FIFTY new newspapers and magazines yesterday received certificates from the National Media Commission (NMC) to enable them to operate in various parts of the country.
The newspapers and magazines will focus on general news, sports, business, fashion, education and religion, among other issues.
Among the publishers is a the 83 year-old former Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Mr Kwame Gyau Kyem, who was given a certificate to publish “The Fortune Hunters”.
In addition to the presentation of the certificates, the NMC in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation organised a seminar for owners and editors of newspapers on the theme: The Role of the Media in Ghana’s Democracy: Responsible Journalism, Media Accountability and Standards”.
In an address, the Chairman of the NMC, Ambassador Kabral Blay Amihere, said journalists could do well to their profession, if they refused to serve as footnotes to the ambitions of politicians and other interest groups.
He said it was wrong for journalists to walk in the shadows of others when society expected them to set a positive agenda.
Ambassador Blay-Amihere reminded journalists to, at all times, be guided by the code of ethics of journalism.
Touching on the theme, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Professor Kwame Karikari, called on the NMC and National Communications Authority (NCA) to establish a monitoring centre to monitor the activities of radio stations.
He said such monitoring mechanism would help in the identification of recalcitrant radio stations which encouraged insults and other anti-social comments on air for possible withdrawal of their licences.
Professor Karikari sensitised the participants to political responsibility, social responsibility, professional responsibility, legal responsibility, among others.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, said the seminar was significant, since it would help the media practitioners to be mindful of their responsibilities to society.
He also called on Ghanaians journalists not to devote all their time to politics but concentrate more on issues of development for the benefit of the majority of the people.
The Programmes Co-ordinator of Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Mr Danaa Nantongmah, stated that the foundation was committed to encouraging independent media, since it was critical to good governance.
A representative of the Private Newspapers Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG), Nii Laryea Sowah, advised private newspaper owners to employ qualified editors and also a sizeable number of reporters of which the owner could pay adequately.
The Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, sensitised the participants to the NMC Act, registration of newspapers and the work of the Complaints Settlement Committee of the NMC.
Speaking on behalf of the incoming publishers, Mr Gyau Kyem advised journalists, especially editors, to act professionally so that society would always remember them for their good deeds.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Book Review
Book Title: Ghana International Journal of Mental Health
Editor-in-Chief: C. Charles Mate-Kole, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon.
Founder: Samuel A. Danquah, Professor of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon.
Printed by: G-Pak Limited, a subsidiary of Graphic Communications Group Limited.
Reviewer: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE issue of mental health, especially in a society such ours, continues to be pertinent. This is rightly so because of lack of knowledge on the subject which had helped in a large extent to make those in authority to treat it with little or no importance.
A statement made by the Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Akwasi Osei, indicated that a situation analysis of mental health system and services in Ghana showed that there was little research output in mental health.
This makes the publication of the various write-ups titled: "Ghana International Journal of Mental Health", a welcome news, especially at this time in the nation's history when efforts are being made to get a new mental health bill into law.
Mental health, according to the editorial of the journal, is a continues issue in our society. It is considered a stigma even though at least one in three people would experience some kind of mental illness in the course of their lives.
"Despite these figures, mental illness appears to rouse negativity, thus isolating the mentally ill to a sub-human category," the editorial of the journal indicated.
Going through the Ghana International Journal of Mental Health, one could realise that the various writers have made attempts to present mental health to reflect its diversity and complexity.
The topics, as treated, cover a wide range of areas from depression, treatment approaches, cultural identity, dementia, acquired dyslexia, policy, aggression among other related issues worth reading. The materials as published in the new journal include original articles, as well as literature reviews from other writers.
As one goes through the pages, it becomes evident that the new journal has brought to the fore subject areas that have long been inadequately covered in this country and other parts of Africa.
In fact, the main aim of the journal is to reflect current mental health trends in many different countries and allowing mental health professionals the opportunity to become familiar with developments elsewhere.
"The journal devotes more attention to mental health issues through research and other articles which are of outstanding historical or biographical interest and often remain unpublished,” says S. A. Danquah, Professor of Psychology at the University of Ghana, Legon.
To encourage professionals in mental health to read and also contribute to the continuous publication of the journal, Dr Osei, who is also the head of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, stated that, "It is hoped that all mental health workers of all categories, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, clinical pharmacists in psychiatry, counsellors, therapists, psychiatric nurses, administrators, researchers and teachers alike, are all welcome to read and contribute".
"Let this be seen as the intellectual mouthpiece of all of us to share and promote knowledge," Dr Osei stressed.
The "Ghana International Journal of Mental Health" is published bi-annually in April and November.
Editor-in-Chief: C. Charles Mate-Kole, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon.
Founder: Samuel A. Danquah, Professor of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon.
Printed by: G-Pak Limited, a subsidiary of Graphic Communications Group Limited.
Reviewer: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE issue of mental health, especially in a society such ours, continues to be pertinent. This is rightly so because of lack of knowledge on the subject which had helped in a large extent to make those in authority to treat it with little or no importance.
A statement made by the Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Akwasi Osei, indicated that a situation analysis of mental health system and services in Ghana showed that there was little research output in mental health.
This makes the publication of the various write-ups titled: "Ghana International Journal of Mental Health", a welcome news, especially at this time in the nation's history when efforts are being made to get a new mental health bill into law.
Mental health, according to the editorial of the journal, is a continues issue in our society. It is considered a stigma even though at least one in three people would experience some kind of mental illness in the course of their lives.
"Despite these figures, mental illness appears to rouse negativity, thus isolating the mentally ill to a sub-human category," the editorial of the journal indicated.
Going through the Ghana International Journal of Mental Health, one could realise that the various writers have made attempts to present mental health to reflect its diversity and complexity.
The topics, as treated, cover a wide range of areas from depression, treatment approaches, cultural identity, dementia, acquired dyslexia, policy, aggression among other related issues worth reading. The materials as published in the new journal include original articles, as well as literature reviews from other writers.
As one goes through the pages, it becomes evident that the new journal has brought to the fore subject areas that have long been inadequately covered in this country and other parts of Africa.
In fact, the main aim of the journal is to reflect current mental health trends in many different countries and allowing mental health professionals the opportunity to become familiar with developments elsewhere.
"The journal devotes more attention to mental health issues through research and other articles which are of outstanding historical or biographical interest and often remain unpublished,” says S. A. Danquah, Professor of Psychology at the University of Ghana, Legon.
To encourage professionals in mental health to read and also contribute to the continuous publication of the journal, Dr Osei, who is also the head of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, stated that, "It is hoped that all mental health workers of all categories, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, clinical pharmacists in psychiatry, counsellors, therapists, psychiatric nurses, administrators, researchers and teachers alike, are all welcome to read and contribute".
"Let this be seen as the intellectual mouthpiece of all of us to share and promote knowledge," Dr Osei stressed.
The "Ghana International Journal of Mental Health" is published bi-annually in April and November.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Corporate bodies urged to support doctors' fund (Graphic Business)
One of the missing links in the country’s health delivery system is the training of specialised personnel for the country’s hospitals. Most medical doctors have to rely on scholarships from foreign agencies and organisations to enable them undergo various training programmes outside the country.
The the country is very limited to the number of medical doctors that it can send outside to undergo such specialised programmes
It is therefore in this direction that College of Health Sciences has made a passionate appeal to corporate bodies, groups and individuals to contribute to the college’s Post Graduate Endowment Fund for specialist training.
The fund which was established in 2000, is expected to help raise funds to complement government’s effort through the award of scholarships and research grants to postgraduate students.
At the launch of the colleges 10th Anniversary Celebration in Accra, the Chairman of the fund, Mr Sam Okudzeto said availability of specialists in Ghanaian hospitals would help to treat especially, non-communicable or chronic diseases which often affected many of the best brains the country could boast of.
The theme for the celebration was "The College of Health Sciences: A decade of Achievement and future prospects".
Addressing participants at the ceremony, Mr Okudzeto said there was no doubt that non-communicable diseases such as stroke and diabetes, which, he observed, were a threat to chief executives could be controlled if sufficient professionals were trained in specialised fields and made to work in the country.
Institutions which have been contributing to the Fund since its inception are the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited, Ecobank Ghana Limited, Media Whizz Kids Limited, National Lotteries Authority, Coca Cola Bottling Company and E. N Omaboe and Associates.
Others are Nankani and Hagan Company Limited, Poly Group of Companies, Melcom Group of Companies, Barry Celebout Ghana Limited, KPMG, Visigo Opticals, Ghana Commercial Bank, Far East Mercantile Company Limited, Valco Trust Fund among others.
Mr Okudzeto, who is also a renowned legal practitioner, cited cases of deaths involving some prominent people who travelled abroad for treatment describing them as best brains.
He pointed out that “if we are able to help our health institutions we can get the best health care services without necessarily travelling outside. The rampant death of our best brains can be reduced if we support this worthy cause, ” he said.
He said if enough funds were raised, lecturers, professors and deans would also be supported to acquire additional knowledge elsewhere adding that the endowment fund had had tremendous impact on enrolment into postgraduate programmes. Mr Okudzeto and that since the establishment of the fund, almost all schools under the College had doubled their intake with about half of the students benefiting from various scholarships.
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, said the establishment of the college 10 years ago was a significant landmark in the development of the University of Ghana after several years of hard work.
He noted that with the collective strength of its constituents, which were the Medical and Dental school, School of Nursing, Allied Health Science and Public Health as well as the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the college had “finally come to the attention of the world”.
Professor Tagoe noted that the college had chalked significant successes and singled out the establishment of the Postgraduate Endowment Fund with some innovative ways of fund raising by Trustees, making it attract students into areas where it was originally difficult to do so.
The Provost of the College, Professor A. L. Lawson, said the challenges of the college were many, including limited budgetary support, poor infrastructure, ageing faculty and inadequate capacity for research.
He said in trying to address those challenges, the college was developing its second strategic plan, embracing the liberation of the college legally, financial empowerment, establishment of a human resource framework, infrastructure expansion and modernisation as well as the development of new activities to compete for growth.
The the country is very limited to the number of medical doctors that it can send outside to undergo such specialised programmes
It is therefore in this direction that College of Health Sciences has made a passionate appeal to corporate bodies, groups and individuals to contribute to the college’s Post Graduate Endowment Fund for specialist training.
The fund which was established in 2000, is expected to help raise funds to complement government’s effort through the award of scholarships and research grants to postgraduate students.
At the launch of the colleges 10th Anniversary Celebration in Accra, the Chairman of the fund, Mr Sam Okudzeto said availability of specialists in Ghanaian hospitals would help to treat especially, non-communicable or chronic diseases which often affected many of the best brains the country could boast of.
The theme for the celebration was "The College of Health Sciences: A decade of Achievement and future prospects".
Addressing participants at the ceremony, Mr Okudzeto said there was no doubt that non-communicable diseases such as stroke and diabetes, which, he observed, were a threat to chief executives could be controlled if sufficient professionals were trained in specialised fields and made to work in the country.
Institutions which have been contributing to the Fund since its inception are the Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited, Ecobank Ghana Limited, Media Whizz Kids Limited, National Lotteries Authority, Coca Cola Bottling Company and E. N Omaboe and Associates.
Others are Nankani and Hagan Company Limited, Poly Group of Companies, Melcom Group of Companies, Barry Celebout Ghana Limited, KPMG, Visigo Opticals, Ghana Commercial Bank, Far East Mercantile Company Limited, Valco Trust Fund among others.
Mr Okudzeto, who is also a renowned legal practitioner, cited cases of deaths involving some prominent people who travelled abroad for treatment describing them as best brains.
He pointed out that “if we are able to help our health institutions we can get the best health care services without necessarily travelling outside. The rampant death of our best brains can be reduced if we support this worthy cause, ” he said.
He said if enough funds were raised, lecturers, professors and deans would also be supported to acquire additional knowledge elsewhere adding that the endowment fund had had tremendous impact on enrolment into postgraduate programmes. Mr Okudzeto and that since the establishment of the fund, almost all schools under the College had doubled their intake with about half of the students benefiting from various scholarships.
The outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, said the establishment of the college 10 years ago was a significant landmark in the development of the University of Ghana after several years of hard work.
He noted that with the collective strength of its constituents, which were the Medical and Dental school, School of Nursing, Allied Health Science and Public Health as well as the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the college had “finally come to the attention of the world”.
Professor Tagoe noted that the college had chalked significant successes and singled out the establishment of the Postgraduate Endowment Fund with some innovative ways of fund raising by Trustees, making it attract students into areas where it was originally difficult to do so.
The Provost of the College, Professor A. L. Lawson, said the challenges of the college were many, including limited budgetary support, poor infrastructure, ageing faculty and inadequate capacity for research.
He said in trying to address those challenges, the college was developing its second strategic plan, embracing the liberation of the college legally, financial empowerment, establishment of a human resource framework, infrastructure expansion and modernisation as well as the development of new activities to compete for growth.
NHIS collapsing -GMA
THE Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has observed that the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is collapsing.
It has, therefore, called on President J.E.A. Mills to make a personal intervention to prevent the scheme from imminent collapse.
In a statement issued at the end of its third National Executive Council meeting at Tegbi in Keta, the GMA contended that most facilities owed substantial amounts in medicines and consumables procured on credit, adding that as a result, suppliers were no longer willing to supply on credit.
But the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs of the NHIA, Mr Eric Ametor-Quarmyne, has denied the GMA’s assertion and claimed that the debt service schedule of the authority was on course.
In its statement, the GMA said the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, for instance, was owed GH¢2.7 million; the Central Regional Hospital, GH¢694,000; the Eastern Regional Hospital, GH¢1,090,000, with similar examples from elsewhere.
That situation, according to the association, had enormously affected the ability of those facilities to provide quality service for their clients, including shortage of drugs and other essential supplies.
“The NHIA is not seen to be actively dealing with these challenges. Instead, in the recent past, it has taken up the responsibility of micro-managing the facilities and their providers on how to diagnose and institute treatment for their clients,” it averred.
The GMA claimed that the authority had issued a directive that medical assistants in sub-districts should refrain from treating chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
However, those cases were eventually referred to the district hospitals where they were seen by the same medical assistants who complemented the work of the few doctors in the districts, it said.
The association also accused the schemes of neglecting their responsibility for assisting the facilities in capacity building and technical support, adding that the interest of the patient did not seem to be the foremost consideration of the NHIA.
“Clinical audits by the NHIS are necessary and the GMA has no qualms about auditing facilities. It is important, however, that clinical audits should not be used to cow down facilities that complain about the indebtedness of the schemes to them,” it maintained.
In the light of those challenges, the GMA said, it would focus its annual lecture at the College of Physicians and Surgeons on August 25, 2010 on the way forward for the NHIS.
“The National Executive Council of the GMA, therefore, calls on the President of the nation, the Minister of Health and the NHIA to introduce greater efficiency into the operations of the NHIS administration and take prompt steps to reimburse health facilities owed many months in legitimate claims,” the association urged.
The statement was read by its the GMA President, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful.
When he was reached for his reaction, Mr Ametor-Quarmyne denied that the NHIS was collapsing.
In an interview with Lucy Adoma Yebaoh in Accra, Mr Amertor-Quarmyne said the arrangement made with the health facilities would always leave some debts unpaid and called on the service providers to exercise restraint.
He explained that the NHIA was using what he termed the fee-for-service method, which meant that the health facilities would provide services for the NHIS subscribers before payments were made.
According to Mr Ametor-Quarmyne, in 2009 alone, GH¢372 million was paid to service providers, adding that NHIA would continue to make payments.
It has, therefore, called on President J.E.A. Mills to make a personal intervention to prevent the scheme from imminent collapse.
In a statement issued at the end of its third National Executive Council meeting at Tegbi in Keta, the GMA contended that most facilities owed substantial amounts in medicines and consumables procured on credit, adding that as a result, suppliers were no longer willing to supply on credit.
But the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs of the NHIA, Mr Eric Ametor-Quarmyne, has denied the GMA’s assertion and claimed that the debt service schedule of the authority was on course.
In its statement, the GMA said the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, for instance, was owed GH¢2.7 million; the Central Regional Hospital, GH¢694,000; the Eastern Regional Hospital, GH¢1,090,000, with similar examples from elsewhere.
That situation, according to the association, had enormously affected the ability of those facilities to provide quality service for their clients, including shortage of drugs and other essential supplies.
“The NHIA is not seen to be actively dealing with these challenges. Instead, in the recent past, it has taken up the responsibility of micro-managing the facilities and their providers on how to diagnose and institute treatment for their clients,” it averred.
The GMA claimed that the authority had issued a directive that medical assistants in sub-districts should refrain from treating chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
However, those cases were eventually referred to the district hospitals where they were seen by the same medical assistants who complemented the work of the few doctors in the districts, it said.
The association also accused the schemes of neglecting their responsibility for assisting the facilities in capacity building and technical support, adding that the interest of the patient did not seem to be the foremost consideration of the NHIA.
“Clinical audits by the NHIS are necessary and the GMA has no qualms about auditing facilities. It is important, however, that clinical audits should not be used to cow down facilities that complain about the indebtedness of the schemes to them,” it maintained.
In the light of those challenges, the GMA said, it would focus its annual lecture at the College of Physicians and Surgeons on August 25, 2010 on the way forward for the NHIS.
“The National Executive Council of the GMA, therefore, calls on the President of the nation, the Minister of Health and the NHIA to introduce greater efficiency into the operations of the NHIS administration and take prompt steps to reimburse health facilities owed many months in legitimate claims,” the association urged.
The statement was read by its the GMA President, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful.
When he was reached for his reaction, Mr Ametor-Quarmyne denied that the NHIS was collapsing.
In an interview with Lucy Adoma Yebaoh in Accra, Mr Amertor-Quarmyne said the arrangement made with the health facilities would always leave some debts unpaid and called on the service providers to exercise restraint.
He explained that the NHIA was using what he termed the fee-for-service method, which meant that the health facilities would provide services for the NHIS subscribers before payments were made.
According to Mr Ametor-Quarmyne, in 2009 alone, GH¢372 million was paid to service providers, adding that NHIA would continue to make payments.
'Help smokers to quit habit' (Spread)
Ghana’s Health Minister, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, yesterday made an emotional appeal to the public not to condemn smokers but see them as people who need help to get out of the habit.
Dr Kunbour touched the hearts of an august audience of health professionals and media practitioners during the launch of this year’s World No Tobacco Day, which is observed on May 31, each year when he admitted that he had been a smoker before and shared some of the challenges he had to overcome in his effort to quit smoking.
“I have been on that road before so I know what I’m talking about,” he said
Dr Kunbour, who sounded emotional during his address, stated that majority of smokers were aware that the habit was bad but found it difficult to stop due to the addictive nature of the product.
He, therefore, advised the youth against anything which would introduce them to smoking especially movies.
He went ahead to reveal that he picked the habit from frequently watching James Bond movies in which the main character usually smoked cigarettes to calm his nerves.
In his address to commemorate the day, Dr Kunbour said “smoking is the largest avoidable death and a major non-communicable disease worldwide”. The theme for the day was: “Gender and tobacco with emphasis on marketing to women”.
The minister said his ministry, as well as the Ghana Health Service (GHS), would in collaboration with relevant other stakeholders ensure that women and girls would not be duped by the misleading deceptions which lured them into smoking.
He also indicated that both men and women alike must be protected from the tobacco industry marketing and smoking, as stated in the preamble of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework on Tobacco Control.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, said according to evidence, women who smoked were more likely to experience infertility and delays in conceiving.
“Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risks of premature delivery, stillbirth and newborn deaths and cause a reduction in breast milk. Women who smoke are at increased risk of developing potentially fatal chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases which include chronic bronchitis and emphysema,” she explained.
The Women and Children’s Minister also mentioned other diseases which affected smokers as cancers of the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, larynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukaemia.
Mrs Azumah Mensah said as the nation awaited the passage of the Tobacco Control Bill, the press, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), all other ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the private sector, should team up with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to pursue actions aimed at protecting women and girls from subtle and deceptive marketing strategies of tobacco companies.
The WHO Country Representative in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz, said tobacco use was one of the biggest public health threats that the world ever faced in spite of the fact that the world had for the past 60 years known that tobacco was a killer.
“Not only does smoking kills, but being around smokers even if you don’t smoke also kills.”
?????Touching on the theme, Dr Kertesz said women represented 200 million of the world’s more than 1.0 billion smokers adding that the tobacco industry had seen new market opportunities in narrowing that gender gap.?????
He said that was being done through associating smoking with female beauty, luxury, empowerment and wealth and also targeting younger generations of women.
The chairperson for the occasion, who is also the Executive Director of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs Jane Quaye, said the government should put in place all the necessary legislation to protect the public especially women and children from the harmful effects of tobacco.
There were statements from the GHS, the Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control, the Narcotics Control Board and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health.
Dr Kunbour touched the hearts of an august audience of health professionals and media practitioners during the launch of this year’s World No Tobacco Day, which is observed on May 31, each year when he admitted that he had been a smoker before and shared some of the challenges he had to overcome in his effort to quit smoking.
“I have been on that road before so I know what I’m talking about,” he said
Dr Kunbour, who sounded emotional during his address, stated that majority of smokers were aware that the habit was bad but found it difficult to stop due to the addictive nature of the product.
He, therefore, advised the youth against anything which would introduce them to smoking especially movies.
He went ahead to reveal that he picked the habit from frequently watching James Bond movies in which the main character usually smoked cigarettes to calm his nerves.
In his address to commemorate the day, Dr Kunbour said “smoking is the largest avoidable death and a major non-communicable disease worldwide”. The theme for the day was: “Gender and tobacco with emphasis on marketing to women”.
The minister said his ministry, as well as the Ghana Health Service (GHS), would in collaboration with relevant other stakeholders ensure that women and girls would not be duped by the misleading deceptions which lured them into smoking.
He also indicated that both men and women alike must be protected from the tobacco industry marketing and smoking, as stated in the preamble of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework on Tobacco Control.
Delivering the keynote address, the Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, said according to evidence, women who smoked were more likely to experience infertility and delays in conceiving.
“Maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risks of premature delivery, stillbirth and newborn deaths and cause a reduction in breast milk. Women who smoke are at increased risk of developing potentially fatal chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases which include chronic bronchitis and emphysema,” she explained.
The Women and Children’s Minister also mentioned other diseases which affected smokers as cancers of the mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, larynx, bladder, pancreas, kidney and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukaemia.
Mrs Azumah Mensah said as the nation awaited the passage of the Tobacco Control Bill, the press, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), all other ministries, departments and agencies, as well as the private sector, should team up with the Ministry of Health (MoH) to pursue actions aimed at protecting women and girls from subtle and deceptive marketing strategies of tobacco companies.
The WHO Country Representative in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz, said tobacco use was one of the biggest public health threats that the world ever faced in spite of the fact that the world had for the past 60 years known that tobacco was a killer.
“Not only does smoking kills, but being around smokers even if you don’t smoke also kills.”
?????Touching on the theme, Dr Kertesz said women represented 200 million of the world’s more than 1.0 billion smokers adding that the tobacco industry had seen new market opportunities in narrowing that gender gap.?????
He said that was being done through associating smoking with female beauty, luxury, empowerment and wealth and also targeting younger generations of women.
The chairperson for the occasion, who is also the Executive Director of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Mrs Jane Quaye, said the government should put in place all the necessary legislation to protect the public especially women and children from the harmful effects of tobacco.
There were statements from the GHS, the Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control, the Narcotics Control Board and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health.
Ghana records first H1N1 death
GHANA recorded its first H1N1 death last week, few days after the first consignment of two million doses of vaccines arrived in the country.
The victim, an 11-month-old baby girl, died at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra where he was sent in an unconscious state.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Director of Public Health, Dr Joseph Amankwah, said specimen from the child was taken for testing before he passed away.
He explained that both parents of the child had the influenza but had been treated.
On the vaccine, Dr Amankwah said they were donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which was also footing the cost of shipment, as well as that of distribution within Ghana.
Dr Amankwah explained that the first batch of vaccines was meant for health professionals, personnel of the security agencies, pregnant women and most importantly Ghanaians who would go to South Africa for this year’s World Cup.
He, however, pointed out that his outfit was still waiting for the list of people who would go to South Africa for the vaccine and also pass them through public health education programmes to ensure that they contract no disease outside Ghana.
Dr Amankwah said the WHO was assisting Ghana to receive additional vaccines for the general public of which the country would had to take care of the shipping cost and also the cost of distribution.
When asked why schoolchildren were not among the first group of people to receive the vaccine, since they were the most affected, he said the health sector was still discussing with the WHO as to the correct dose which was appropriate and safe for children under 18.
The Director of Public Health said his outfit was beginning an orientation programme for health professionals who would administer the vaccines today at the national level and said all the 10 regions would have their training simultaneously by next week, to be followed with the administration of the vaccines to the identified groups.
Dr Amankwah said the vaccines had already been sent to the various regions ready to be administered and that 774 cases had been confirmed out of which one life had been lost.
He also indicated that the rate at which people were catching the influenza had slowed down as compared to March this year and added that Ghana was recording more cases because health workers had been vigilant in looking up for the cases.
He indicated that in some countries the case was different, as health professionals were rather playing down on the spread of the disease, a situation he pointed out was not the best and reiterated the need for the observance of personal hygiene to prevent the spread of the disease, since it was not yet over.
The victim, an 11-month-old baby girl, died at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra where he was sent in an unconscious state.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Director of Public Health, Dr Joseph Amankwah, said specimen from the child was taken for testing before he passed away.
He explained that both parents of the child had the influenza but had been treated.
On the vaccine, Dr Amankwah said they were donated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which was also footing the cost of shipment, as well as that of distribution within Ghana.
Dr Amankwah explained that the first batch of vaccines was meant for health professionals, personnel of the security agencies, pregnant women and most importantly Ghanaians who would go to South Africa for this year’s World Cup.
He, however, pointed out that his outfit was still waiting for the list of people who would go to South Africa for the vaccine and also pass them through public health education programmes to ensure that they contract no disease outside Ghana.
Dr Amankwah said the WHO was assisting Ghana to receive additional vaccines for the general public of which the country would had to take care of the shipping cost and also the cost of distribution.
When asked why schoolchildren were not among the first group of people to receive the vaccine, since they were the most affected, he said the health sector was still discussing with the WHO as to the correct dose which was appropriate and safe for children under 18.
The Director of Public Health said his outfit was beginning an orientation programme for health professionals who would administer the vaccines today at the national level and said all the 10 regions would have their training simultaneously by next week, to be followed with the administration of the vaccines to the identified groups.
Dr Amankwah said the vaccines had already been sent to the various regions ready to be administered and that 774 cases had been confirmed out of which one life had been lost.
He also indicated that the rate at which people were catching the influenza had slowed down as compared to March this year and added that Ghana was recording more cases because health workers had been vigilant in looking up for the cases.
He indicated that in some countries the case was different, as health professionals were rather playing down on the spread of the disease, a situation he pointed out was not the best and reiterated the need for the observance of personal hygiene to prevent the spread of the disease, since it was not yet over.
Health Ministry submits seven bills to cabinet
Seven health bills to change the face of health delivery have been submitted by the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, to Cabinet for perusal and approval.
The bills include the much-awaited Mental Health Bill, the General Health Service Bill, the Health Professions Regulatory Bill and the Health Institutions and Facilities Bill.
Others are the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill, the Medical Training and Research Bill and the Health Co-ordination Council Bill.
Officials at the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Health in Accra told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the bills were prepared under the Law Review Exercise embarked upon by the ministry.
Throwing more light on the review exercise, a Public Relations Officer at the ministry, Mr Tony Goodman, explained that because of the multiplicity of laws regulating the health sector, Cabinet, in June 2005, directed that those laws be consolidated to reduce their number by grouping the various laws under specific subjects matters.
He explained that other health-related bills which were at the Attorney-General’s Office and awaiting onward submission to Cabinet were the Health Insurance Bill and the Tobacco Control Bill.
These two bill are said to be awaiting the finalisation of the Public Health Bill for them to be presented together.
Mr Goodman explained that the Mental Health Bill was treated as a separate piece of legislation on its own and was, therefore, not affected by the consolidation because of the uniqueness of mental health, as well as the human rights aspects involved in the legislation.
The review exercise became necessary because most of the existing laws in the health sector had been in existence since 1958 and, therefore, did not serve the purpose for which they were enacted.
There was also the need to provide for new legislation in unregulated areas of the health delivery system, he added.
The Mental Health Act (NRCD 30), for example, has been in existence since 1972 but has never been amended.
The bills include the much-awaited Mental Health Bill, the General Health Service Bill, the Health Professions Regulatory Bill and the Health Institutions and Facilities Bill.
Others are the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Bill, the Medical Training and Research Bill and the Health Co-ordination Council Bill.
Officials at the Public Relations Unit of the Ministry of Health in Accra told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the bills were prepared under the Law Review Exercise embarked upon by the ministry.
Throwing more light on the review exercise, a Public Relations Officer at the ministry, Mr Tony Goodman, explained that because of the multiplicity of laws regulating the health sector, Cabinet, in June 2005, directed that those laws be consolidated to reduce their number by grouping the various laws under specific subjects matters.
He explained that other health-related bills which were at the Attorney-General’s Office and awaiting onward submission to Cabinet were the Health Insurance Bill and the Tobacco Control Bill.
These two bill are said to be awaiting the finalisation of the Public Health Bill for them to be presented together.
Mr Goodman explained that the Mental Health Bill was treated as a separate piece of legislation on its own and was, therefore, not affected by the consolidation because of the uniqueness of mental health, as well as the human rights aspects involved in the legislation.
The review exercise became necessary because most of the existing laws in the health sector had been in existence since 1958 and, therefore, did not serve the purpose for which they were enacted.
There was also the need to provide for new legislation in unregulated areas of the health delivery system, he added.
The Mental Health Act (NRCD 30), for example, has been in existence since 1972 but has never been amended.
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