Monday, May 24, 2010
THREE more officials of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) have been dismissed, while five others have been interdicted, for their alleged involvement in fraudulent activities.
The dismissed officials are Yakubu Suhununu, the scheme accountant of the Nanumba North District Mutual District Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS); Bertraund Tanefa Gbemu of the Akuapem South DMHIS and Rockson Bonnie, the scheme manager of the Sekyere West DMHIS.
Those interdicted are Emmanuel Avinu, scheme manager; Charles Ewudzie, claims manager, and John Kwaku Ahadzie, scheme accountant, all of the Ketu DMHIS.
The rest are Michael Opoku, the scheme accountant, and Felix Yankyera Donkor, the claims manager, both of the Sekyere West DMHIS.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester Mensah, who made this known at a workshop in Accra, said the dismissal and interdiction of the officials were done after financial and clinical audits of the operations of the health insurance schemes in March 2010.
The latest action brings to 32 the number of NHIA officials who have either been dismissed or interdicted as a result of their alleged involvement in fraudulent activities which were uncovered through clinical auditing conducted by a special audit team set up by the authority late last year. A statement signed by the Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the NHIA, Mr Eric Ametor-Quarmyne, to throw more light on the dismissals and interdiction explained that Suhununu’s dismissal followed investigations conducted into the operations of the scheme which established fraud.
In Gbemu’s case, it indicated that she was found to have misappropriated GH¢10,879, being premiums she collected from subscribers for the period January 2009 to February 2010 at the Aburi sub-office of the Akuapem South DMHIS.
According to the statement, Bonnie was summarily dismissed for failing to respond to a query following a claims audit conducted on the Sekyere West DMHIS between January 27, 2010 and February 4, 2010.
“The dismissal letters cited various clauses of the NHIA’s staff conditions of service in sanctioning the affected officials. Yakubu Suhununu and Rockson Bonnie failed to respond to queries issued to them to explain themselves when they were given the opportunity to do so,” it stated.
Regarding the three scheme officials of the Ketu DMHIS, their interdiction letters stated that they were ”interdicted from the Ketu DMHIS with effect from Monday, May 17, 2010, in order for investigations to be carried out into the case in a fair and uninterrupted manner”.
The affected had, therefore, been instructed to hand over the running of the scheme and any scheme property in their possession to the Volta Regional Manager.
The decision to interdict them followed revelations of financial and clinical audits carried out on the operations of the Ketu DMHIS which resulted in the recovery of some GH¢982,000, being fraudulent claims, from various service providers in the district.
The audits also established that a fictitious claim of GH¢51,000 was credited to the account of the St Anthony Hospital by the scheme accountant.
The statement said further investigations revealed that the hospital did not submit any such claim to the scheme.
The audit also established that, since April 2008, the scheme had completely failed to vet claims submitted to it by service providers in the district.
“The clinical and financial audit reports indicted the management of the scheme for their omissions, commissions, and managerial incompetence for the lapses uncovered by the audit teams,” it said.
Meanwhile, the Volta Regional Manager of the NHIA has been directed to assume responsibility for the operations of the scheme in the interim, while a final determination is made on their case.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
NHIS results in increased hospital attendance-study
THE implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has led to significant increase in attendance to health facilities without a corresponding improvement in health infrastructure, equipment and human resource.
The situation is said to have resulted in extra workload for health professional, over-stressed staff, excessive pressure on existing amenities and reduced attention to patients.
These came out at a dissemination workshop in Accra yesterday on the findings of a research on "Balancing Access with Quality Healthcare: An Assessment of NHIS in Ghana (2004-2008), which was conducted by SEND-Ghana. Data was collected in 50 districts the Upper East, Upper West, Northern and the Greater Accra regions.
As part of the work, the researchers recommend the need for the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to pay serious attention to the development of existing health facilities, improve upon human resource situation and redistribute health personnel to undeserved and over-burdened communities.
SEND-Ghana is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with the mission to "work to promote good governance and equality of women and men in Ghana. Its work on the NHIS had the support of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), among other stakeholders.
The study indicated that the situation of health facilities in some of the regions was even more serious in view of the fact that attendance of patients had increased considerably over the years while the numerical strength of health professionals on the other hand had reduced.
It cited the case of the Northern Region where the number of medical doctors reduced from 32 to 26 between 2006 and 2008 while NHIS membership increased from 281,775 to 828,805.
"In general, more than three quarters of accredited health care facilities (about 76 per cent) covered by this study perceived the NHIS to have negative effect on quality health care delivery", it stated.
In addition, 73 per cent of accredited health facilities indicated that the NHIS affected the quality of medicines health providers prescribed for clients .
To buttress their point, those health facilities cited high market prices of some medicines, delayed claims reimbursement and exclusion of some effective drugs from the medicines list as the reasons.
The report also came out that more than half of the accredited health facilities (about 63 per cent) indicated that the NHIS impacted negatively on attention health professionals provided for clients.
"Out of this number, nearly 79 per cent pointed out that NHIS members spent longer waiting time due to the cumbersome documentation and large patient attendance. The remaining 21 per cent stated that most NHIS clients are not given in-patients attention due to huge attendance coupled with delayed payment arrangement", the report indicated.
The Dean of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Professor Fred Binka who reviewed the report said there was the need for the NHIA to know how much money it was receiving each year to enable it to plan accordingly.
He also stated it was important for the NHIA to identify how many people renewed their registration to the scheme after the initial registration and also categorise the registered members according to gender, core poor (indigents), very poor, poor, middle income, rich and the very rich for researchers to know how many members of each of the groups had been covered by the scheme.
In his welcoming address, the Country Director of SEND-Ghana, Mr Samuel Zan Akologo said the research was an independent assessment on the NHIS between 2004 and 2008 and took the opportunity to express his gratitude to all those who helped to make the work a success.
Mr Akologo touched on delays in issuance of identification cards to subscribers, which he pointed out prevented some people who had registered from accessing the facilities.
Statements were made by the Focal Person on NHIS at the MoH, Dr Afisa Zakaria and the Director of Research at the NHIA, Mr O.B Acheampong. The two answered questions from participants and members of the media mostly on the issue of claim reimbursement to service providers.
They indicated that both the MoH and the NHIA were doing everything possible to improve on the NHIS and to also ensure that the scheme was sustained.
The chairperson for the occasion, Dr Sylvia Annie-Akwetey, who is also the Director of Policy Planning at the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), expressed the hope that the study could help towards the improvement of the country's health care system to the benefit of Ghanaians, especially people living with HIV (PLHIV).
The situation is said to have resulted in extra workload for health professional, over-stressed staff, excessive pressure on existing amenities and reduced attention to patients.
These came out at a dissemination workshop in Accra yesterday on the findings of a research on "Balancing Access with Quality Healthcare: An Assessment of NHIS in Ghana (2004-2008), which was conducted by SEND-Ghana. Data was collected in 50 districts the Upper East, Upper West, Northern and the Greater Accra regions.
As part of the work, the researchers recommend the need for the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to pay serious attention to the development of existing health facilities, improve upon human resource situation and redistribute health personnel to undeserved and over-burdened communities.
SEND-Ghana is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) with the mission to "work to promote good governance and equality of women and men in Ghana. Its work on the NHIS had the support of the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), among other stakeholders.
The study indicated that the situation of health facilities in some of the regions was even more serious in view of the fact that attendance of patients had increased considerably over the years while the numerical strength of health professionals on the other hand had reduced.
It cited the case of the Northern Region where the number of medical doctors reduced from 32 to 26 between 2006 and 2008 while NHIS membership increased from 281,775 to 828,805.
"In general, more than three quarters of accredited health care facilities (about 76 per cent) covered by this study perceived the NHIS to have negative effect on quality health care delivery", it stated.
In addition, 73 per cent of accredited health facilities indicated that the NHIS affected the quality of medicines health providers prescribed for clients .
To buttress their point, those health facilities cited high market prices of some medicines, delayed claims reimbursement and exclusion of some effective drugs from the medicines list as the reasons.
The report also came out that more than half of the accredited health facilities (about 63 per cent) indicated that the NHIS impacted negatively on attention health professionals provided for clients.
"Out of this number, nearly 79 per cent pointed out that NHIS members spent longer waiting time due to the cumbersome documentation and large patient attendance. The remaining 21 per cent stated that most NHIS clients are not given in-patients attention due to huge attendance coupled with delayed payment arrangement", the report indicated.
The Dean of the School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Professor Fred Binka who reviewed the report said there was the need for the NHIA to know how much money it was receiving each year to enable it to plan accordingly.
He also stated it was important for the NHIA to identify how many people renewed their registration to the scheme after the initial registration and also categorise the registered members according to gender, core poor (indigents), very poor, poor, middle income, rich and the very rich for researchers to know how many members of each of the groups had been covered by the scheme.
In his welcoming address, the Country Director of SEND-Ghana, Mr Samuel Zan Akologo said the research was an independent assessment on the NHIS between 2004 and 2008 and took the opportunity to express his gratitude to all those who helped to make the work a success.
Mr Akologo touched on delays in issuance of identification cards to subscribers, which he pointed out prevented some people who had registered from accessing the facilities.
Statements were made by the Focal Person on NHIS at the MoH, Dr Afisa Zakaria and the Director of Research at the NHIA, Mr O.B Acheampong. The two answered questions from participants and members of the media mostly on the issue of claim reimbursement to service providers.
They indicated that both the MoH and the NHIA were doing everything possible to improve on the NHIS and to also ensure that the scheme was sustained.
The chairperson for the occasion, Dr Sylvia Annie-Akwetey, who is also the Director of Policy Planning at the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), expressed the hope that the study could help towards the improvement of the country's health care system to the benefit of Ghanaians, especially people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Teleom monitoring system will check fraud-Iddrisu
THE decision to introduce a monitoring system in telecommunication operations is not to encroach on the privacy of consumers but to check fraud, says the Minister of Communications, Mr Haruna Iddrissu.
Mr Iddrissu maintained that he had heard some people complain about the government’s decision to introduce the monitoring system and pointed out that the exercise was meant to check any mobile phone operator who might indulge in fraud.
Speaking at the this year’s commemoration of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and Consumer Forum in Accra yesterday, he explained that it was to detect international calls which were fraudulently made to look like local calls by some operators to enable them to cheat the system.
The theme for the occasion was: Improving ICT Service Together for a Better Ghana”.
As part of the event, a forum for representatives of consumer groups, the media, and the general public was also organised where representatives of all the six telecommunication companies in the country made statements and also answered questions from the public.
The companies were TiGO, Zain, MTN, Glo, Kasapa and Vodafone. The Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Bernard A. Forson, also had some questions to answer.
Many of the questions bordered on the performance of the telecommunication service providers and the role of the NCA and the individual providers in getting things done right.
In addition, Mr Iddrissu took the opportunity to urge the NCA to publish the quality of service of the individual phone operators to enable the public to know which one was performing better. He challenged operators in the industry to improve the services being provided to the Ghanaian consumer.
On access to information communication and technology (ICT) in educational institutions, the Communications Minister said the government would by next year ensure that all the 38 colleges of education in the country were connected to the Internet.
In his welcoming address, the Chairman of the board of the NCA, Mr Kofi Totobi Quakyi, said in spite of the fact that Ghana had moved higher in the area of accessing Information and Communication Technology as compared to other countries, there still existed gaps, especially in the rural areas.
He pointed out that ICT was playing a significant role in the lives of peoples the world over adding that it was helping to connect millions who would have hitherto remained isolated.
Mr Quakyi explained that the objective of the celebration, which was set aside by the UN was to stimulate discussion on the way forward, to empower majority of the people on ICT use and among others.
In a speech read on his behalf on the occasion, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Kim Moon, said in today’s world, telecommunications were more than just a basic service, they were means to promote development, improve society and save lives, adding that “This will be all the more true in the world of tomorrow”.
He pointed out that the importance of telecommunications was on display in the wake of the earth quake which devastated Haiti earlier this year.
Communications technologies, the UN boss said, were used to co-ordinate, optimise resources and provide desperately sought information about the victims.
Mr Iddrissu maintained that he had heard some people complain about the government’s decision to introduce the monitoring system and pointed out that the exercise was meant to check any mobile phone operator who might indulge in fraud.
Speaking at the this year’s commemoration of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and Consumer Forum in Accra yesterday, he explained that it was to detect international calls which were fraudulently made to look like local calls by some operators to enable them to cheat the system.
The theme for the occasion was: Improving ICT Service Together for a Better Ghana”.
As part of the event, a forum for representatives of consumer groups, the media, and the general public was also organised where representatives of all the six telecommunication companies in the country made statements and also answered questions from the public.
The companies were TiGO, Zain, MTN, Glo, Kasapa and Vodafone. The Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mr Bernard A. Forson, also had some questions to answer.
Many of the questions bordered on the performance of the telecommunication service providers and the role of the NCA and the individual providers in getting things done right.
In addition, Mr Iddrissu took the opportunity to urge the NCA to publish the quality of service of the individual phone operators to enable the public to know which one was performing better. He challenged operators in the industry to improve the services being provided to the Ghanaian consumer.
On access to information communication and technology (ICT) in educational institutions, the Communications Minister said the government would by next year ensure that all the 38 colleges of education in the country were connected to the Internet.
In his welcoming address, the Chairman of the board of the NCA, Mr Kofi Totobi Quakyi, said in spite of the fact that Ghana had moved higher in the area of accessing Information and Communication Technology as compared to other countries, there still existed gaps, especially in the rural areas.
He pointed out that ICT was playing a significant role in the lives of peoples the world over adding that it was helping to connect millions who would have hitherto remained isolated.
Mr Quakyi explained that the objective of the celebration, which was set aside by the UN was to stimulate discussion on the way forward, to empower majority of the people on ICT use and among others.
In a speech read on his behalf on the occasion, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Kim Moon, said in today’s world, telecommunications were more than just a basic service, they were means to promote development, improve society and save lives, adding that “This will be all the more true in the world of tomorrow”.
He pointed out that the importance of telecommunications was on display in the wake of the earth quake which devastated Haiti earlier this year.
Communications technologies, the UN boss said, were used to co-ordinate, optimise resources and provide desperately sought information about the victims.
Seek alternative livelihood to tobacco growing - WHO (Graphic Business)
GHANA recently hosted a three-day international conference in Accra with the view of developing strategies on alternative livelihoods to tobacco growing.
The reason for the change is to protect the environment and the health of persons in the production and manufacturing of tobacco products.
About 30 participants from 18 WHO-member countries attended the meeting, dubbed the “Second Working Group Meeting on Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)”.
The FCTC Working Groups at the meeting in Accra, were tasked to fine-tune techniques to get tobacco growers to make a livelihood for themselves by growing alternative crops.
That involved how governments could support farmers and industries to produce healthy products even as they preserved the environment.
The Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, said
Some of the issues addressed at the conference related to articles 17 and 18 of the convention which he described as complex.
The issues were complex because they were core to how governments could support farmers and industries to produce healthy products even as well as preserved the environment in which they lived. Producing tobacco and its products have been a way of life for many families, despite the huge and negative impact it has on health and the environment.
Tobacco growing has a number of significant negative impacts on farmers, as it worsened poverty, and relies heavily on child and bonded labour. This is a situation which had trapped many farming families in cycles of debt and poverty, while increasing the vulnerability of the rural poor.
Tobacco farming also has a serious and negative environmental impact, as it caused pollution, soil degradation and deforestation, thereby contributing to adverse climate change and loss in biodiversity.
Many tobacco farmers will like to switch to alternatives, but they often faced with challenges such as access to credits, markets, technical assistance, inputs and skills.
The tobacco industry had for a long time used farmers to slow down ratification and implementation of the WHO FCTC even though the farmers did not really benefit from their hard work and the big profits of the tobacco industry.
The Head of the Convention Secretariat, WHO Framework on Tobacco Control, Dr Haik Nilogosian, at the workshop said the WHO FCTC was the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and expressed the hope that the participants would come up with some workable recommendations to the issue of tobacco cultivation which was harmful to the farmers and the environment.
With the conference over it is important for the Ghanaian authorities to take proper interest in the issues raised and how best to handle them.
Over the last few years, British American Tobacco (BAT) Ghana has shut down its factories in Takoradi, the country has witnessed the sheer frustration of former tobacco growers who were trained and financially assisted to cultivate mango, citrus among other crops but could not get ready market for produce.
It came up at the conference that the case was not peculiar to Ghana alone. In fact anywhere else this has happened, tobacco farmers have faced tremendous economic challenges.
The Chairman for the event, Dr George Amofah who is the Deputy Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said although the open antagonism which used to characterise issues of tobacco control had reduced, there were still powerful elements within society who would do all they could to frustrate moves to control tobacco and its use.
The WHO FCTC on tobacco control was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic.
It is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the WHO that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health.
About 30 participants from 18 WHO-member countries are attended the three-day meeting to provide practical guidelines on how to achieve the goals of Articles 17 and 18 which deal with economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing and protection of the environment. Ghana is the first African country to host a WHO working group meeting.
The reason for the change is to protect the environment and the health of persons in the production and manufacturing of tobacco products.
About 30 participants from 18 WHO-member countries attended the meeting, dubbed the “Second Working Group Meeting on Articles 17 and 18 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)”.
The FCTC Working Groups at the meeting in Accra, were tasked to fine-tune techniques to get tobacco growers to make a livelihood for themselves by growing alternative crops.
That involved how governments could support farmers and industries to produce healthy products even as they preserved the environment.
The Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, said
Some of the issues addressed at the conference related to articles 17 and 18 of the convention which he described as complex.
The issues were complex because they were core to how governments could support farmers and industries to produce healthy products even as well as preserved the environment in which they lived. Producing tobacco and its products have been a way of life for many families, despite the huge and negative impact it has on health and the environment.
Tobacco growing has a number of significant negative impacts on farmers, as it worsened poverty, and relies heavily on child and bonded labour. This is a situation which had trapped many farming families in cycles of debt and poverty, while increasing the vulnerability of the rural poor.
Tobacco farming also has a serious and negative environmental impact, as it caused pollution, soil degradation and deforestation, thereby contributing to adverse climate change and loss in biodiversity.
Many tobacco farmers will like to switch to alternatives, but they often faced with challenges such as access to credits, markets, technical assistance, inputs and skills.
The tobacco industry had for a long time used farmers to slow down ratification and implementation of the WHO FCTC even though the farmers did not really benefit from their hard work and the big profits of the tobacco industry.
The Head of the Convention Secretariat, WHO Framework on Tobacco Control, Dr Haik Nilogosian, at the workshop said the WHO FCTC was the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO and expressed the hope that the participants would come up with some workable recommendations to the issue of tobacco cultivation which was harmful to the farmers and the environment.
With the conference over it is important for the Ghanaian authorities to take proper interest in the issues raised and how best to handle them.
Over the last few years, British American Tobacco (BAT) Ghana has shut down its factories in Takoradi, the country has witnessed the sheer frustration of former tobacco growers who were trained and financially assisted to cultivate mango, citrus among other crops but could not get ready market for produce.
It came up at the conference that the case was not peculiar to Ghana alone. In fact anywhere else this has happened, tobacco farmers have faced tremendous economic challenges.
The Chairman for the event, Dr George Amofah who is the Deputy Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said although the open antagonism which used to characterise issues of tobacco control had reduced, there were still powerful elements within society who would do all they could to frustrate moves to control tobacco and its use.
The WHO FCTC on tobacco control was developed in response to the globalisation of the tobacco epidemic.
It is the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the WHO that reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health.
About 30 participants from 18 WHO-member countries are attended the three-day meeting to provide practical guidelines on how to achieve the goals of Articles 17 and 18 which deal with economically sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing and protection of the environment. Ghana is the first African country to host a WHO working group meeting.
Monday, May 17, 2010
GMA Awards Night
Story: Henrietta Brocke
THE Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is collapsing due to outstanding insurance claims owed to service providers.
It said many health facilities had been crippled by outstanding insurance claims owed them by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The President of the association, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful expressed the sentiments of the GMA on the NHIS at the awards and press soiree in Accra on Saturday.
A number of individuals and organisations were honoured for their contributions to health delivery in the country, including the Graphic Communications Group, which received three awards.
The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh and the Daily Graphic health correspondent, Ms Lucy Adomah Yeboah, received special honours for their special attention to health matters. The Graphic Communication Group Limited was also honoured for its contribution to health education.
Dr Winful said the legislative instrument of the NHIS enjoined the insurance authority to reimburse service providers within four weeks of submitting their claims.
“The seven months of outstanding claims facing some facilities is seriously impairing health care delivery in various parts of the country,” Dr Winful said.
He said the huge outstanding claims had led to the situation where some health facilities, which were the only ones in their districts, had voluntarily withdrawn from the scheme.
In view of the situation, he said, the GMA had decided to create a platform at its upcoming public lectures in August for a dispassionate analysis of the challenges of the NHIS and how best those challenges could be resolved to make the NHIS the envy of the world.
He said the NHIA needed to continue with its clinical audits but that ought to be done within the time prescribed by law.
He also addressed recent cases of alleged medical negligence and called on the media to go beyond mere reportage, which often did not last beyond a week, and collaborate with the GMA to critically examine innovative ways of putting the microscope on the health system.
He said it was time journalists and doctors saw each other as partners in a common cause of bringing health and prosperity to the public.
THE Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is collapsing due to outstanding insurance claims owed to service providers.
It said many health facilities had been crippled by outstanding insurance claims owed them by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The President of the association, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful expressed the sentiments of the GMA on the NHIS at the awards and press soiree in Accra on Saturday.
A number of individuals and organisations were honoured for their contributions to health delivery in the country, including the Graphic Communications Group, which received three awards.
The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh and the Daily Graphic health correspondent, Ms Lucy Adomah Yeboah, received special honours for their special attention to health matters. The Graphic Communication Group Limited was also honoured for its contribution to health education.
Dr Winful said the legislative instrument of the NHIS enjoined the insurance authority to reimburse service providers within four weeks of submitting their claims.
“The seven months of outstanding claims facing some facilities is seriously impairing health care delivery in various parts of the country,” Dr Winful said.
He said the huge outstanding claims had led to the situation where some health facilities, which were the only ones in their districts, had voluntarily withdrawn from the scheme.
In view of the situation, he said, the GMA had decided to create a platform at its upcoming public lectures in August for a dispassionate analysis of the challenges of the NHIS and how best those challenges could be resolved to make the NHIS the envy of the world.
He said the NHIA needed to continue with its clinical audits but that ought to be done within the time prescribed by law.
He also addressed recent cases of alleged medical negligence and called on the media to go beyond mere reportage, which often did not last beyond a week, and collaborate with the GMA to critically examine innovative ways of putting the microscope on the health system.
He said it was time journalists and doctors saw each other as partners in a common cause of bringing health and prosperity to the public.
Darkuman Church of Pentecost Women engaged in clean-up exercise
MEMBERS of the Darkuman District Women's Movement of the Church of Pentecost (COP) has organised a clean-up exercise around the Darkuman-Circle station and its environs.
The women were led by Mrs Elizabeth Larbi-Wettey, the wife of the District Pastor, Pastor Matthew Larbi-Wettey, and the District Women's Movement Leader, Mrs Vida Aryee.
The women, who were drawn from six assemblies within the Darkuman District of the church, swept streets and lanes and cleared gutters of rubbish, as well as silt.
To prevent a situation where the rubbish would be left along the streets after the exercise, Zoomlion Ghana Limited was contracted to cart the rubbish away.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mrs Larbi-Wettey said the exercise was part of the church's social responsibility to society, and especially the community in which the Church worshipped.
She maintained that the movement would continue to embark on similar exercises since "cleanliness is next to godliness".
Mrs Larbi-Wettey took the opportunity to thank the members of the movement who took part in the exercise and to those who could not participate, she appealed to them to endeavour to respond to such calls in future.
Mrs Aryee said the exercise was to protect the people in the community from diseases which occurred as a result of filth.
She reiterated that many diseases which affected mostly children came out of the environment and advised all women to ensure that their children lived in clean environment.
The women, after the exercise, embarked on physical exercise.
The women were led by Mrs Elizabeth Larbi-Wettey, the wife of the District Pastor, Pastor Matthew Larbi-Wettey, and the District Women's Movement Leader, Mrs Vida Aryee.
The women, who were drawn from six assemblies within the Darkuman District of the church, swept streets and lanes and cleared gutters of rubbish, as well as silt.
To prevent a situation where the rubbish would be left along the streets after the exercise, Zoomlion Ghana Limited was contracted to cart the rubbish away.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Mrs Larbi-Wettey said the exercise was part of the church's social responsibility to society, and especially the community in which the Church worshipped.
She maintained that the movement would continue to embark on similar exercises since "cleanliness is next to godliness".
Mrs Larbi-Wettey took the opportunity to thank the members of the movement who took part in the exercise and to those who could not participate, she appealed to them to endeavour to respond to such calls in future.
Mrs Aryee said the exercise was to protect the people in the community from diseases which occurred as a result of filth.
She reiterated that many diseases which affected mostly children came out of the environment and advised all women to ensure that their children lived in clean environment.
The women, after the exercise, embarked on physical exercise.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
NADMO organises workshop on H1N1
A day’s workshop on prevention and control of the (HINI) influenza 2009 has been organised in Accra for about 100 directors of education and heads of educational institutions in the Greater Accra Region.
The programme was organised by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) with support from the UN Office of the Commission for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) with facilitators from the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
Some of the topics treated were: Update on the pandemic influenza, H1N1 in Ghana, what is pandemic influenza in H1N1, mode of transmission, incubation period, signs and symptoms, treatment and preventive measures.
Others were: Practical hand washing with soap under running water, guidelines for schools and also advise for schools as to how to control and prevent the disease.
The influenza which first broke out in California, USA in April 2009, spread to Ghana on August 5, 2009 and has currently infected more than 700 people mostly in the Greater Accra Region. No death has so far been recorded.
Symptoms of the influenza include fever and cough, sore throat, catarrh, body aches, headache, and in some cases vomiting and diarrhoea. Complications include, pneumonia and difficulty in breathing. Death may occur if severe complications takes place.
In his remarks, the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy said it was important school authorities and parents took the issue of the H1N1 influenza seriously since it could be deadly.
He pointed out that his organisation had within the past few months organised series of educational programmes for many educational institutions and pledged that the programmes would continue.
Presenting a paper, the Director of Accra Metro Health Director, Dr John B.Y. Yabana warned that the pandemic influenza was highly contagious, adding that it mostly affected one’s breathing.
He explained that the disease mostly spread from one person to another through droplets released during coughing or sneezing as in any flu.
He stated that the Greater Accra Region was leading with the number of recorded cases now reaching 628, with the Accra metropolitan area recording about 400 cases.
Dr Yabana mentioned people who were at risk of developing H1N1-related complications included children below five years, adult at age 65 and above, pregnant women, mentally retarded persons, persons suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney and liver disorders and those with cancers and weak immune system.
A representative of the OCHA in Accra, Ms Mercy Manyala stated that it was important for schools to put in place interventions to mitigate the effects of disasters, should they occur.
She also said the organisation would continue to support Ghana to prevent and control the influenza and other disasters.
The National Co-ordinator of School Health Education Programme (SHEP) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mrs Ellen Mensah called for similar training programmes to be held in other regions of the country.
She also appealed to the participants to transfer the knowledge to their colleagues to ensure that many educational institutions benefited from the training programme.
The Chairman for the event, Mr Victor Mante of the GES expressed the hope that participants would take the workshop seriously and ensure that it benefited the schools in which they worked.
The programme was organised by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) with support from the UN Office of the Commission for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) with facilitators from the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
Some of the topics treated were: Update on the pandemic influenza, H1N1 in Ghana, what is pandemic influenza in H1N1, mode of transmission, incubation period, signs and symptoms, treatment and preventive measures.
Others were: Practical hand washing with soap under running water, guidelines for schools and also advise for schools as to how to control and prevent the disease.
The influenza which first broke out in California, USA in April 2009, spread to Ghana on August 5, 2009 and has currently infected more than 700 people mostly in the Greater Accra Region. No death has so far been recorded.
Symptoms of the influenza include fever and cough, sore throat, catarrh, body aches, headache, and in some cases vomiting and diarrhoea. Complications include, pneumonia and difficulty in breathing. Death may occur if severe complications takes place.
In his remarks, the National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy said it was important school authorities and parents took the issue of the H1N1 influenza seriously since it could be deadly.
He pointed out that his organisation had within the past few months organised series of educational programmes for many educational institutions and pledged that the programmes would continue.
Presenting a paper, the Director of Accra Metro Health Director, Dr John B.Y. Yabana warned that the pandemic influenza was highly contagious, adding that it mostly affected one’s breathing.
He explained that the disease mostly spread from one person to another through droplets released during coughing or sneezing as in any flu.
He stated that the Greater Accra Region was leading with the number of recorded cases now reaching 628, with the Accra metropolitan area recording about 400 cases.
Dr Yabana mentioned people who were at risk of developing H1N1-related complications included children below five years, adult at age 65 and above, pregnant women, mentally retarded persons, persons suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney and liver disorders and those with cancers and weak immune system.
A representative of the OCHA in Accra, Ms Mercy Manyala stated that it was important for schools to put in place interventions to mitigate the effects of disasters, should they occur.
She also said the organisation would continue to support Ghana to prevent and control the influenza and other disasters.
The National Co-ordinator of School Health Education Programme (SHEP) of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mrs Ellen Mensah called for similar training programmes to be held in other regions of the country.
She also appealed to the participants to transfer the knowledge to their colleagues to ensure that many educational institutions benefited from the training programme.
The Chairman for the event, Mr Victor Mante of the GES expressed the hope that participants would take the workshop seriously and ensure that it benefited the schools in which they worked.
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