began in 1993 to 2008, through grants awarded by the National Institute of Health to Professor Kwaku Ohene-Frempong (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, USA) and colleagues in Ghana, led by Professor Francis K. Nkrumah (Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research).
The screening project has continued under the support of the Ministry of Health, National Health Insurance Authority, (NHIA) Ghana Health Service (GHS), Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), and the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, under the co-ordination of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana.
The national scale-up of new-born screening for sickle cell disease would entail expansion of the new-born screening laboratory at Noguchi with additional equipment and supplies, the training of additional technical personnel, and enhancement of the Information Technology and Communications systems to run the programme.
Every year some 13,000 babies are born with sickle cell disease in Ghana. Many of them die without the diagnosis or treatment of the disease.
By the end of June 2010, the Kumasi-Tikrom pilot new-born screening programme had screened 308,632 babies, found 5,381 to have the disease and enrolled 3,549 of them in the Sickle Cell Clinic established at KATH.
In Africa, more than 400,000 babies are born with the inherited disease each year. It is usually passed on to children by parents who are AS or AC, healthy carriers of the genes.
About 25 per cent of Ghanaians carry genes that can lead to sickle cell. The disease has many features and complications that include anaemia, pain episodes which is refers to as crises, stroke, lung and joint damage, and overwhelming infections.

Business leaders hold forum on social responsibilities

2010-12-09T01:08:00.000-08:00

THE first ever social entrepreneurship forum for business leaders and senior company executives in Ghana has taken place at the World Bank office in Accra.
The event was organised in partnership with the Ghana Employers Association, the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and industry and the Association of Ghana Industries, with support from the World Bank and the Finatrade Group.
The forum which was co-ordinated by Ashoka Fellows, a global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems, had the theme: “Beyond CSR: How Business Can Contribute to Development through Social Entrepreneurship.”
Participants discussed how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes at the corporate level in Ghana could be more effective through the use of social entrepreneurship.
Suggestions as to how best corporate bodies could embark on significant CSR programmes that would be more beneficial to the communities in which they operated were made by the participants.
Some of the corporate executives who made contributions to the discussion were the Executive Chairman of Linsey Capital Limited, Mr Robert Ahomka Lindsey, the CRS Project Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited, Mr Ken McGhee, the Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic Bank, Mr Alhassan Andani and the CSR Regional Co-ordinator of TiGo, Mr Stanley Okoh. Mr Akumba Asomaning served as the moderator.
During the discussion, it came out that corporate institutions used about five per cent of their income for social responsibility programmes.
It was, therefore, recommended that efforts should be made to commit the organisations to do more and also embark on activities which would have long lasting impact on the people.
In the keynote presentation, a Member of the Board of Ashoka, Mr William Carter, touched on “ Hybrid Value Chain: Why Social Entrepreneur Prevail” and said just as entrepreneurs changed the face of business, social entrepreneurs acted as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others missed and improving systems.
He said social entrepreneurs invented new approaches, creating solutions to change society for the better.
Mr Carter also explained that while a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur came up with new solutions to social problems and then implemented them on a large scale.
According to Mr Carter, social entrepreneurs were individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems, adding that they were ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.
In his closing remarks, the World Bank Country Director in Ghana, Mr Ishac Diwan, urged companies to do more for the communities in which they operated and mentioned health, education, environment, agriculture and afforestation as some of the areas they could look at.

College of Physicians stems brain drain

2010-12-09T01:07:00.000-08:00

THE establishment of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) has helped to reduce the number of doctors who leave the country to either seek green pastures or pursue further studies abroad.
Data available at the college indicated that between 1999 and 2003, there was a cumulative loss of 450 medical officers to the country but the number reduced to 205 for the period 2004 to 2008, representing a reduction of 54.4 per cent.
Professor David Ofori Adjei, Acting Rector of the college, made this known at the opening of the Seventh Annual General and Scientific Meeting held by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons (GCPS) in Accra yesterday.
The establishment of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which is backed by Act 635 of 2003, resulted from efforts by a group of individuals in the medical and dental profession, particularly the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), who were of the view that Ghana should have its own national post-graduate medical college for the training of specialists in medicine, surgery and allied specialities.
Prof Ofori Adjei said from 2007 to 2010, the college produced a total of 198 specialists.
However, he said one of the major challenges facing the college was attracting residents into what he referred to as deprived specialities such as anaesthesia, laboratory medicine, psychiatry, family medicine and emergency medicine.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, challenged medical doctors to network with other professionals in the health sector to achieve results.
Information provided by the College at the ceremony pointed out that global warming posed a major and huge unfamiliar challenge.
Caused by green house gases, global warming has given rise to climate change, which has brought in its wake extreme weather conditions such as abnormal storms, droughts, floods, and fires which had affected human health in various ways.
The effects include malnutrition, heat waves, malaria, infectious diseases, and diarrhoea diseases, as well as HIV and AIDS.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof Ayeetey said researchers needed to support policy makers on how to confront issues coming out of climate change and mentioned change of livelihoods and lifestyles as some of the things which could come as one of the effects of climate change.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, commended the college for reducing the number of doctors who annually left the country for further courses by offering the opportunity locally.
In his welcoming address, the President of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Professor George Wireko-Brobby, said the theme for the event was chosen to reflect the prevailing health problems of the global village.
Quoting from the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports, Prof Wireko-Brobby said global warming leading to global change was already claiming 150,000 human lives annually, particularly in Africa.
As part of the programme, Professor Samuel Ofosu-Amaah and Professor Paul Kwame Nyame, the immediate past President of the College and the immediate past Rector of the college respectively, were honoured for the role they played in the success of the college.

Dansoman Area Church of Pentecost fetes aged members

2010-12-09T01:04:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

THE Dansoman Area of the Church of Pentecost (COP) on Farmers’ Day, has organised a social event for about 750 aged members of the church at the Aburi Botanical Gardens.
The event, which was the first of its kind, was to show appreciation to the aged, some of whom have spent their time, energy and resources to help the church grow and develop over the years.
In an interview, Prophet James Osei Amanianpong, the Dansoman Area Head of the church, said about GH¢60,000 which was contributions from members within the area was spent on the event.
He urged the elderly to continue to assist the church with good counselling and also spend some of their time in prayers for the prosperity of the nation.
Before they could get to the gardens where they were provided with food and drinks, the elderly, whose ages ranged from 65 years and above, were driven in a convoy of 16 Yutong buses along some streets of Accra and also historical sites such as State House, Flagstaff House (Jubilee House) and Peduase Lodge to enable them refresh their memories of events of the past.
At the gardens, they went through medical screening handled by health workers who were members of the church. A medical talk on how to manage ageing processes was also given.
Present at the gathering were pastors of the various local assemblies within the Dansoman Area and their wives and some church leaders who helped to make the event comfortable for the elderly.
As gifts, each of the male senior citizens was given a shirt or a shirt material while each of the females was given a half piece of wax print distributed by the pastors’ wives.
There was a lot of fun as the elderly interacted freely with one other, sang some of the old songs of the church and danced to exercise their old bones.
Many of them whom the Daily Graphic spoke to expressed appreciation and praised the management of the Dansoman Area of the COP for having them in mind at the time that they were old and could not play active roles in the activities of the church.
They asked for God’s blessings for those who contributed for the event and expressed the hope that the initiative would be sustained for those who could not get the opportunity to attend the gathering this year to attend subsequent ones.

Traditional medical practice goes scientific

2010-12-08T07:53:00.000-08:00

IN fulfilment of the Traditional Medical Practice Act of 2000 (Act 575),a total of 47 medical herbal practitioners were last week inducted into a professional body at a ceremony in Accra.
That was after the practitioners have completed four years of studies at the Department of Medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and two years internship at the Mampong Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine.
The first batch of the group, which were in four batches, completed the programme in 2007 with the last completing this year.
The training of the medical herbalists is expected to among other things, serve as bridge between the indigenous traditional medicine and the world recognised standards.
The theme for the induction ceremony was “the role of the medical herbalist in healthcare delivery” and it was witnessed by senior officials of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), some members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, health professionals, journalists, relatives of the herbal medical practitioners and well wishers
As part of the ceremony, the medical herbalists were made to swear the Ghana Medical Herbalist’s Oath and later presented with certificates by the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), which is under the Ministry of Health, to enable them to practice.
Addressing the graduates, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, said the scientific training offered the medical herbalists was to enable them to enhance traditional medicine practice in the country, just as was being done in some countries in Asia such as China and India.
He indicated that the GHS was considering ways to engage those cadres of healthcare providers, adding that taking up the challenge would not only “create jobs but also indicate additional positive strides made towards the intended integration of both conventional and non-orthodox medical practices”.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo pointed out that as a nation with huge herbal/medicinal plant resources, the quest for the development of traditional and alternative medicine could not be over-emphasised.
Undoubtedly, larger segment of the Ghanaian population, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, rely on herbal medicine for the treatment of ailments. The figure stands between 60 and 80 per cent.
But of that, the knowledge of and practice of traditional medicine has over the years been mainly acquired through an informal system, particularly through oral transmission from generation to generation. Thus, practitioners are to large extent illiterates and semi literates, as research has shown.
With the induction of the medical herbalists, Ghana is poised to move higher in the area of healthcare delivery and to meet international or acceptable standards.
On that basis, the introduction of the training programme BSc (Herbal Medicine) at the KNUST is welcome.
As part of his speech, Mr Mettle-Nunoo, said there was the need to scale up activities in research and development in medicinal plants, coupled with clinical trials, as a means of achieving substantial results in developing the country’s own herbal products and practice in general.
The deputy minister said the long period the practitioners spent in school was to equip them effectively to complement the health sector in healthcare delivery.
He noted that majority of Ghanaians preferred herbal medicine, for which reason the practitioners should ensure that they made their services and the various traditional medicines they had been trained to administer available to the people.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo urged them not to look down on indigenous herbal practitioners who had been in the practice for years but rather collaborate effectively with them to encourage the exchange of ideas from both sides.
The Registrar of the TMPC, Mr F. K. Hlortsi-Akakpo, observed that all traditional and alternative medicine practice groups, including herbalists, needed attention, support and professional capacity development as deemed reasonable and called for support for all the various groups.
He said any plans, programmes and activities organised by the council would, as informed by the enabling statutes — the Traditional Medicine Practice Act of 2000 (Act 575) — be developed and executed with the involvement of stakeholders, where necessary.
The Chairman for the occasion, Togbega Debra IV, called on the Ministry of Health to establish satellite herbal clinics at the district level where the medical herbalists and those who would come after them could be engaged to care for patients who preferred traditional herbal treatment.
With the induction of the medical herbalists into practice, the country has set the education and sensitisation on advancement herbal medicine practice rolling. It,therefore, behoves on the medical herbalists to continue to work hard to advance herbal medicine practice and help achieve the expected results.

Plans underway to modernise intelligence agencies

2010-12-01T00:28:00.000-08:00

Intelligence agencies in the country are being supported up with modern equipment and know-how to enhance their operational capacity and efficiency in crime combat, the Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, has stated.
The new measures include the provision of adequate and standardised equipment such as light armoured and riot control vehicles, headgear, bullet proof vests and side arms to be made available to the Ghana Police Service to enable its personnel to perform specific duties.
Taking his turn at the meet-the-press organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra yesterday, Mr Amidu explained that the beefing up of the intelligence network was intended to establish the identities of criminals and find out their motivation for attacking police personnel in crime situations.
Some of the institutions under the ministry are the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), the Ghana National Fire Service, the Prison Service, the Gaming Commission, the Ghana Refugee Board, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the National Peace Council.
On effective policing, Mr Amidu stated that efforts were being made to undertake robust patrols across the country; intensify intelligence gathering on criminal activities; institute rewards system for credible informants; rezone major towns and cities; replicate tent city project in other parts of Accra and some metropolis; and also improve police population ratio through recruitment.
Touching on congestion in the country’s prisons, Mr Amidu said a modern maximum security prison with a capacity of housing 2,000 inmates was underway at Ankaful in the Central Region.
The project, according to the minister, was expected to be inaugurated by the end of 2010 and would accommodate people he termed as high-profile prisoners serving long sentences to ensure proper classification of prisoners in the prisons throughout the country.
In line with the government’s policy, Mr Amidu said the Ghana National Fire Service had intensified its efforts by training two batches of officer cadets in 2010.
He also said the GIS had developed a strategic plan for the next four years with support from the British High Commission and PA Consulting Service Limited, adding that the plan was almost complete and was expected to be launched by the end of 2010.
He said in addition to its security role, the GIS collected revenue on behalf of the government.
As of August, 2010, the GIS had collected GH¢8,584,413.00, thereby exceeding its projected target of GH¢8,528,951.00 by GH¢55,462.00.
Concerning disaster management, Mr Amidu said NADMO made significant achievement in the area of training, human resource development, and creating awareness of various types of hazards.
He also stated that the organisation had, during the year, co-ordinated the emergency responses, search and rescue and evacuation of flood victims in the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta and Northern regions.
The Interior Minister said within the past one year, both seizures of drugs and arrests of drug traffickers entering Ghana and those going outside of Ghana had gone down drastically and commended the Narcotic Controls Board for a good work done.
Reacting to attacks on the police by criminals in recent times, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, said the situation was an indication that the police were making it difficult for the criminals to operate, hence the attacks.
He explained that such situations did exist in other places such as the United States, saying now that the trend was becoming a problem in Ghana, the police had to come up with strategies to deal with such criminals.

GHS launches national health campaign

2010-12-01T00:27:00.000-08:00

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its partners have launched a new national health campaign dubbed “GoodLife, Live it Well” to create awareness among Ghanaians on healthy living.
The campaign provides a platform for the promotion of a wide variety of specific health topics. It will also address social and cultural issues related to the prevention of diseases.
With this initiative, the GHS will indicate its concern not only about issues militating against diseases, but also about other matters such as growth and development in infancy, childhood, adolescence and safe pregnancy and reproductive health practices.
Launching the campaign at a well-attended ceremony in Accra, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias K. Sory, said although there are various health facilities in the country to care for people when they were sick, the best thing for any individual to do in life was to stay healthy.
"When you are successful at preventing diseases, you and your loved ones stay healthier. This will free up your time, money and energy so that you can focus on more on productive and fulfilling things", he said.
Dr Sory said there were illnesses and diseases which could afflict a person and mentioned malaria, HIV AIDS, malnutrition, measles, mumps, diarrhoea, worms, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, injury, trauma from accidents, among others.
He underscored the need for the country, with support from her development partners, to adopt different approaches to find out the latest and best ways to deal with specific diseases.
“But for the prevention approaches to be most effective, this must be a partnership between you and the Ghana Health Service. You need to be a central participant in the prevention of disease for you and your family. We are there to help you but when it comes to prevention, you are the star player and the key beneficiary”, he said.
To stay healthy, Dr Sory advocated sleeping under Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria, reduction of sexual partners or the use of condoms to prevent HIV, consumption of balanced diet, hand washing with soap before eating to avoid diarrhoea and daily exercise, getting adequate sleep to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular.
He pointed out the need for integration of various initiatives, adding "If the new health topics are all linked to a unifying theme, people will see that each new message is a building block towards a common objective”.
Dr Sory also urged pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics regularly, fully immunise their children to prevent deadly diseases and observe continuous breastfeeding of their babies.
For her part, the Director, Family Health Division of the GHS, Dr Gloria Quansah-Asare, said the GoodLife initiative was about the prevention of diseases and health promotion,thereby providing individuals with the necessary foundation to enable “you and your loved ones to achieve your Good Life”.
Without health, she said, it would become very difficult, if not impossible to enjoy good life, adding that the health sector was being prescriptive about good life and encouraging people to come out with what their good life should be and work towards it.
“What is your good life, think about what makes your life good, what you value in life, think about how you would achieve if you didn’t have your health, and finally, begin to take steps to maintain your health and prevent disease”, she stressed.
The Deputy Country Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr Peter Argo, suggested that local languages should be used to get the messages being championed under the new initiative across to majority of Ghanaians.
Presenting campaign materials to promote the Good Life initiative, the Chief Party of Behaviour Change Support (BCS) Project, Mr Ian Anderson, said different approaches would be used to get to the people.
He mentioned the use of multi-media activities which included teasers on television, songs, billboards and promotional adverts.
He said a total of 900 volunteers would be engaged to reach out to the people in the communities for them to also benefit from the GoodLife initiative.

Internal Audit ensures judicious resource use

2010-12-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

THE Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mr Afari Dartey, has deplored the perception of the role of internal auditors, saying it is a worrying trend.
He said the general perception that internal auditors are police personnel seeking to prosecute wrongdoers was wrong.
Rather, the work of the internal auditor was to review, appraise and report for managerial action, the soundness, adequacy and the effective application of internal controls.
Speaking at an Internal Audit Unit’s Capacity Development Workshop on Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Internal Controls organised for personnel of the Forestry Commission in Accra, Mr Dartey said risk management, corporate governance and effective controls were becoming increasingly important, especially after the experiences of some public institutions at the sittings of the Public Accounts Committee as shown by the national TV channels.
“We have learnt through the Internal Audit, revelations that nothing short of strong and effective leadership, good corporate governance and cooperation amongst staff throughout the divisions and units can mitigate such disasters in any meaningful manner”.
He explained that auditors were not to find fault but to look at the extent at which the organisation’s assets and interest were accounted for and safeguard them from lapses of all kinds arising from waste, extravagance, inefficient administration, and poor judgement.
The chief executive indicated that in addition to the above, internal auditors ensured the suitability, reliability and timeliness of financial and other management information developed within the organisation and also the extent to which employees’ actions were in compliance with policies, standards, procedures and applicable laws and regulations.
For his part, the Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Mr Ransford Adjei, advised all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to have internal audit units in their outfits to prevent anomalies which created problems later.
Presenting a paper on “Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Effective Controls: The Role of Directors, Managers and Auditors”, the Honorary Secretary of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Mr Richard Ntim, said the workshop was to enable participants to appreciate their respective roles in risk management and control to ensure effective corporate governance.
He noted that the strategic objective of the FC was to secure a legal framework that liberated the organisation, develop a diversified portfolio of profitability revenue sources and also attract, develop and retain a well-motivated, skilled and efficient workforce.
He also indicated that there were plans for the commission to collaborate effectively with major stakeholders in an environment of mutual trust and respect and also develop least cost, which would lead to the development of organisational infrastructure that inspired value.

Ghana signs railway contract with Chinese firm

2010-11-29T23:11:00.000-08:00

THE Government of Ghana has signed a US$6-billion contract with the Chinese National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) for the construction of railway infrastructure in Ghana.
The project, when completed, will provide rail lines from Nsawam through Kumasi to Paga and from Tamale to Yendi.
According to the contract, the first and the second phases of the project will commence in September 2011 and June 2014, respectively.
At a signing ceremony in Accra, the Minister for Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, stated that good railway and an efficient transport system contributed effectively to a nation’s economic development, hence the need to rehabilitate and modernise the railway system in Ghana.
He stressed the need for the development of railway infrastructure in the country as a means of accelerating economic growth and opening up the country.
The minister gave the assurance that the government was committed to the revamping of the railway system to attract investors into the country and develop the country’s export and import sector to make it more competitive to bring about improved balance of payment, as well as create job opportunities for the youth, in line with the government’s better Ghana agenda.
He expressed the hope that the agreement would further enhance the cordial relationship between Ghana and China.
The Vice President of CMC, Mr Zhao Jun, expressed his appreciation to the government for the collaboration and also expressed the hope that with the support and help of the Chinese government, his company would execute the job satisfactorily and on schedule.
The Board Chairman of the Ghana Railway Development Authority, Mr Daniel K. Markin, who signed the contract on behalf of Ghana, said upon completion of the project, the country would open to many businesses, as road traffic congestion and accidents would reduce considerably.
The Ghana Railway Company Limited is a public sector body with the responsibility for the efficient management of the national rail system to ensure the smooth movement of goods and passengers.

UK gives £10m for malaria control (Graphic Business)

2010-11-29T23:09:00.000-08:00

THE United Kingdom (UK) Government is to assist Ghana to the tune of £10 million in support of the country's malaria control programme.
The support which is aimed at assisting the country to reach its goal of reducing the burden of malaria prevention and treatment by 75 per cent by 2015, would protect almost five million Ghanaians from the disease including nearly one million children under five years old.
The UK Under-Secretary of State for International Development Mr Stephen O'Brien, made the announcement during a visit to some communities in the Tolon-Kumbungu District of the Northern Region recently.
The funding would be used for the procurement and distribution of about two million long-lasting insecticide treated nets (ITNs) through United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
The UKaid currently provided £8m annually as Ghana's sector budget support over a five-year period (2008-2012) in support of the Ministry of Health (MoH) programme of work (PoW).
Malaria has been identified as the leading cause of ailments and deaths for children under five years of age in Ghana, accounting for 22 per cent of under five mortalities in 2007. It is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.
In 2008, the department further provided about £10m for the procurement of emergency obstetric equipment in support of Ghana's free maternal healthcare policy, which became operational that year.
In 2006 and 2007, DFID again provided a total of £8.7m through UNICEF to procure and distribute ITNS to children under two as well as pregnant women.
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa accounts for over 90 per cent of the 1.5 to 2 million global malaria deaths yearly. In several countries, the plague is hardest on children from ages 1-5 with a child dying every 30 seconds.
According to a study conducted by Ghana's Ministry of Health (MoH) in 2007, estimated annual economic cost of reported malaria case alone in country was US$772.4 million with the figure hovering around US$32.65 per person.
In spite of the increase funds made available to fight malaria, thousands of millions of people are still reeling under the threat of the disease, especially in Africa. In 2006, the Global Fund (GF) alone distributed about 18 million insecticide treated bed nets and reached 5.3 million patients with artemisinin- based therapies (ACTs).
Key interventions to control malaria include: Prompt and effective treatment use of insecticide nets by people at risk; and indoor residual spraying with insecticide to control the vector mosquitoes.
Prevention of malaria can aim at either: Preventing infection, by avoiding bites by parasite-carrying mosquitoes, or preventing disease, by using antimalarial drugs prophylactically. The drugs do not prevent initial infection through a mosquito bite, but they prevent the development of malaria parasites in the blood, which are the forms that cause disease. This type of prevention is also called "suppression."
In Ghana the MoH estimates that out of three million cases of suspected malaria reported each year in public health facilities, over 900, 000 affected children under the age of five.
It is estimated that every 30 seconds, a child in Africa dies from malaria, while 91 per cent of malaria deaths in the world occur in Africa.
Experts have indicated that insecticide treated nets could help counter the resistance built by the parasitic insects.

Govt approves policy to integrate senior citizens

2010-11-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

Sat. November 27, 2010
THE government has approved a National Ageing Policy and an accompanying action plan to get senior citizens more involved in family and national affairs.
Addressing the National Executive Council Conference of the National Pensioners Association in Accra on Thursday, the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, said the action plan recommended three priority areas, namely active participation in the family, empowerment and well-being, in accordance with the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing (MPAA).
He indicated that the ministry was seriously planning towards full implementation of the action plan by next year.
The policy, when implemented, will deal with challenges facing the aged and take advantage of their potential.
Ghana became signatory to the Madrid Plan of Action on Ageing (MPAA) in 2002. This international policy guideline represents a shift from the Vienna Plan of Action on Ageing, which was adopted in 1982.
Mr Mensah said the world was currently experiencing a revolution in longevity and the most serious consequences of the ageing population were yet to be experienced by developing countries such as Ghana.
He said the occurrence of ageing population was expected to be four times faster in the world by the year 2050 and that was expected to be more rapid in developing countries.
He said with these projections as a guide, Ghana could easily deduce that its population of the elderly persons above 65 years, which currently stands at 5.3 per cent, might reach 20 per cent by the year 2050.
Mr Mensah said that state of affairs would present many challenges to society and the government if the appropriate policy options, mechanisms and measures were not put in place.
He noted that the elderly were still productive, and that “we all should recognise that and allow them full participation in development”.
As part of the programme, there was a health talk to educate the senior citizens on how they should take care of their health.

VRA educates workers on heart diseases

2010-11-29T23:06:00.000-08:00

Sat. November 27, 2010

THE Volta River Authority (VRA )last Thursday embarked on a health and safety awareness campaign to educate its staff on different types of heart diseases.
As part of the event, which was on the theme: Cardiovascular Diseases- Prevention and Control, the staff of the authority underwent fasting blood sugar test, blood pressure test as well as fire drill and sensitisation on fire safety.
Educating the staff on cardiovascular diseases, a medical officer of the VRA, Dr Emmanuel Sowah, said about 80 per cent of all heart diseases were acquired through the behaviour of the affected individuals.
He said some of the things people did when they were young tended to affect their health at a latter period and advocated healthy lifestyle through proper diet, exercise, rest as well as the avoidance of tobacco use.
Dr Sowah said cases of cardiovascular diseases, which were diseases of the heart and the blood vessels, were on the rise in Ghana and pointed out that the high number of VRA staff who were diagnosed with such cases was worrying.
He advised the staff to avoid risky behaviours such as consumption of refined carbohydrate found in white bread, rice, flour and sugar adding that since such food contained no fibre, when they were over-consumed they readily convert to fat leading to weight gain and obesity.
Dr Sowah rather encouraged the consumption of food with high fibre contents which he stressed was good for weight management and mentioned whole grains, roots, tubers, cereals, vegetables and fruits as examples.
He said protein should be acquired through more healthy ways such as the consumption of oily fish like salmon and mackerel and also from peas, beans and legumes.
Addressing the staff, the deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge of Finance, Ms Alexandra Totoe, said occupational safety and health moved in tandem.
She pointed out unsafe shortcuts or what she termed “just this once” chances could result in severe injury of even death and advised members of staff to make a personal commitment to work safely, always.
“We must understand that our individual actions at work not only affect the VRA as a corporate body, but they also affect our families and personal lives as well. Everyone of us has some dear ones who is counting on us to get back home from work safely”, she stressed.
Touching on healthy living, Ms Totoe said since hypertension was mostly a life style condition, “this means, we must engage in responsible life style at all times. We must make conscious effort to eat healthy food, rest sufficiently, exercise regularly, and plan our work schedules in such a manner as to manage stress without undue pressure”.
The chairperson for the occasion, Mrs Efua Garbrah Sarfo, who is also the acting Director, Human Resource at the VRA, commended the staff for their interest in the programme and urged them to go by the professional advice.

Witch camps offend constitution — Bimi

2010-11-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Laary Bimi, has observed that the existence of witch camps in the country offends Chapter Five of the 1992 Constitution.
He considered the practice as discriminatory against women and inhuman and that it prevented the victims from enjoying their rights as humans as enshrined in the constitution.
He wondered why there were supposed to be wizards too but only women were made to endure the ordeal at the witches’ camps, where they are kept against their will.
Mr Bimi was speaking at a day’s workshop organised by the NCCE in Accra to disseminate findings of a study conducted by the Research Department of the Commission on: “Witchcraft and Human Rights of Women in Ghana: Case Study of Witches’ Villages in Northern Ghana”.
Witchcraft is considered a universal and historical phenomenon, which continues to attract a lot of interest. Suspected witches are regarded as evil and harmful and because of that, people suspected to possess such powers are sometimes killed, maltreated or banished from the communities in which they live.
Against that background, Mr Bimi challenged Ghanaians to abide by the tenets of the constitution in a holistic manner if they wanted to be counted among the democratic people of the world.
The study was conducted in three witches camps in the Northern Region, namely the Gambaga Camp in the East Mamprusi District, Tindanzie Camp in the Gushiegu District and the Tindang Camp in the Yendi District.
Presenting a paper on the “Objective, Methodology and Socio-demographic characteristics of Respondents”, Mrs Janet Sarney-Kumah said the 1992 Constitution established that citizens were entitled to certain rights and freedoms, which include equality before the law, freedom from torture, cruelty and inhuman treatment, and human dignity.
Mrs Sarney-Kuamh indicated that most of the alleged witches interviewed were very old people and said old age was a factor influencing an individual’s likelihood of being accused of witchcraft.
She, however, indicated that 7.1 per cent of the people interviewed openly admitted possessing witchcraft.
Mr Derek Gyamfi Yeboah, who presented a paper on “Witchcraft acquisition and conditions at the camps”, said 38 per cent of the respondents indicated that witchcraft was acquired through gifts obtained from persons who were already possessed.
In addition, 49 per cent stated that people acquired it through family lineage either by inheriting it from a dying relative or handed over to them by other family members.
Speaking on “Freedom of association, integration and conclusion”, Mrs Praise Mensah said since the constitution guaranteed the freedom of association for every citizen, the alleged witches, irrespective of their conditions, had the right to participate in every lawful social activity of their choice in the community.
In her welcoming address, the Director of Research at the NCCE, Mrs Getrude Zakaria-Ali, commended the personnel for a good work done and said with the findings, the Commission was better equipped to embark on an effective civic education, which the constitution mandates it to do.

GEA launches campaign against counterfeits

2010-11-25T00:46:00.000-08:00

THE Coalition Against Counterfeit and Illicit Trade (CACIT-Ghana), a grouping within the Ghana Employers Association (GEA), has launched a national campaign against counterfeits and piracy.
The campaign is aimed at creating awareness of the impact of counterfeits and pirated goods on health, the economy, job creation and national development.
It is also to increase consistency and effectiveness of Intellectual Property Protection (IPP) in Ghana and ensure the progressive and sustained elimination of counterfeits and pirated goods from the Ghanaian and West African markets.
The campaign, which starts from October 28 to December 3, this year, is on the theme: “Say No to Fake Goods, Insist on the Original” and comes with activities such as capacity building training workshops, essay/art and song writing competitions to expose officials of law enforcement agencies, students, brand owners and consumers to the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) protection as well as the dangers of counterfeits and pirated goods.
A statement signed by a member of CACIT-Ghana and President of the Institute of Packaging, Ghana, Mr Kofi Essuman, said the coalition had already held a training workshop on intellectual property protection, counterfeiting and piracy in Takoradi and Kumasi.
It said about 180 participants were from the Food and Drugs Board, the Ghana Standard Board, the Police, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
Others included brand owners, traders, consumers and students with a similar workshop scheduled for November 25, 2010, in Accra.
The statement said the campaign would eventually culminate in an awards ceremony and musical concert to be held on December 3, 2010, where winners of the essay/art and song writing competitions held for students of senior high schools would receive their awards.
The United States Department for Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Programme (CLDP) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are supporting the programme.
The support is aimed at aiding the efforts of developing nations to create an enabling environment for increased trade and investment, private sector development and to strengthen intellectual property regimes.

Amuana Praso citizens in Accra launch Amantuo

2010-11-25T00:43:00.000-08:00

CITIZENS of Amuana-Praso resident in the Accra and Tema metropolitan areas last Sunday organised a fund-raising ceremony in aid of development projects in the town.
Led by the Amuana-Praso Kro Ye Kuo, the citizens, also launched the Amantuo Festival scheduled to be celebrated in Amuana-Praso next year.
The yearly Amantuo Festival signifies the journey the people of Amuana Praso made from Asante Juaben in ancient times to their present abode in the Eastern Region.
In his remarks, the Chief of Amuana-Praso, Nana Opoku Agyemang 11, advised the citizens to give back to society by supporting development projects back home.
He said with education as the focal point for next year’s festival, every citizen, both home and abroad should find means of playing a role in educating the youth in the town for future development.
Nana Agyemang commended members of the union for their initiative and prayed for their well-being as they lived outside their hometown to make ends meet.
For his part, the Gyaasehene of Asante Juaben, Nana Owusu Yentumi Akyeampong, stressed that education could be better if parents, children, as well as the government played their respective roles effectively.
Concentrating on parents and children, Nana Akyeampong said as parents did well to fund the education of their children, the children should also bear in mind that they could not survive in this modern world if they did not climb high on the educational ladder and so they should study hard.
He explained that education is important, especially for them as youth and urged them to take their studies seriously.
Nana Akyeampong commended members of the Kro Ye Kuo for coming together with the aim of developing their hometown and also extended warm felicitations from the Omanhene of Juaben, Nana Otuo Siribuo, to the people.
Giving some background information, the Chairman of the union, Mr S. L. Ofori Owusu, said the Amuana-Praso Kro Ye Kuo was formed about 31 years ago and added that it had assisted in bringing some development projects to the town and mentioned electricfication and water projects.
The Chairman for the occasion, Mr David Foster Forson, advised that since the citizens had chosen education as the theme for next year’s festival, they should set a target which they would endeavour to achieve.

Trade in sub-standard drugs on the increase (Graphic Business)

2010-11-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

TRADE in counterfeit and sub-standard drugs is said to be gradually overtaking trade in narcotics, because of the former’s low risk and high profitability which could generate an estimated $20 billion annually.
The phenomenon has affected the pharmaceutical industry in many countries including Ghana where recent study of anti-malarial and anti-tuberculosis drugs conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed an alarming failure rate of the drugs due to their counterfeiting and sub-standard production.
The WHO study, which was conducted over the period 2008-2010, in collaboration with the US Pharmacopoeia (USP), involved other African countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Cameroun and Nigeria.
According to a WHO definition, “a counterfeit medicine is a medicine which is deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source . Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products and counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients, without active ingredients, with insufficient active ingredients or with fake packaging”, whereas a substandard product is one found to be short of the required quality standards. Both counterfeits and substandard medicine are unfit for use.
Cases cited in the WHO study indicated that Amodiaquine Artesunate, which is the first line of treatment for malaria in Ghana, was found to have one of the highest failure rates, raising serious concerns among health professionals.
Although the report of the study is yet to be published, other studies have shown that some counterfeit and sub-standard drugs contained substantial amounts of powdered cassava, chalk powder and other substances that are injurious to human health.
When he presented some highlights of the WHO report at a lecture organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, in Accra recently, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Ivan Addae-Mensah said “Study after study is proving that there is a major problem in this country and the rest of West Africa and we need to tackle this as a team, not as individual professional bodies jockeying for recognition”.
Details of the study will be known early next year, by which time the report would have been published, but Prof Addae-Mensah shared with his audience some highlights of the report which were discussed at the 45th meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Products last October, under his chairmanship.
He said the overall failure rate of 29 per cent for all the drug samples analysed was generally quite satisfactory but noted that where health was concerned, such a failure rate should raise concerns.
Ghana is said to have recorded the second highest failure rate of more than 60 per cent, coming after Nigeria with a more than 70 per cent failure rate, while Ethiopia recorded the lowest failure rate, having passed all the tests.
The problem was recently brought to the fore, when the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) identified some counterfeit and substandard anti-malarial drugs on the Ghanaian market and advised the public to be cautious when buying such drugs.
They include quinine sulfate, artesunate tablets and metakelfin tablets.
Additionally, some substandard chloroquine injections, which have not been registered by the Board, were also found on the market is spite of the fact that the use of Chloroquine as anti-malarial had been discontinued in Ghana since January 2005.
In its quest to safeguard the health of the consuming public, the FDB conducted periodic market surveillance on selected samples of medicinal products on the Ghanaian market for quality monitoring.
The counterfeit drugs were identified when samples of antimalarial drugs were picked from both public and private hospitals, retail pharmacies, licensed chemical shops and wholesale facilities across the country by officers in respective zonal offices of the FDB to determine their quality status.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Communications Manager of the FDB, Mr James Y. Lartey said the public needed to be on the look out for such unsafe drugs since many of them found their way to the Ghanaian market through unproved routes where custom officers could not arrest them.
He explained that laboratory analyses conducted by the FDB with the support of United States Pharmacopoeia and USAID revealed that samples of the anti-malarial medicines tested were either counterfeits or substandard, thereby compromising their quality, safety and efficacy.
The counterfeited antimalarial drugs with their respective batch numbers were Metakelfin tablets with batch number C827A, Metakelfin tablets with batch number E378A, Artesunate tablets with batch number 080504 and Quinine Suflate with batch number 30551Q.
The original manufacturers of Artesunate tablets and Metakelfin tablets are Guilin Pharmaceutical Company Limited, China , and Pharmacia & Upjohn under authority of Pfizer Inc., New York respectively yet some unscrupulous people, however, managed to imitate the original and package for sale to the public.
According to the FDB, during testing each of those two counterfeited products were found to be without some essential identifying features characteristic of the true/authentic products, therefore, conforming the laboratory findings.
Besides the counterfeit drugs, the FDB also identified a number of substandard medicines including Artilum-140 tablets with batch number RT923, Renovate tablets with batch number MH932, Malmed tablets with batch number M080218, Malmed tablets with batch number M090034, Co-Artesun tablets with batch number FS090301 and Acumal Junior Powder with batch number RA8001, all imported.
Other substandard drugs are Trafan tablets with batch numbers 0108J, 03, 26,24,02 which all locally manufactured.
Substandard Chloroquine injections, which have not been registered by the FDB but were found on the market despite the fact that the use of Chloroquine as anti-malarial has been discontinued in Ghana since January 2005 included Chloroquine phosphate injection with batch number 70901, Chloroquine injection 70805, Chloroquine injection O004125, and Chloroquine injection O71124.
Others are Chloroquine injection B. P 70901, Chloroquine injection 80414, Berova Chloroquine 071124 and Chloroquine injection O70905. The rest are Zoquit O070913, Chloroquine injection O80412, Berova injection 80412.
The practice of selling counterfeit or substandard medicines is in contravention of section 12 of the Food and Drugs Law, PNDC Law 305B and its subsequent amendment Act 523, 1996, which states that: “Where a standard has been prescribed for any drug…, any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any substance in such a manner that it is likely to be mistaken for that drug…. commits an offence….”
Additionally, section 18 of the Food and Drugs Law states categorically that; “No person shall manufacture, prepare, sell, supply, export or import into Ghana any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical unless the article has been registered with the Food and Drugs Board…”
The Board has therefore directed the recall of those substandard antimalarial medicines from circulation by the respective manufacturers and importers and submit a complete product recall report to the Food and Drugs Board ten (10) days from the day of this publication.
It also advised the public not to patronise the specified batches of the counterfeited or substandard products and to report anyone found offering them for sale to the nearest FDB office.
As part of its responsibility as a regulatory body, the FDB also directed any wholesaler, pharmacy or licensed chemical shop that had in stock those medicines (with the specified batch numbers) to return them to the importer, distributor, manufacturer or to the FDB. It also directed the respective companies to immediately withdraw the products from the market in order not to endanger public health and safety.
Meanwhile, the FDB has indicated it was taking the necessary regulatory actions against the manufacturers/importers of those medicines.

Fire damage estimated at GH¢6.9m

2010-11-21T23:54:00.000-08:00

Sat. November 20, 2010
THE Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) recorded 2,858 fire outbreaks in 2009 which claimed 56 lives, injured 56 others and left behind an estimated damage of GH¢6.9 million.
Addressing a meeting organised for directors and regional commanders of the service in Accra, Mr Albert Brown Gaisie, the acting Chief Fire Officer, said the target of the GNFS was to reduce the cost of damage and loss of lives and property to the barest minimum and called on the personnel to play their respective roles effectively.
“This is in pursuit of our dream to ultimately achieve a fire free Ghana in the approaching Yuletide,” he stressed.
He said to achieve that objective, various programmes had been proposed for implementation for the rest of the year and mentioned capacity building, fire safety education in schools, colleges and universities, in collaboration with the appropriate authorities, as well as intensification of the broadcast of fire safety tit-bits through the print media, radio and television.
He also talked about the organisation of seminars and workshops, in collaboration with stakeholders, including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Water Company Limited, district assemblies, among others.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, advised the officers not to allow recent happenings in the service to divide them, saying they should rather close their ranks and work for the benefit of the nation.
He also advised those in charge of procurement in the service to be circumspect in their duties, adding that anybody found on the wrong side of the Procurement Law would not be spared.
On the interdicted officials of the service, the Interior Minister said they were made to step aside according to public service regulations so that investigations could be carried into the matter which, he said, bordered on procurement.
He said they had not been found guilty and, therefore, they had the right to employ all legal means to clear their names.
Mr Amidu urged the management of the service to scrutinise the large number of applications which had been received for recruitment into the service, adding that there was the need for the most qualified to be engaged to ensure discipline and efficiency.
The Chairman of the Fire Service Council, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, indicated that the government had released funds for the acquisition of 54 pick-up vehicles and 20 19-seater buses for educational campaigns.
He said the council was holding discussions with the appropriate authorities to ensure that fire officers were allowed to go on peace-keeping missions.

Show interest in governance of local communities

2010-11-18T23:28:00.000-08:00

A DEPUTY Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mrs Augustina Akosua Akumanya, has stated that it is the responsibility of citizens to be interested in the governance of the communities in which they live.
She said at the individual level, all citizens belonged to communities and therefore, each had a role to play in the development of such areas as well as of the nation in general.
Mrs Akumanya said this at the 9th Greater Accra Regional Inter-Senior High Schools Constitution Game Competition held at Ngleshie Amanfrom Senior High School in the Ga South Municipality.
The event, which is organised by the NCCE on regular basis, has the objective to instil in the youth the habit of studying the Constitution through the Constitution Game. The theme for the event was: “Sharpening the Democratic Skills of the Youth Through the Ghana Constitution Game”.
Out of the 10 schools that took part in the competition, Ada Senior High School emerged the overall winner followed by St John’s Grammer and Christian Methodist Senior High Schools in that order.
In her address, Mrs Akumanya, who is also in charge of Finance and Administration, urged the educated in society to help disseminate the appropriate information to others who were not fortunate enough to be educated.
She said many a time, the illiterate in the various communities looked up to the literate for the right information adding that “as the educated ones in society it is part of your responsibility to disseminate information to your locals who may be illiterate and therefore look up to you for information”.
She took the opportunity to read the first stanza of the national anthem as well as the duties of a citizen as contained in the Constitution to remind the audience of their individual rights and responsibilities.
She also advised the youth to do away with tribalism, political intolerance, corruption as well as alcohol and drug abuse.
For her part, the Greater Accra Regional Director of the NCCE, Mrs Joyce B. Afutu, said the commission had endeavoured to keep the Constitution Game running so long as Ghanaians had accepted the path of democracy and constitutional rule as the only legitimate means of achieving development.
She pointed out that by playing the game, the youth became more knowledgeable and better-informed about the significance of the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land where democratic culture of rule of law, transparency, tolerance, freedom of expression and other civic virtues thrived.
Mrs Afutu pointed out that through the efforts of the NCCE, civic society groups and other organisations, the Constitution was no longer the preserve for the few elite class, but had pervaded every nook and cranny of society and had largely been appreciated by all civic-minded Ghanaians.
She maintained that the youth of today as leaders of tomorrow, needed to be equipped with the civic virtues of democracy and the dynamics of transparent and an all inclusive political leadership.
She said the essence of the Constitution game was not necessarily about winning a contest or the perceived funfair, but it was more about exposing the youth to the tenets of the Constitution and its democratic values.

Graphic board members inspect new printing press

2010-11-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

BOARD members of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) yesterday inspected the new printing press being installed by the company.
Led by Mr Emmanuel Baba Mahama, the board chairma , the team was taken round the place by the acting Managing Director, Mr Kwesi Adjei Kersi.
At the project site, a group of German engineers with additional technical staff from the GCLC, were busily working on the installation of the machines.
On the ground were various sizes of equipment which had already been installed and awaiting final connection to start the operation of what has been described as the state-of the-art printing press.
As part of the tour, the board members interacted with the engineers and commended them for their effort to finish the work on schedule.
In an interview after the tour, Mr Mahama said he was impressed at what he had seen so far.
He epxressed the hope that the work would be completed by the end of the year to enable the company to starting operating the machines.
For his part, Mr Kersi, who is also the General Manager (Technicals) explained that unlike the the old printing press, the new one had a place for future expansion adding that when the need arose, additional equipment for other purposes could be added to what was being installed.
The acting MD said when the new equipment start operating, it would be the only one of its type in West Africa with others in use only in Kenya and South Africa.
He indicated that all things being equal, the job will be completed on schedule since all the engineers including the Ghanaians were keen on getting things done on time and for that reason had to work at weekends.

Govt urged to address NHIS challenges

2010-11-18T23:25:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 18, 2010
THE Association of Health Service Administrators of Ghana (AHSAG) has identified some major challenges hampering the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and called on the government to address them as a matter of urgency.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its 34th annual general meeting in Takoradi, the association summed up the challenges as delay in processing and submission of claims, fraudulent practices, poor quality services, inadequate health professionals and inadequacy of essential medical supplies.
To ensure sustenance of the scheme, the association called on the government and other stakeholders to take note of the issues and find solutions to them.
The theme for the event was; “Sustaining the National Health Insurance Scheme: The role of the Health Services Administrators”.
In an eight-point communiqué which was signed by Mr Benard Kwasi Botwe and Mr Micah Asare Bediako, the President and the Deputy General Secretary of AHSAG respectively, the association said information it gathered from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), seemed to suggest that expenditure in recent times had increased and might outstrip the income if pragmatic steps were not taken to reverse the trend.
“For instance, the information shows that in 2005 income for the scheme was higher than expenditure. However, by 2010, expenditure had equalled income and it is projected that by 2012, expenditure may exceed income .
In spite of the challenges, the association noted that the NHIS had chalked up a lot of successes and, therefore, commended the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and the government for the achievement.
Some of the achievement it mentioned were increased in access to health care services by the generality of Ghanaians and specific packages for the poor and the vulnerable as well as increase in the financial resources of health care institutions, among others.
The association , however, noted that the sustainability of the NHIS, like other business venture, depended largely on positioning the scheme on a sound financial footing and recommended that the government, the Ministry of Health, NHIA and other stakeholders sought alternative sources of income for the scheme as measures to fortify its revenue base and sustainability.
The health service administrators declared their support for the Vice President’s pronouncement that a portion of the expected oil and gas revenue would be devoted to the NHID and in addition called on the government to allocate a percentage of revenue from cocoa and royalties from the mines and other extractive industries to support the scheme.
On the reimbursement of insurance claims, the association commended the NHIA for reducing time reimbursement of claims from 90 days to 60 days. It also commended the authority for having fully reimbursed all service providers up to July, 2010, and 50 per cent of the August, 2010 claim.
In spite of the commendation, the association noted that, notwithstanding the positive developments in the implementation of the scheme, there were difficulties in data capturing, compilation of claims, processing and vetting of claims and delays which caused problems with the reimbursement process.
On NHIS tariffs, the AHSAG observed that the operational guidelines governing the introduction of the current tariff regime stipulated that tariffs would be reviewed every six months but it had observed that the guidelines had not been followed since the tariffs were introduced in 2008.
Some issues which when handled effectively could impact positively on the NHIS and were, therefore, discussed at the annual conference were malaria control, staff recruitment and development, construction of new health facilities as well as discipline among health workers.

Ameer calls for political decency (Front Page)

2010-11-16T23:58:00.000-08:00

THE Ameer and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Maulvi Dr A. Wahab Adam, has stated that since Ghanaians have chosen, out of their own free will, to practise multi-party democracy, they have no choice but to create an enabling environment for mutual respect, tolerance and active co-operation among all parties.
He maintained that that decision presupposed the use of decent language in political discourse, devoid of invectives and all manner of insults.
Delivering a sermon on the occasion of this year’s Eid-ul-Adha held at the Ahmadiyya Conference Centre at Ashongman, near Accra, yesterday, Maulvi Adam observed that of late many well-meaning Ghanaians had expressed “horror and utter disappointment at the indecency of language used in our political discourse”.
“Such foul language is bound not only to send wrong signals to potential investors but also it is as un-Ghanaian as it is a bad example for the youth who are the future leaders of the country,” he pointed out.
The Head of the Ahmadiyya Mission indicated that one of the cardinal principles of the Hajj, according to the Holy Qur’an, was to eschew lewd talk, quarrelling and transgression and show respect to one another in all dealings, as members of the human fraternity created by the Almighty in His own image.
He explained that the Hajj was one of the five pillars of Islam and that Eid-ul-Adha, which means Sacrifice Festival, was celebrated by Muslims all over the world to mark the spectacular sacrifice by the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) of his only son, Ismail (Ishmael), with the active support of his spouse, Hajrah (Hagar) in willing obedience to Allah’s command.
Maulvi Adam said it was not a mere coincidence that this year’s Eid day fell on the International Day of Tolerance as declared by the United Nations (UN).
“On the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha which marks the end of the ritual of the Hajj, we need to remind ourselves of the crucial importance of unity, mutual co-operation and sincere co-existence, despite our political, religious and ethnic diversity, and also sacrifice and hard work to build a strong and prosperous nation,” he stressed.
He noted that Eid-ul-Adha, which is the culmination of the rituals of the Hajj, should be considered as a means not only for moral and spiritual uplift but also a reminder of the need for nation building.
As part of the occasion, the Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana led the congregation in fervent prayers for the unity, peace and prosperity of the nation.
From the Burma Camp in Accra, Michael Donkor reports that the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen Joseph Henry Smith (retd) called on the Muslim community in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to live in harmony with their neighbours and work together as one people for the good of the country.
He said as Muslims, Islam taught them to be peace-loving and share a common humanity that should inspire them to work together.
Lt Gen Smith made the call at special Muslim prayers to mark Eid-ul-Adha at the Burma Camp in Accra.
He said Eid-ul-Adha was a great reminder to all humanity of the importance of principles, such as faith, repentance, honesty, sympathy and equality, as well as concern for the dispossessed and the poor.
He urged Muslim soldiers to let the symbolic sacrifice to instil in them the values of love, sacrifice and compassion that would influence their everyday interactions with one another, irrespective of ethnic and religious origin, as they strove to build the nation together.
In an address read on his behalf, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen Peter Blay, reminded the soldiers that their actions should be underpinned by their love for mankind and the entire creation of the “one true God”.
He said their ability to share would demonstrate the sense of sacrifice exhibited by the Patriarch Abraham and urged them to do things that would enhance the image of the GAF as an institution devoted to serving the needs of the nation.
The Chief Imam of the GAF, Lt Col Sheikh Seidu Adam, urged the soldiers not to yield or succumb to defeat or cowardice and give up any good thing in their lives.
He said one should rather ask God for the power to endure those frequent trials successfully to prove oneself worthy of one’s position as a divine leader, statesman or politician.

Bad judgements fuel land disputes — Records, research study show

2010-11-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

RECORDS available at the Lands Commission and other research conducted on land in Ghana show that bad court judgements delivered in some land cases have accentuated conflicts in many areas.
The administrative mechanisms for registering such judgements tended to be fraught with challenges as a result of the open-ended descriptions of the lands in question, pre-recorded transactions in favour of other owners who were not parties to the disputes, non-scientific plans attached to judgements, among others.
These were brought to the fore in Accra at a round-table discussion organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) on the topic: “Enhancing Good Governance and the Development Effects of Judicial Decisions on Land”.
Participants were officials of the Lands Commission, members of the Judiciary and traditional rulers.
In his presentation, Mr Sulemana Mahama, the Chief Lands Officer at the Lands Commission, said problems associated with land included delays in dispensing cases, compulsory acquisition and national development agenda, some impact of judicial decision, weakened customary control of land, opportunistic land sales and mass invasion on public land.
Mr Mahama said the basis for Ghana’s socio-economic development, political and social harmony hinged, to a great extent, on land and, therefore, issues of land must be treated with the seriousness they deserved.
He indicated that recent statistics suggested that close to 73 per cent of sector contribution of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) emanated from land-related productive activities, while up to 80 per cent of land holding was held in customary tenure, with agriculture accounting for more than 60 per cent of employment.
He, therefore, suggested the need to ensure continuous judicial and stakeholder education and engagement.
In his comment, a lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of Ghana, Mr Kwame Gyan, said officials at the Lands Commission were to be blamed in some of the land-related litigation, explaining that some of them intentionally gave out wrong reports to benefit those they wanted to please.
The Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Professor E. Gyima-Boadu, said the sources of the endemic problem of land and landed property insecurity and chaos were likely to be many but the official adjudication bodies, including the Judiciary, were most likely to be implicated directly or indirectly.
He, therefore, called for a mechanism which would enable issues involving land to be resolved amicably, since land and land-based resources represented crucial productive assets.
The Chairman for the occasion, Justice S. A Brobbey, said since land was considered one of the most important items in the life of man, anything to do with it must be done with care in order not to create problems in society.

Let’s save children from pneumonia through vaccination’

2010-11-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

THIS year’s World Pneumonia Day was commemorated on the theme, “Fight Pneumonia. Save our Children”. As part of the event, the Paediatric Society of Ghana organised a press conference in Accra where the association appealed to the country’s development partners to include pneumococcal vaccine to the list of vaccines available in Ghana for the prevention of pneumonia.
The disease is considered one of the main causes of under-five deaths, claiming the lives of about 16,200 Ghanaian children each year.
It was also explained that if vaccines had helped to curb the incidence of measles and whooping cough among Ghanaian children, there was the need for a vaccine to prevent pneumonia to save the lives.
Pneumonia, a deadly infection, is caused by virus, bacteria or fungus and affects one or both lungs. It is one of the commonest causes of death among children below the age of five years.
Symptoms of the disease are high temperature, cough, fast breathing, in-drawing of chest wall and the tongue turning blue in very severe cases.
Addressing journalists in Accra ahead of the World Pneumonia Day, a consultant paediatrician at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Bamenla Goka, indicated that risk factors of the infection included weak immunity, malnutrition, sickle cell disease, premature baby, HIV, measles, whooping cough, unhealthy environment, smoke, excess sand, over-crowding and poor ventilation.
Globally, pneumonia is considered one of the leading causes of death among children under five years and each year about 1.5 million children die from that condition. It is indicated that one child dies from pneumonia every 20 seconds accounting to 4,300 deaths in a day.
It is also estimated that 98 per cent of children who die from pneumonia live in developing countries which include Ghana.
Besides the loss through death, pneumonia causes needless suffering and stress on families and also contributes to poverty through the costs incurred from health care delivery, medications, transportation in and out of hospitals and the caretaker’s inability to work to cater for the other family members.
In her presentation, Professor Goka, who is a member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, said at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital alone, about 510 pneumonia cases were recorded each year with about 32 per cent of deaths involving children who were about one month old.
She indicated that early detection of the disease could help in successful treatment and advised care providers to send children with symptoms of the disease to the nearest health facility.
To protect our children from pneumonia, she said there was the need to provide a healthy environment for their growth.
That, according to child care experts, could be achieved through inexpensive practices such as, exclusive breastfeeding, adequate nutrition, reducing indoor pollution, encouraging hand washing in schools and homes and taking steps to address the issue low birth weight.
To prevent pneumonia, immunisation against the organisms causing pneumonia is a vital step and some of these vaacines could be accessed under Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI).
Information provided to the media by the Paediatric Society of Ghana at the press conference indicated that Hib vaccine, measles and pertussis vaccines are safe and effective and had led to a remarkable decline in pneumonia deaths. The society therefore called for universal coverage of those vaccines, as well as introduction of the pneumococcal vaccine.
It also explained that because HIV and AIDS weakened the immune system, there was the need to strengthen the preventive campaigns to reduce the spread and that included the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme.
Another point raised was the importance of zinc supplementation which had been found to prevent and reduce death from pneumonia.
The National Child Health Co-ordinator of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, for her part said in 2008, pneumonia ranked fourth highest among the conditions seen at the outpatients department (OPDs) as well as among admissions in the country’s health facilities.
Interventions put in place by the health sector to minimise the incidence of the disease, according to Dr Sagoe-Moses included improving access, quality and demand for services, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and hand-washing.
She also indicated that health workers had been sensitised to offer immediate attention to suspected pneumonia cases since the disease was deadly and deserved prompt attention, adding that there existed vaccines for the prevention of haemophilus influenza B and measles, which could help to reduce pneumonia
She gave the assurance that there were plans to introduce pneumococcal vaccine which was used in the prevention of pneumonia in the country by 2012.
As part of its objectives, the Paediatric Society of Ghana, in conjunction with International Paediatric Associations seeks to educate the public about the causes and dangers of pneumonia and also draw the attention of interest groups on how to prevent and combat the disease among children.

Research institutions to receive assistance Graphic Business)

2010-11-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

A UK-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Wellcome Trust, is supporting research institutions in six West and East African countries to develop research careers for post doctoral scientists at the cost of five million pounds. The beneficiary countries are Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Chad, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The funding which will be spread over the next five years, will be managed by an African research consortium for ecosystem and population health refereed to as Afrique One.
Afrique One Postdoctorate Fellowships in Ecosystem and Population Health, comprises eleven African universities and research institutions in the six member countries and is funded through the Wellcome Trust’s African Institutes Initiative.
The Afrique One Postdoctorate Fellowships programme seeks to support the next generation of African science leaders in the field of ecosystem and population health. To benefit, the consortium accepts the very best post-doctoral scientists to develop independent sustainable science programmes in each of the consortium’s core institutions.
Between October 17 and October 24 2010, the 3rd planning, training and evaluation workshop of Afrique One was held at Erata Hotel in Accra, Ghana where researchers and scientists as well as officials from Wellcome Trust met to deliberate on how best to make good use of the funding.
With more than 30 representatives, the workshop held series of presentations in plenary sessions, had discussions among a panel of experts, held a press conference as well as group discussion sessions and social events. Ghana’s Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) served as the host research institution during the conference period.
Taking into consideration the guidelines of Afrique One Consortium, the workshop was planned with the following goals: To finalise postdoctoral recruitment, to plan postdoctoral works, to build the capacities of financial officers and master the Afrique One programme finances.
Others goals were to train specific officials in communicating with the media and policy makers, to share on new changes related to the Afrique One concept and to revise the consortium governance.
To achieve the goals and proposed outcomes, an operational structure for the workshop was set up combining presentations during plenary sessions and group sessions to discuss specific issues that had been identified as relevant.
At a press briefing organised as part of the 3rd Planning and Evaluation Workshop the Head of Bacteriology Department of the Noguchi Memorial Institute on Medical Research, Dr Kwasi Addo, said many diseases which affected humans could be prevented if animal health was taken seriously and called for collaboration between medical doctors and veterinary doctors to find common solutions in fighting diseases.
The press briefing, according to the organisers was to build the capacity of media personnel on the One Health concept which is a co-operation between human and animal health to strengthen health systems.
Dr Addo explained that many of the diseases which affected human beings had links with animals and so if animals were taken care of properly, they could be prevented from getting sick and cited cases such as mad cow disease, Avian Influenza (bird flu), rabies, and bovine TB.
The Director of Afrique One, Professor Bassirou Bonfoh, indicated that the problem most African institutions faced was brain drain and therefore, made it difficult to build careers of African scientists at post doctoral level.
Professor Brian Perry of the Scientific Advisory Board, Afrique One Consortium, said the consortium had a mix of institutions and scientists from both Anglophone and Francophone Africa, who were now working together to raise the credibility of their organisations, of the science that they were engaged in and of human resources they were nurturing.
He explained that the training being offered by Wellcome Trust, will provide a fundamental basis to develop the capacity to manage and administer research funding.
For his part, Professor Jacob Zinsstag an expert who facilitated during the event, said Afrique One to build up research capacity for the betterment of human and animal health as well as welfare.
“A principal foundation of Afrique One’s work is to work closer between doctors, veterinarians and wildlife specialists,” he indicated.
Participants had the hope that the Afrique One project would help many of the scientists on the continent to benefit from the development of the continent.

GTZ supports health package for workers

2010-11-15T00:12:00.000-08:00

THE German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) is collaborating with six private companies to implement a three-year programme that would enhance the welfare of workers.
The companies are Aqua Vitens Rand Limited/Ghana Water Company, Japan Motors Trading Company Limited, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Accra Brewery Limited, Superlock Technologies Limited and UT Group Ghana Limited.
Dubbed the Employee Well-being Programme (EWP), it is to sustain and improve the health, social and financial status of employees, their core families and members of the immediate communities where the companies operate.
Other objectives of the initiative is to enhance the capacity of state institutions such as the ministries of Health; Employment and Social Welfare; and Roads and Transport.
During a media launch of the programme in Accra yesterday, the Team Leader of the GTZ Regional Co-ordination Unit for HIV and Tuberculosis (GTZ-ReCHT), Dr Holger Till, said the companies were providing a total of €2 million, the Government of Ghana (GoG) was offering support worth €240,000 and the GTZ was providing €1.5 million in cash and in kind.
Present at the launch were representatives of the companies and the ministries involved, as well as officials of some health-related organisations and agencies.
Dr Till said the disease prevention package of the programme involved counselling and testing for HIV, TB, Hepatitis B, Meningitis, hypertension, cholesterol, glucose, breast cancer, cervical cancer and general health check, among others.
In his remarks, the Head of Co-operation at the German Embassy, Ms Harriet Ludwig, said Ghanaians workers needed intervention such as the one being introduced under the EWP to sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
She said it was important for workplaces to have such programmes to take care of employees and their dependants holistically since well-being involved more than just health care.
Ms Ludwig encouraged the companies involved to do well to sustain the EWP, which is a pilot programme of the GTZ, adding that if the country was able to perform well, other countries would learn from it.
The chairperson for the event, Dr Edith Tetteh, a Commissioner of the National Development Planning Commission (NPDC), commended GTZ for the initiative.
She also expressed the hope that the companies would endeavour to continue with the programme after the three-year expiry period.

Paediatric Society appeals for pneumonia vaccines

2010-11-11T00:37:00.000-08:00

THE Paediatric Society of Ghana has appealed to the country’s development partners to include pneumococcal vaccine to the list of vaccines available in Ghana for the prevention of pneumonia.
The society said the disease was one of the main causes of under-five deaths, claiming the lives of about 16,200 Ghanaian children each year.
Pneumonia, a deadly infection, is caused by virus, bacteria or fungus and affects one or both lungs. It is one of the commonest causes of death among children below the age of five years. Globally, the disease kills three children per minute.
Symptoms of the disease are high temperature, cough, fast breathing, in-drawing of chest wall and the tongue turning blue in very severe cases.
Addressing journalists in Accra yesterday ahead of the World Pneumonia Day, which falls on November 12 and is being celebrated on the theme “Fight Pneumonia. Save our Children”, a consultant paediatrician at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Professor Bamenla Goka, said if vaccines had helped to curb the incidence of measles and whooping cough among Ghanaian children, there was the need for a vaccine to prevent pneumonia to save the lives.
Professor Goka, who is a member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, said at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital alone, about 510 pneumonia cases were recorded each year with about 32 per cent of deaths involving children who were about one month old.
She mentioned risk factors of the infection to include weak immunity, malnutrition, sickle cell disease, premature baby, HIV, measles, whooping cough, unhealthy environment, smoke, excess sand, over-crowding and poor ventilation.
She indicated that early detection of the diseases helped in successful treatment and advised care providers to send children with symptoms of the disease to the nearest health facility.
She also advised against administration of cough mixtures in such cases since they had the tendency of worsening the condition of the sick child.
In her presentation, the National Child Health Co-ordinator of Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, said in 2008, pneumonia ranked fourth highest among the conditions seen at the outpatients department (OPDs) as well as among admissions in the country’s health facilities.
She said interventions put in place by the health sector to minimise the incidence of the disease included improving access, quality and demand for services, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, hand-washing, as well as efforts to get health workers to offer immediate attention to suspected pneumonia cases.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said there existed vaccines for the prevention of haemophilus influenza B and measles, which could help to reduce pneumonia, adding that there were plans to introduce pneumococcal vaccine in the country by 2012.
The President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, Dr Theresa Rettig, in her welcoming address, expressed the hope that the media would collaborate with health workers in the fight against pneumonia.

Government pleads with doctors for more time— Over their grievances

2010-11-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

THE Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, has sent a passionate appeal to members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) not to go on strike but allow the government sometime to meet their demands.
He said although their action might be legitimate, they should take into consideration the number of lives which might be lost should they embark on the strike.
Appearing yesterday for the first time at the weekly meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information in Accra, Dr Kunbuor said, “as the health minister, I have it as my prayer when I wake up each morning, that no health worker goes on strike because it means one thing — loss of lives”.
He maintained that he had been in constant touch with the medical doctors and gave the assurance he was doing all he could to ensure that their demands were met soon.
In a communiqué read at a press conference to climax the 52nd annual general meeting of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) in Koforidua on November 6, 2010, the leadership of the association gave an ultimatum that November 30, 2010 should be the deadline for the payment of their outstanding on-duty-facilitation allowance, otherwise they would withdraw their services.
The President of the association, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful, said it was unfortunate that for almost two years after negotiations for the allowance, its implementation had not been fully carried out, making majority of doctors not being paid the allowance.
Addressing the well-attended media event, the health minister said the mission of the health sector was to contribute to the socio-economic development of a local health industry by promoting health for all persons living in Ghana, using well motivated personnel.
“The ultimate goal of the ministry is to ensure a healthy and productive population that reproduces itself safely by providing the following health services: Promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative,” the minister indicated.
Touching on the negative attitude of some health personnel, which affected health care delivery, Dr Kunbour said much as it was a fact that some of the personnel did not treat patients properly, the attitude of some members of the public was equally a problem, which must be addressed, and pointed out that there was the need for the public to also understand the difficulty in which health personnel found themselves due to under-staffing.
He indicated that specific priorities of the health sector under the “Better Ghana” agenda of the government included the need to reduce maternal and under-five mortality, ensure efficient co-ordination in the control of malaria, tuberculosis (TB), HIV and AIDS and to scale up universal access to health care through a policy that allowed for one-time premium payment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
Others, according to the minister, were to improve on institutional and emergency care, as well as epidemic preparedness, improve on water supply in health facilities, and institute bed rationing or rotation system in all hospitals to avoid what he termed regular floor patients.
On the implementation of the one-time-premium payment, he said the government had stated its commitment to scaling up universal health care for residents of the country through a policy that allowed for one-time-premium payment for membership of the NHIS.
He pointed out that a nation-wide survey to determine the willingness of the citizenry to pay the one-time-premium was conducted in 2009 and also the road map towards the implementation of the initiative had been developed awaiting the passage of the new NHIS law to pave the way for the presidential launch.
On maternal and child health, Dr Kunbuor said specific interventions introduced to reduce deaths were free maternal and child health services under the NHIS, equipping hospitals with obstetric facilities, improving referral system, as well as ongoing leadership training to improve staff attitude.
The health minister mentioned routine immunisation and nation-wide campaigns, malarial control, HIV and AIDS control/prevention, provision of anti-retroviral therapy, regenerative health and nutrition, TB control, guinea worm eradication programme, control of cholera and meningitis outbreaks and control of the Pandemic Influenza (H1N1 2009) as some of the achievements the health sector had chalked up.
Dr Kunbour said currently, the nation had 24 fully functioning ambulance stations throughout the country, adding that the government was planning to expand the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to cover all district capitals. The minister said plans were far advanced to procure 355 new ambulances to augment the existing fleet.

GTZ, GRA initiate health programme for workers (Graphic Business)

2010-11-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

A comprehensive health-related workplace programme aimed at improving the entire well-being of the Ghanaian workforce has been initiated.
The initiative, Employee Well-being Programme (EWP), is a collaborative effort of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ghana Community Network (GCNet), a private company that provides services to the GRA and other organisations.
Some agencies and organisations covered under the (EWP) are the Domestic Tax Division as well as the Customs Division and the Supportive Services Division created out of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS).
With both financial and technical support from the Regional Co-ordination Unit for HIV and Tuberculosis (GTZ-ReCHT) of the German Technical Co-operation’s (GTZ), EWP is to improve access to health, social protection and financial counselling service to workers. It is expected to benefit approximately 38,000 workers before 2012.
The initiative is part of a range of programmes supported by GTZ-ReCHT which has been promoting workplace programmes since 2006 in collaboration with agencies of the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
It is also to provide prevention, treatment and care facilities for targeted employees, their core families as well as members of the immediate communities in which those organisations operate.
Additionally, the programme is meant to foster behavioural change among the participants as well as bring benefits to participants who would get to know their general health status and receive support if needed. It is also supporting the companies and organisations to develop measures to improve the health situation and hence the productivity of their workforce.
A release on the programme indicated that infectious diseases such tuberculosis, malaria, and hepatitis B and other health conditions such as heart related diseases and cancers are the leading causes for serious illness in Ghana.
The statement also indicated that the programme include social protection and financial wellness component since financial pressures could additionally trigger psychological problems of and cause illnesses. It indicated that the provision of increase of social protection through retirement benefit schemes, health insurance and other insurance schemes reduces pressure on employees and increases their well-being.
During this year’s World Heart Day which is celebrated on the last Sunday of September every year, the GHS, GCNet and GTZ as part of the EWP, embarked on series of health walks, organised medical and laboratory screening for heart related risk factors such as hypertension, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol, and diabetes as well as counselling and testing for HIV were offered free of charge. The exercise took place in all the 10 regional capitals of the country namely: Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Koforidua, Ho, Sunyani, Bolga and Wa.
At the launch of the an EWP policy document for public and private sector on Monday, October 25, 2010, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, said the policy was unique and comprehensive which was in line with government’s goal of providing not only accessible but affordable health care for citizens of the nation.
The document which was developed in collaboration with GTZ and the GCNet covers health, mental, emotional, social and financial well-being of employees.
The policy is to enhance the health status of GRA and GCNet employees and dependants, to provide social protection and financial wellness, and also to ensure adequate, consistent and sustainable provision of information and education on health, living with disability, financial comfort and social protection.
I also features confidentiality of the health status of employees, gender equality, collective responsibility, and non-discrimination in obtaining healthcare.
The Deputy Health Minister indicated that government attached great importance to the well-being of employees in both the public and private sectors and as such several interventions had been put in place to ensure that the nation’s workforce stayed healthy.
Mr Mettle-Nunoo mentioned that interventions such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) , the National AIDS Control Programme and the regenerative health policies of the Ministry of Health (moH) had all helped to improve the health of Ghanaians.
He said that public-private partnership such as the EWP which complimented government’s efforts were commendable and urged staff of the various agencies to fully participate in the programmes and observe basic measures that will enhance their well-being.
The Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr Richard Lanyon, stated that the launch of the policy document marked the climax of the EWP which would be the driving force for achieving the programme’s goals and objectives.
“The management of the processes, the procedures and the systems in tax collection, is a very hazardous and stressful endeavour. It is therefore imperative that a deliberate and sustained programme is put in place to maintain a healthy workforce”, Mr Lanyon pointed out.

Workers register with 3-tier pension scheme

2010-11-09T01:25:00.000-08:00

ABOUT 304,500 workers in both the formal and informal sectors have registered with the third-tier voluntary personal pension (provident fund) under the new pension scheme.
The figure comprises about 4, 500 employees working with companies in the formal sector and about 300,000 traders under one large informal sector group with a nation-wide membership.
In line with provisions under section 112 (2) of the National Pension Act, 2008, (Act 766), the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), has formally communicated to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to grant tax relief to those contributors.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the acting Chief Executive of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Mr Daniel Aidoo Mensah, said the amount of tax relief a contributor received under the arrangement could go as high as 16.5 per cent depending on the amount of money one contributed.
He explained that the tax relief would be paid to the individual contributors upfront and on monthly basis while companies and groups would receive it after they have filed for it at the end of each year.
Mr Mensah added that provision had been made in the third-tier scheme to cater for the peculiar needs of workers in the informal sector of the economy who constituted the majority of workers in the country.
Under the arrangement, employees of the informal sector will decide to contribute any amount they can afford on monthly or any other regular basis. The benefits that accrue will depend on how much contribution was made. The more the amount contributed, the bigger the benefit.
Touching on how employees were receiving the scheme, Mr Mensah said many more companies and groups applied to register under the scheme and the authority was working on those applications.
He said many of the companies that had currently registered under the scheme had existing provident funds which they migrated onto the new scheme.
In a related development, the Chief Executive of the NPRA said the authority had begun discussions with the National Planning Development Commission (NDPC) and other stakeholders to initiate a national discussion on how the pension fund should be invested.
He also indicated that the authority had received inputs from two stakeholders fora it held and pointed out that the authority was in the process of completing the final draft by the end of the month which would be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for onward transmission to parliament for deliberation and approval.

FDB warns public on counterfeit drugs

2010-11-09T01:23:00.000-08:00

THE Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has identified some counterfeit and substandard anti-malarial drugs on the market and advised the public to be cautious when buying such drugs.
They include quinine sulphate, artesunate tablets and metakelfin tablets.
Additionally, some substandard chloroquine injections, which have not been registered by the FDB, were also found on the market despite the fact that the use of chloroquine as anti-malarial has been discontinued in Ghana since January, 2005.
In its quest to safeguard the health of the consuming public, the FDB conducted periodic market surveillance on selected samples of medicinal products on the Ghanaian market for quality monitoring.
The counterfeit drugs were identified when samples of anti-malarial drugs were picked from both public and private hospitals, retail pharmacies, licensed chemical shops and wholesale facilities across the country by officers in respective zonal offices of the FDB to determine their quality status.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Communications Manager of the FDB, Mr James Y. Lartey, said the public needed to be on the look out for such unsafe drugs since many of them found their way to the Ghanaian market through unapproved routes where custom officers could not arrest them.
He explained that laboratory analyses conducted by the FDB, with the support of United States Pharmacopoeia and USAID, revealed that samples of the anti-malarial medicines tested were either counterfeits or substandard, thereby compromising their quality, safety and efficacy.
The statement, however, indicated that the FDB had directed its zonal offices to ensure the immediate removal of those counterfeit products from the retail shops involved and also from circulation.
Besides the counterfeit drugs, the FDB also identified a number of substandard medicines including Artilum-140 tablets with batch number RT923, Renovate tablets with batch number MH932, Malmed tablets M080218, Malmed tablets with batch number M090034, Co-Artesun tablets FS090301, Acumal Junior Powder RA8001, all of which were imported.
Other substandard drugs were Trafan tablets with batch numbers 0108J, 03, 26,24,02 which were all locally manufactured.
Meanwhile, the FDB has indicated it is taking the necessary regulatory actions against the manufacturers/importers of these medicines.

Akosombo Dam water at record level

2010-11-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 4, 2010
THE volume of water in the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam hit the highest level ever in the history of the dam at 277.33 feet yesterday, compelling the Volta River Authority (VRA) to open more spill-ways to save the dam from any possible danger.
The current water level is one foot less than maximum allowable water level of 278 feet for the dam.
Currently, six of the 12 spill-ways at the main dam at Akosombo have been opened to allow 40,000 cubic feet of water to flow per each second.
In addition, the Kpong Generating Plant had also had 11 of its 15 spill-ways opened at the level of 42,000 cubic feet per second.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Martin Amidu, who has responsibility over the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), yesterday toured both the Akosombo and Kpong dams to assess the situation.
He was accompanied by the National Co-ordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Kofi Portuphy, the Eastern Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr R. Owusu Boakye, the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator, Mr Winfred Tesia, as well as officials from the Ministry of the Interior and NADMO.
The first time the level of the water came closest was in 1991, when it rose to 275.20ft and that was the last time the dam was opened to expel excess water.
In 2007, the volume of water in the dam fell to the lowest level at 234 feet. That was the period the nation suffered a serious energy crisis.
On Monday, November 1, 2010, the VRA began an exercise to save the dam by opening four of its 12 spill-gates to allow 10,000 cubic feet of water per second to flow out of the dam.
The exercise, which is expected to continue till the volume of water goes down to 276 feet, will be constantly monitored against further havoc in areas along the Volta River, which are already inundated.
Mr Amidu took the opportunity to interact with the 22-member Rapid Response Team patrolling the lake to ward off recalcitrant fishermen who would want to move closer to the spill-ways, where the flow of water was swiftest.
He commended the team for the work they were doing and expressed the hope that Ghanaians would appreciate what they were doing to save lives and property.
Mr Amidu encouraged the personnel of the VRA to monitor the exercise in order not to let it cause havoc to inhabitants along the lake.
Briefing the Interior Minister, the Director of Hydro Generation, Mr Kwesi Benu Amoako, said all efforts had been put in place to prevent flooding downstream.
He said the spill-ways had been opened in such a way that the flow of water had been controlled, explaining it was important the spillage was monitored effectively in order not to get too much water out at a time.
The Plant Manager at the Kpong Generating Plant, Mr Johnson Hlordjie, pointed out that the Kpong Dam was opened on Tuesday, to allow the excess water flowing from the main dam to flow out.
He said the water in the dam kept on increasing because the volume of water flowing from up-stream into the dam kept increasing. He explained that the exercise would have to continue for sometime until the volume reduced to about 276ft.

VRA increases volume of spillage

2010-11-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) yesterday increased from 10,000 cubic feet to between 20,000 and 30,000 cubic feet per second, the volume of water being spilled from the Akosombo Dam.
The move has become necessary due to the continuous increase in the volume of water flowing from the north into the dam since four of the 12 spill-ways were opened on Monday.
The volume of water in the dam, which stood at 277 feet when it was first opened on Monday, is said to have increased to 277.27 by yesterday, which is less than one foot away from the maximum volume of 278 feet.
The Chief Executive Officer of the VRA, Mr Kweku Awortwi, who was at the dam site on Monday to sign the Order of Operation before the first spill-way could be opened, gave the assurance that engineers of the authority were on high alert to ensure that the dam did not lose too much water and also to see to it that flooding did not occur.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Head of the Public Relations Unit of the VRA, Mrs Gertrude Koomson, said the current large inflow of water to the dam was due to the fact that more water was flowing from both the White Volta and Black Volta, as well as rivers Oti and Afram, which are currently overflowing their banks.
She said the effect of the flooding up north was being felt on the lake now because when there was flooding in those areas, it took about four weeks for its effect to be felt.
She maintained that the 20,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per second being spilled presently was within range and it would, therefore, not cause any havoc to inhabitants living downstream.
“People downstream the dam could be affected if the volume is increased to 50,000 cubic feet per second,” she indicated.
In a related development, personnel of the Rapid Response Unit of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) have embarked on a mock rescue operation down stream the lake in readiness for any eventuality.

NHIA holds stakeholder forum on capitation (Graphic Business)

2010-11-02T03:25:00.000-07:00

THE National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is to pilot what it terms a per capita provider payment system as part of a process of improving payment systems under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The per capita payment method, when it begins will only be used for primary care - non specialist out-patient’s services. Specialist referral and in-patient care will continue to be paid for by using the already existing Ghana Diagnostic Related Groups (G-DRG) with the fee for service and medicines payment method.
The proposed per capita payments, which is also referred to as capitation or money per person per period, involves advance payments to primary care service providers of a calculated and agreed amount of money per client per period.
The amount transferred is calculated based on prior research into utilisation rates and costs projected over a period of time and subject to periodic reviews and adjustments.
To ensure success of the project, a forum on the capitation proposals for major stakeholders in the NHIS has taken place at the National Insurance Commission (NIC) in Accra. It was attended by delegates from the Community Practice Pharmacists Association, Private Medical and Dental Practitioners Association, and Private Midwives and Maternity Homes Association.
The forum was to provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to review, question, and provide constructive suggestions on the proposals before they were finalised, piloted and evaluated.
The Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Professor Irene Agyepong, who is also chair of the Provider Payment Systems Reform Committee, outlined the reform objectives and explained the merits of the proposals to the participants.
She said the use of per capita payments for primary care under the NHIS is being proposed to address some of the observed shortcomings of the current provider payment system.
Under the current system, payment for services provided to National Health Insurance clients at all levels is done after service is provided. The payments are based on claims submitted by service providers using the G-DRG rates for services and Fee for Service (FFS) for medicines.
Capitation is expected to achieve the following:
* Improve cost containment
* Control cost escalation by sharing financial risk between schemes, providers and subscribers
* Introduce managed competition for providers and choice for patients as a way of increasing the responsiveness of the health system.
* Improve efficiency through more rational use of resources.
* Correct some imbalances created by the Ghana Drug Related Groupings (G-DRG) such as OPD supplier-induced demand where clients may be requested to make unnecessary visits because they are a condition for reimbursement under the DRG
* Simplify claims processing
* Address difficulties in forecasting and budgeting
Under the capitation proposals being developed indicated that each National Health Insurance subscriber would indicate his preferred primary-care provider (PPP). The choice of preferred primary-care provider by the subscriber will be voluntary. The preferred primary care service provider takes on the responsibility of managing the primary healthcare needs of the clients, including assisting them to adopt better lifestyles and other preventive measures to stay healthy.
On a monthly basis, an agreed amount of money would be advanced to the selected PPP on behalf of the client to provide for the agreed primary health care needs. It is expected that under capitation portability will be maintained. Every six months a subscriber could switch from one provider to another and payments will be redirected accordingly.
It came `out during the meeting that portability would still be practised but with clear regulations, guidelines and procedures. Subscribers can change their preferred primary-care provider (PPP) if they want to, for example if they were not satisfied with the services provided, or if they had moved and want a PPP nearer to them.
However, is was explained that such routine changes of PPP could only be done every six months but if not controlled, the administrative burden of more frequent changes of PPP on a routine basis will be unmanageable. However, in special or exceptional cases, such as a subscriber moving permanently to a totally different district or region, arrangements could be made to change the PPP in-between the six months period. In such non-emergency cases, the scheme will have to be notified for the subscriber to be temporarily attached to a facility. In all emergency cases, subscribers can be treated by the nearest qualified service provider and reimbursement will be done using G-DRG, and FFS for medicines.
It is clear that since capitation ties a subscriber down to one service provider for at least six months, it would eliminate the situation where a subscriber could visit three different service providers within a short period of time, sometimes as short as a day or two and obtain three different sets of medicines or services for the same condition.
Under the proposals, tariffs for services and medicines for primary care will be combined under a single capitated payment.
A model of group practice where prescribers, dispensers and laboratories work together as a PPP was discussed at the forum and providers were asked to seriously consider the possibilities under such a proposal. Being part of a group PPP would also be a viable option for physicians who want to do office practice part-time rather than provide comprehensive primary care services full-time.
The chief executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah, reiterated the advantages of capitation and the possibilities for using the provider competition generated by open enrolment of clients as a lever for improvements in quality of care.

VRA opens 4 spill-gates of dam

2010-11-02T02:47:00.000-07:00

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) yesterday opened four of its 12 spill-gates to allow 10,000 cubic feet of water per second to flow out of the Akosombo Dam.
The exercise, which is expected to continue for about eight days, will be constantly monitored against further havoc in areas along the Volta river which are already inundated with floods.
It is to continue till the volume of water in the dam reaches an appreciable level.
The volume of water in the dam at the time of the spill was 277 feet, which was only a feet below the maximum volume of 278 feet.
Present at the site were top officials of the VRA, the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the police and military personnel, members of the Eastern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), officials of the Asuogyaman District Assembly and other opinion leaders.
Security to the dam site was tight as people from the Akosombo township and surrounding areas who considered the exercise as a lifetime experience thronged to the gate to witness from afar. Among the crowd which were prevented from entering the dam were teachers and students of the Akosombo International School who came in buses and on foot.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Executive of the VRA, Mr Kweku Awortwi said they were not expecting any major incidence of flooding because the flow of water was gradual. However, some NADMO officials who spoke to the Daily Graphic maintained that the actual effect could only be assessed days after the spill when the water had flowed to tributaries of the Volta Lake.
Mr Awortwi said the volume of spill could be increased to 20,000 cubic feet today if more water flowed into the dam from upstream.
Mr Awortwi said the effect of the spill from the Akosombo Dam would be minimised because the Kpong Dam was spilled a day before to reduce pressure from the main dam at Akosombo.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and the Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, Mr Johnson Ehiakpor, said the communities around the lake had been sensitised to prevent any disaster should flooding occur.
The gave an assurance that relief items and safe havens had been made available for any eventuality.

GCB records impressive performance

2010-11-02T02:40:00.000-07:00

Monday, November 1, 2010

THE overall performance of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) in the third quarter of the year indicated an impressive improvement over the second quarter with sustained revenue momentum and enhanced profitability.
For the nine-month period ending September, the bank recorded a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of GH¢53 million as against GH¢50 million the same period last year, representing an increase of six per cent.
Income for the period to September 2010 was GH¢251.4 million, compared to GH¢169.9 million for the same period last year which represented a growth of 48 per cent; a situation the bank said was the result of improved balance sheet management and optimising risk return trade-offs.
At its third quarter 2010 interim results briefing and institutional investors meeting held at the bank’s headquarters in Accra on Friday, the Managing Director (MD) of the GCB, Mr Simeon Donoo, said the bank was progressing.
Presenting highlights of the bank’s performance, Mr Donoo said “income is resilient, impairment charges are in line with expectations, there is slow down in cost run rate as well as improved balance sheet and capital management”.
He reiterated that the bank’s expectation of an improved overall performance was unchanged, adding “We expect the interest rate easing cycle to continue, albeit at a slower pace as efforts are made to stimulate the economy”.
Mr Donoo indicated that business volume growth was expected to be strongest in the last quarter of the year. Revenue, however, was forecast to grow at a relatively slower pace due to the expectations of a decrease in operating margins in line with the general reduction in money market rates and as a result of short-term shifts in the portfolio.
A statement presented to journalists at the programme indicated that operating costs of GH¢126.5 million for the nine months were 20 per cent higher that the GH¢ 105.6 million for what was recorded for the same period a year ago.
“These cost are impacted by one-off costs relating to prior years. Despite this increase in costs the bank recorded an improvement in its operating efficiency with a cost income ration of 50 per cent compared to 62 per cent for the same period last year”, it stated.
It said impairments were in line with expectations, held relatively flat during the quarter, adding that it resulted in an annualised impairment charge of nine per cent versus 14 per cent in June 2010.
“It reflects the increased focus on improving the quality of the loan book. Total impairment charge for the nine months was GH¢71.9 million as against GH¢9.9 million during the third quarter of 2009”, the statement pointed out.
According to the statement, the GCB’s total assets increased by four per cent to GH¢1.99 billion as against GH¢1.92 billion in December 2009, driven by a 12 per cent growth in customer deposits to GH¢1.41 billion compared to GH¢1.26 billion in December 2009.
The growth was said to have come from current and savings account products which increased by 13 per cent over the period.

Doctors advised to prepare for oil, gas cases

2010-10-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

A member of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Board, Mr Kyeretwie Opoku, has stated that in spite of the country’s desire to get more Ghanaians employed in the petroleum industry, the country lacked such calibre of personnel.
He said that was partly due to the fact that about 20 years ago, when the GNPC indicated that there was the possibility of the country striking oil in commercial quantities in the near future, the country did not take it seriously and, therefore, did not prepare for it.
Mr Opoku was speaking at the 2nd annual general meeting of the Ghana Association of Quasi-government Health Institutions (GAQHI) in Accra on Wednesday. The theme for the event was: “Emerging Oil and Gas Industry: The role of Quasi Government Health Institutions”.
Mr Opoku took the opportunity to advise members of the association to adequately equip themselves on how to handle health conditions which were peculiar to the oil and gas industry in order not to be found wanting.
He, however, said the situation was not hopeless since the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and other institutions were currently training people to work in the industry.
He noted that until that time, organisations such as Tullow Oil and Kosmos Energy, which were operating in the country would continue to rely on the expertise of foreign nationals.
Mr Opoku said there was the possibility of an intensification of the migration pattern to places where there was oil but that also had its attendant health implications.
He also touched on the emergence of slums along the coast, a larger influx of foreign nationals with different lifestyles and health conditions, work-related stress and change of diet from local foods to processed ones, which was likely to have an effect on the health of Ghanaians who would be working on the oil rigs.
For his part, the Director of Human Resource at the Ministry of Health (MoH), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, advised the doctors that in addition to caring for the health needs of people, they should also consider promoting environmental cleanliness.
He also urged them to specialise in appropriate areas such as occupational health and safety now that the country was getting ready to enter the oil and gas industry.
The President of GAQHI, Dr E. Kofi Asiedu, expressed the hope that the Occupational Health and Safety Bill which was receiving comments from various stakeholders would be laid before parliament for consideration and approval.
He said it was a major concern to the association since most of its members such as the health facilities of Anglogold Ashanti, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and the Volta River Authority had environmental and health challenges.
The chairman for the occasion, Dr A. B Quainoo, commended members of the association for coming up at long last and encouraged them to rise up to the occasion.
Quasi-government health institutions include Cocoa Clinic, Police Hospital, Military Hospital and the Trust Hospital and other health facilities run by government institutions..

BRING ON NDC, NPP OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES-P.V Obeng suggests; Apraku, Nduom agree (Front Page)

2010-10-27T02:11:00.000-07:00

RIVAL parties across the political divide yesterday agreed on the inclusion of all political parties on the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the formulation of a common development agenda for the country.
The suggestion, which was made by the Chairman of the NDPC, Mr P. V. Obeng, received instant endorsement from Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku and Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP), respectively.
Canvassing the view at a forum organised by the Institute for Progressive Research and Advocacy (IPRA), the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel and Joy FM in Accra yesterday, Mr Obeng said to ensure that long-term national development plans were sustained, all political parties should be allowed to “co-author and co-own” those long-term plans that would emanate from the commission.
He condemned the lack of continuity of national programmes and projects, adding that “if all political parties are allowed to make inputs into the national agenda, even while outside office, those parties will readily continue from where others leave”.
Speaking on the topic, “Perspective on Building a National Development Agenda”, Mr Obeng stated that such an all inclusive commission would help eliminate areas of friction, pointing out that if the political parties had faith in such plans, they would defend and sustain them.
Reacting to the suggestion, Dr Apraku described Mr Obeng’s idea as an excellent one.
He told the Daily Graphic that it was not the best for the nation to go back and forth with its national development policy, adding that what was happening on the educational front should let every Ghanaian realise that there was a lack of national consensus.
For his part, Dr Nduom, who is a former Chairman of the NDPC, agreed with Mr Obeng but went further to suggest that more could be achieved if the commission was made independent under the Constitution, with equally independent and well-resourced personnel to come up with a well-prepared long-term development programme.
He told the Daily Graphic that the implementation of policies had always been a challenge in the country, adding that the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution already provided what the nation’s vision should be and required that the President should, on a regular basis, tell the people what had been achieved.
At the forum, the Director of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Paul Asimenu, said there already existed a framework to ensure participation by all in national development, as contained in the Constitution under the Directive Principles of State Policy.
He said there were antecedents to support that point and mentioned a policy dialogue in the 1990s which led to economic liberalisation, the introduction of the Peoples’ Assembly concept, as well as the process by which annual budgets presented by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning had inputs from groups and individuals.
He touched on the lack of tolerance for opposing views and the use of abusive language which, to him, did not encourage national consensus building.
Mr Asimenu called for an effective waste management system throughout the country so that the huge sums of money spent annually on the treatment of diseases could be used for development.
In his contribution, Dr Kwaku A. Danso of the Ghana Leadership Council (GLU) defined national agenda as a “vision that sets a policy that benefits the greatest number of citizens, cuts across all boundaries of race, ethnicity and generations and that is seen to be selfless”.
He explained that the leadership of the nation was responsible for setting an agenda for the country through the vision statements usually crowded in speeches and party manifesto.
Touching on the characteristics of a National Development Agenda, Dr Danso said it must be non-partisan in nature, long lasting, cut across all generations, set new standards, benefit the largest number or percentage of people and be seen as selfless.

Chinese businessman under arrest— Dealing in unregistered, expired drugs

2010-10-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

A 52-year-old Chinese, Wang Dawei, has been arrested by the police for activities which the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) says pose serious threat to public health and safety.
The suspect, who is the owner of Tasly Company Limited and Qunloon Ghana Limited, both Chinese companies based at East Legon in Accra, is alleged to be repackaging expired drugs and selling them and unregistered medicine to the public.
He is being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, but currently on bail to report to the police daily.
The Communications Manager of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), Mr James Y. Lartey, told the Daily Graphic that initial police investigations revealed that the suspect had been operating in the country since 2004.
A statement on the issue signed by the Chief Executive of FDB, Dr Stephen K. Opuni, earlier yesterday indicated that unregistered products allegedly being imported and distributed by Qunloon included Male Nourishing Oral Liquid, Roma Capsules, Femicare and Araba Ba Zhen Pills II.
In addition, the company was alleged to be distributing unregistered antimalarial tablets — Qunloomar 20/120, Qunloomar Paediatric 20/120, Qunmatab Paediatric and Qunmatab.
The other company, Tasly Company Limited, also allegedly deals in products which have not been registered by the Food and Drugs Board and the products include Bee Pollen Soap II, Honey-Pollen Soap II, Shusha Pads-Night and Shusha Pad-Daily.
“Qunloon Gh Ltd is repackaging expired medicines and affixing new expiry dates on them; forging FDB registration number on products that have not been registered with the FDB; and flouting the labelling requirements of Ghana (LI1451) by labelling its products only in Chinese without any English translation. Some of its products have no inscription at all on the primary package,” it stated.
The FDB said the activities of the companies came to its notice through its post-market surveillance activities and cautioned the general public that since the listed products had not been tested and given approval by the FDB, their safety, efficacy and quality could not be guaranteed.
It reminded the general public that the action of importing, selling and supplying medical devices and herbal medicinal products without registering them with the FDB flouted Section 18 of the Food and Drugs Law, PNDCL 305B, which states that “No person shall manufacture, prepare, sell, supply, export or import into Ghana any drug, cosmetic, medical device or household chemical unless the article has been registered with the Food and Drugs Board....”
“The Food and Drugs Board has, meanwhile, directed Tasly Co Ltd and Qunloon Gh Ltd to halt the importation, distribution, supply, sale and usage of such unregistered products and advises anyone who has purchased such products from them or any other distributor or importer to return them since the FDB will not deal kindly with anyone found dealing in such unregistered products,” it added.
The FDB, in pursuance of its mandate, directed that all companies or individuals who were either using, importing or supplying those unregistered products should immediately halt the practice and seek further directives from the FDB.

Wellcome Trust supports research in Africa

2010-10-24T05:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 23, 2010

WELLCOME Trust, a UK-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) has donated five million pounds to research institutions in six West and East African countries to develop research careers for post doctoral scientists.
Countries to benefit from the funding which will spread over the next five years are Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Chad, Uganda, and Tanzania. To ensure efficient use of the fund, scientists in those countries have formed a partnership known as Afrique One.
This was made known at a press briefing organised as part of the 3rd Planning and Evaluation Workshop organised by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research in collaboration with “One Health” consortium.
The Consortium, funded by the Wellcome Trust (UK), aims to build a critical mass of sustainable local research and capacity across Africa, through strengthening African universities and research institutions and promoting the “One Health” concept.
The press briefing, according to the organisers was to build the capacity of media personnel on the One Health concept which is a co-operation between human and animal health to strengthen health systems.
In his remarks, the Head of Bacteriology Department of the Noguchi Memorial Institute on Medical Research, Dr Kwasi Addo, said many diseases which affected humans could be prevented if animal health was taken seriously.
He explained that many of the diseases which affected human beings had links with animals and so if animals were taken care of properly, they could be prevented from getting sick and cited cases such as mad cow disease, Avian Influenza (bird flu), rabies, and bovine TB.
Dr Addo touched on the need for effective collaboration between medical doctors and veterinary doctors to ensure effective disease prevention.
The Director of Afrique One, Professor Bassirou Bonfoh, indicated that the problem most African institutions faced was brain drain and therefore, made it difficult to build careers of African scientists at post doctoral level.
He expressed the hope that the Afrique One project would help many of the scientists on the continent to benefit from the development of the continent.
Professor Brian Perry of the Scientific Advisory Board, Afrique One Consortium, said the consortium had a mix of institutions and scientists from both Anglophone and Francophone Africa, who were now working together to raise the credibility of their organisations, of the science that they were engaged in and of human resources they were nurturing.
He explained that the training being offered by Wellcome Trust, will provide a fundamental basis to develop the capacity to manage and administer research funding.
For his part, Professor Jacob Zinsstag who was described as a northern partner, said Afrique One brought together seven public health, veterinary and wildlife institutions from West and East Africa to build up research capacity for the betterment of human and animal health as well as welfare adding that “A principal foundation of Afrique One’s work is to work closer between doctors, veterinarians and wildlife specialists”.

Children to be immunised against measles

2010-10-24T05:20:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 22, 2010
CHILDREN between nine months and five years throughout the country will be immunised against measles from November 3 to November 6, 2010 under the National Campaign Against Measles.
Children within that age group will also be given Vitamin A capsules to make them strong and immune against certain diseases.
Measles is a dangerous disease, which kills children. It is caused by a small germ called the measles virus.
Signs and symptoms of measles include fever, skin rashes, runny nose and cough. Some complications of the disease are diarrhoea, brain damage, pneumonia, eye infection/blindness, and sores in the mouth. If not well treated, the disease could also lead to the death of an affected child.
As part of the campaign, the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate has organised a stakeholders’ meeting to solicit support for successful exercise in the region.
Participants were media personnel and representatives of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Health Service, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Police Service, Coalition of NGOs in Health, National Association of Private Schools, National Population Council and the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC).
Addressing the participants, the Greater Accra Regional Deputy Director in charge of Public Health, Dr Edward Antwi, said during the period, immunisation centres would be created within the communities, where children could be sent for the vaccines, adding that the vaccine was the same as the one which had been used over the years and proven to be safe.
He said a total of 657,352 children were expected to be immunised during the period and advised parents to send their children to immunisations centres for the vaccination irrespective of whether they had received previous doses or not.
In her presentation, the Head of Health Promotion Unit of the Regional Health Directorate, Ms Honesty Numetu, said mass measles campaigns were organised each year to vaccinate large numbers of children within a short period to prevent measles outbreaks and also break transmission, if any.
She said during the period, measles vaccination was given as an injection on the child’s left upper arm by a trained health worker.
Ms Numetu said to ensure its safety, a new vaccine needle and syringe would be used for every child and, thereafter, destroyed automatically.
She, however, said some children might react to the vaccine and some of the common reactions included fever, pain at the site of the injection, redness and swelling at the site of the injection and rashes.
She, therefore, advised parents to send any child who presented any of such symptoms to the nearest health facility for proper assessment and management.

VRA monitors water level in Volta Lake

2010-10-21T08:10:00.000-07:00

THE Volta River Authority (VRA) says it is monitoring the daily inflows of water into the Volta Lake for the next five to 10 days before a definite decision on spillage could be taken.
It noted that the country was not far from the usual annual dry season. For that reason, it was important the situation was looked at carefully in order not to plunge the lake into shortage of water which would affect energy supply.
At a press briefing on the issue in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VRA, Mr Kweku Awortwi, said the authority was also concerned about the large number of people who might be affected by the spill.
The head water level at the Akosombo Dam for yesterday, October 20, 2010, was 275.15 feet and the change in level as of Tuesday, October 19 was 0.15 feet as against 0.20 feet on the previous day. However, the change in level as of Thursday, October 14, was 0.30 feet.
He, however, said if the unusual rate of inflows into the lake continued, the authority would have no option but to spill.
Mr Awortwi indicated that, “Even though the maximum head water level at Akosombo is 278 feet (84.73 metres), we are still cautious about the present flow into the dam. VRA would, therefore, ensure that when it becomes necessary, a regulated amount of excess water would be released from the dam”.
In an answer to a question, a Deputy CEO, Mr Kirk Koffi, said the last time the authority faced a similar situation was in 1991.
He explained that at the time, the rise in water level occurred at the start of the rainy season and so the decision to spill was not difficult to take, since more rains were expected.
In a release issued by the Public Relations Unit of the VRA and signed by the Head of the unit, Mrs Gertrude Koomson, it said following the unusual rate of inflow into the Akosombo Lake this year, communities around the perimeter of the Volta Lake (upstream of Akosombo Dam) might experience some flooding.
It named some of the districts likely to be affected as West Gonja, East Gonja and Nanumba in the Northern Region, Nkwanta, Hohoe, Krachi, Jasikan and Kpando in the Volta Region, as well as Kintampo, Atebubu and Sene in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The remaining districts are Sekyere East and Asante-Akyem North in the Ashanti Region, Kwahu South, Fanteakwa and Afram Plains in the Eastern Region.
The list of districts in which some communities downstream are likely to be affected are Manya Krobo, Asuogyaman in the Eastern Region, Adidome, Sogakope and Keta in the Volta Region and Dangme West and East in the Greater Accra Region.
The statement indicated that VRA, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), district assemblies and other relevant stakeholders, was working together to ensure an effective management of the situation.