GHANA is on track to achieve a single digit inflation by the end of the year, the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has stated.
He said the country's current economic indicators were showing a positive response to the global economic bounce back, with the rate of inflation declining continuously since October 2009 to stand at 14.23 per cent currently.
The value of the cedi had also stabilised against the major trading currencies, while the balance of payment and the international reserve position had improved and the public sector deficit reduced, he said.
Mr Mahama made the observation in Accra yesterday at the opening of a four-day international conference organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and the USA Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) on public-private dialogue for West African states.
The theme for the conference was, “The impact of the Global Financial Crisis on West African States: Leveraging Public-Private Dialogue for Development”.
The Vice-President explained that the reduction in public sector deficit implied that the public sector borrowing requirement (PSBR) had declined, creating space for interest rates to fall and increase private sector borrowing for growth and employment creation.
Mr Mahama said the conference was important because it allowed participants to brainstorm and share experiences on the way forward out of the global financial crisis.
He said the global financial crisis, which he said began in the latter part of 2007 and intensified in 2008/2009, plunged most of the economies of the advanced world into recession.
He pointed out that pressure on the economies of developing countries had come from a number of fronts, among them the fact that African exports had been constrained by weaker external demand, particularly from the US and the European Union, with their tighter financial conditions.
The Vice-President said the government, in order to mitigate the effect of the crisis on the poor and restore stability to the economy, had been implementing various measures, including providing school uniforms for children in deprived communities, free exercise books for every pupil in public basic schools and increasing the capitation grant by 50 per cent.
Other measures, Mr Mahama said, were rationalising government expenditure by cutting down cost, reviewing mining, oil and forestry concession agreements to curb excessive repatriation, consolidating 27 ministries into 24 in order to rationalise government expenditure, reducing the number of ministers from 87 in the previous administration to 72, as well as reviewing petroleum taxes with the aim of reducing domestic petroleum prices.
For his part, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper, gave background information on the global financial crisis and pointed out that it showed a drop in demand for exports, a decline in remittances and foreign exchange reserves and low budget support from tax revenues, aid and grant.
"Overall, growth fell sharply to 1-3 per cent in the advanced, transition and developing world," he said.
He said during the period, much of the gains from the decade of exuberance was whittled away quickly within a relatively short period of the crisis, adding that it was a crisis that brought consumers, big firms, governments and whole regions of the globe to their knees.
A member of the board of the National Endowment for Democracy, the funding body of the CIPE, Ambassador Lyman, said CIPE was created in 1993 to promote, among other objectives, democracy and good governance.
In his welcoming address, the Chairman of the IEA, Dr Charles Mensa, said looking at the importance of the topics to be discussed, participants were drawn not only from the public and private sectors but also top political party officials from West Africa for their inputs.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
DANGER-No drugs for mental patients (Front Page)
THE three public psychiatric hospitals in Accra, Pantang and Ankaful have been hit by an acute shortage of drugs for mental patients.
Reports indicate that the hospitals have not been supplied with drugs for the past five months.
Health workers at the hospitals told the Daily Graphic that the situation had caused some of the patients on admission to be given lower doses of prescribed drugs, while out-patients had to buy from outside the hospitals at exorbitant prices.
Under Ghana’s health sector policy, psychiatric drugs are provided free of charge by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the treatment of patients who suffer from various types of mental illness. At worst, the drugs have to be subsidised for these patients who are considered vulnerable.
A caller from the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital who sent an SOS message through the Daily Graphic to the MoH, said for more than three months now no drug had been provided to the hospital.
The Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Akwasi Osei, who confirmed the report in an interview, said the hospitals had run out of supplies and there had been virtually no drugs for the past five months.
Dr Osei, who is also the Head of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital at Asylum Down, however, expressed the hope that a meeting with the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, and his deputy, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, on Wednesday was likely to yield some positive results.
He said some challenges that affected the supply of the drugs had been identified and were being resolved.
He pointed out that there was the issue of checks and the verification of the efficacy of the drugs which partly caused the delay and stated that drugs would be sent to the hospitals as soon as possible.
Dr Osei said for all that while, patients were made to purchase their own drugs, instead of being provided free under the health sector policy.
He explained that as the hospitals were running out of stock, they reserved what was left for the inmates, who were at times given doses less than the required ones, and indicated that some of the inmates relied on their relations to purchase drugs for their treatment.
Dr Osei appealed to those who were responsible for the supply of the drugs to expedite action, considering the peculiar situation psychiatric patients found themselves in.
A Mental Health Bill intended to provide better healthcare delivery for mental patients has been on the drawing board for years.
Reports indicate that the hospitals have not been supplied with drugs for the past five months.
Health workers at the hospitals told the Daily Graphic that the situation had caused some of the patients on admission to be given lower doses of prescribed drugs, while out-patients had to buy from outside the hospitals at exorbitant prices.
Under Ghana’s health sector policy, psychiatric drugs are provided free of charge by the Ministry of Health (MoH) for the treatment of patients who suffer from various types of mental illness. At worst, the drugs have to be subsidised for these patients who are considered vulnerable.
A caller from the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital who sent an SOS message through the Daily Graphic to the MoH, said for more than three months now no drug had been provided to the hospital.
The Chief Psychiatrist of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Akwasi Osei, who confirmed the report in an interview, said the hospitals had run out of supplies and there had been virtually no drugs for the past five months.
Dr Osei, who is also the Head of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital at Asylum Down, however, expressed the hope that a meeting with the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, and his deputy, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, on Wednesday was likely to yield some positive results.
He said some challenges that affected the supply of the drugs had been identified and were being resolved.
He pointed out that there was the issue of checks and the verification of the efficacy of the drugs which partly caused the delay and stated that drugs would be sent to the hospitals as soon as possible.
Dr Osei said for all that while, patients were made to purchase their own drugs, instead of being provided free under the health sector policy.
He explained that as the hospitals were running out of stock, they reserved what was left for the inmates, who were at times given doses less than the required ones, and indicated that some of the inmates relied on their relations to purchase drugs for their treatment.
Dr Osei appealed to those who were responsible for the supply of the drugs to expedite action, considering the peculiar situation psychiatric patients found themselves in.
A Mental Health Bill intended to provide better healthcare delivery for mental patients has been on the drawing board for years.
GMA considers strike action (Front Page)
THE National Executive of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) says it has lost the courage to restrain its aggrieved members who are considering the last option to embark on a nationwide strike because of unpaid allowances.
It said the outcome of any such action, should it occur, should be placed squarely at the doorstep of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and, for that matter, the government, not the GMA.
The leadership of the association, therefore, directed all its members to stand by for further directions expected after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, March 29, 2010.
The GMA is made up of about 2000 medical and dental practitioners working in the public sector.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the President of the GMA, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful, pointed out that the situation had arisen because several attempts by the executive, including meetings with the MoH and complaints to the National Labour Commission (NLC), to resolve the issue of unpaid “on-call-duty-facilitation allowance” had not yielded results.
He said the proposed “on-call-duty-facilitation allowance” which was agreed on and sealed with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as far back as May 26, 2009 had so far not been paid.
A copy of the MoU shown to this reporter stated, “Arrears in respect of the above salary increment and the said allowance shall be paid in two tranches in July and August 2009.”
Unfortunately, Dr Winful said, the agreement had so far been ignored, in spite of numerous reminders sent to the MoH.
Giving further explanation to the issue, he said on May 26, 2009, an MoU was signed between the MoH and the GMA to try to bring to an end protracted issues affecting the conditions of service of medical doctors and dentists.
He stated that in the said MoU, it was agreed that “effective January 2009, 10 per cent of the basic salaries of doctors, including house officers, shall be paid to them as on-call-duty-facilitation allowance”.
He said the MoU indicated that in view of budgetary constraints on the government, “the said allowance shall, in the case of doctors housed in official government accommodation, be forfeited, while the same percentage of basic salary shall be paid to doctors not housed in official government accommodation”.
Dr Winful, however, indicated that up to date that agreement had not been fulfilled and doctors living in government accommodation continued to pay 10 per cent of their basic salaries as rent, while those living in private homes had not received the 10 per cent duty facilitation allowance as promised.
He said instead of fulfilling its part of the agreement, the government, through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), was demanding from the GMA the list of all doctors living in government bungalows before the payment could be made.
He maintained that the list could easily be accessed at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department because the department effected monthly deductions for the payment of the rent and, therefore, had the data.
He stressed that in spite of that fact, the GMA still agreed to help by coming out with the data covering nine regions and part of those in the Greater Accra Region but, strangely enough, the FWSC came out to say that the data was not reliable and could, therefore, not be used.
Dr Winful stated that members of the GMA had come to the conclusion that there was a deliberate attempt on the part of the government not to effect the payment, hence the numerous excuses.
It said the outcome of any such action, should it occur, should be placed squarely at the doorstep of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and, for that matter, the government, not the GMA.
The leadership of the association, therefore, directed all its members to stand by for further directions expected after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Saturday, March 29, 2010.
The GMA is made up of about 2000 medical and dental practitioners working in the public sector.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the President of the GMA, Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful, pointed out that the situation had arisen because several attempts by the executive, including meetings with the MoH and complaints to the National Labour Commission (NLC), to resolve the issue of unpaid “on-call-duty-facilitation allowance” had not yielded results.
He said the proposed “on-call-duty-facilitation allowance” which was agreed on and sealed with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as far back as May 26, 2009 had so far not been paid.
A copy of the MoU shown to this reporter stated, “Arrears in respect of the above salary increment and the said allowance shall be paid in two tranches in July and August 2009.”
Unfortunately, Dr Winful said, the agreement had so far been ignored, in spite of numerous reminders sent to the MoH.
Giving further explanation to the issue, he said on May 26, 2009, an MoU was signed between the MoH and the GMA to try to bring to an end protracted issues affecting the conditions of service of medical doctors and dentists.
He stated that in the said MoU, it was agreed that “effective January 2009, 10 per cent of the basic salaries of doctors, including house officers, shall be paid to them as on-call-duty-facilitation allowance”.
He said the MoU indicated that in view of budgetary constraints on the government, “the said allowance shall, in the case of doctors housed in official government accommodation, be forfeited, while the same percentage of basic salary shall be paid to doctors not housed in official government accommodation”.
Dr Winful, however, indicated that up to date that agreement had not been fulfilled and doctors living in government accommodation continued to pay 10 per cent of their basic salaries as rent, while those living in private homes had not received the 10 per cent duty facilitation allowance as promised.
He said instead of fulfilling its part of the agreement, the government, through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), was demanding from the GMA the list of all doctors living in government bungalows before the payment could be made.
He maintained that the list could easily be accessed at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department because the department effected monthly deductions for the payment of the rent and, therefore, had the data.
He stressed that in spite of that fact, the GMA still agreed to help by coming out with the data covering nine regions and part of those in the Greater Accra Region but, strangely enough, the FWSC came out to say that the data was not reliable and could, therefore, not be used.
Dr Winful stated that members of the GMA had come to the conclusion that there was a deliberate attempt on the part of the government not to effect the payment, hence the numerous excuses.
Accra Floods-any lessons learnt?
HEAVY floods in the western parts of Accra on Friday of June 19, 2009 claimed at least seven lives and also caused massive destruction to private and public property after two hours of rain.
Disaster managers described the floods as the most destructive in recent times, with the most affected places being Sakaman, Abossey Okai, Darkuman Junction and Kaneshie.
The floods also washed away the bitumen on the main Kaneshie First Light-Mpamprom road and caught on some of the vehicles in the rush-hour traffic to float and crash into one another.
On the morning of Saturday, June 20, 2009, personnel from the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces joined members of the Emergency Unit of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to offer rescue services to some of those trapped in the disaster, some of whom were all-night worshippers at the Royal House Chapel at the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle who were carried to safer grounds by the soldiers.
Houses in low lying areas at Mallam Junction, Sakaman, Awoshie, Santa Maria, Odorkor, Darkuman Junction, Atico Junction, Mataheko, North Kaneshie, Mpamprom and the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle were filled with water, at some places above window level.
About 9 a.m. on Saturday morning when the Daily Graphic joined a team of government officials and security personnel, including the Police and the Ghana National Fire Service, as well as officials of NADMO, to assess the situation, hundreds of residents were seen moving already destroyed valuables from their rooms.
At the time of the incident, Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, the then Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo; the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Vanderpuije; the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio-Atinga; the Ga South Municipal Chief Executive, Sheriff Nii Otto Dodoo; the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Winfred Lomotey Tesia; the Director of Operations at the Police Headquarters, ACP Richmond Boi-Bi-Boi; as well as ACP Yohuno, the second-in-command in Accra spent almost the whole day touring areas affected by the flood.
During the tour, a handful of media practitioners who decided to see it all and therefore accompanied the public officials to visit the homes of some of the victims who had either lost relations or valuables, had the impression that something would be done to prevent a similar situation in the subsequent years.
That is the more reason why many of us heaved a sigh of relief when on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 the Daily Graphic carried a front page story headlined “ Govt to Tackle Accra Floods-GH¢2.5m injected into the project”
The story indicated that a massive construction work is to begin that month (July 2009) to overhaul the entire drainage system in Accra, as a way of dealing with the perennial flooding in the national capital “once and for all”.
Towards that project, the government was said to have released GH¢2.5 million to cover the construction, expansion and extension of drains, as well as clearing silt from both major and minor drains to allow the free flow of water when it rains.
In addition, all structures that were on watercourses were supposed to be demolished and owners of those that were put up illegally, investigated and prosecuted.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw explained that “this is an attempt to solve the flood problem once and for all”.
She stated that the funds for the project were made available to the ministry the previous week and expressed the hope that after the work had been completed, Accra would be free from floods.
She again pointed out that the government was aware that apart from Accra, other parts of the country also experienced flooding, and added that the ministry was collaborating with the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to ensure that every part of the country was free from flood.
Few weeks after that story was published, drains around the Obetseby Lamptey Circle, Mallam Junction and Darkuman Junction saw some works. That was after the portion of the Kaneshie road which was washed off during the flood had been repaired. Again the drain which ran along the Kaneshie-Obetseby Lamptey Circle road as well as certain areas in Mataheko and Abossey Okai were desilted.
Almost one year after the flood occurred, some of us are yet see any serious work being done prevent the perennial rains this year.
I am saying this because on Saturday, March 20, 2010 an hour of rain in Accra once again brought to the fore the issue of flood. There were radio announcements to the effect that areas like Santa Maria, Awoshie, Osu, Adabraka and Kaneshie were flooded. Again, any regular user of the Graphic Road could bear witness to the fact the Odaw River that runs through the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and crosses the Graphic Road to the Agbogloshie area is almost choked with silt. One could even see green grass and similar bushes growing in parts of the drain. There are occasions that cattle had been seen grazing in the weedy portion. With such a situation, how could large volumes of water which pass through that drain when it rains move fast to sea?
As the rainy season is almost here with us, the question some of us would want to ask is whether residents of Accra and most specially, those living in low laying areas are safe.
That question is important because a recent story by this paper indicated that the southern sector of Ghana (which include Accra) is likely to experience heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms between May and June, according to forecasts by the Ghana Meteorological Agency.
The story stated that some areas in Accra and Kumasi are expected to experience flooding as a result of choked drains and buildings on waterways.
In an interview with the paper, the Principal Meteorological Officer, Togbe Gbegbie Fiamekor I, said the rains some weeks ago in some coastal areas marked the beginning of the rains in the southern sector.
He said Accra recorded 13.8 millimetres; Tema, 17.6 mm; Akatsi, 33.4 mm; Ada, 59.5 mm, and Saltpond, 1.0 mm.
Togbe Fiamekor cautioned that residents of Accra and Kumasi would experience flush floods if they continued to dump refuse into drains.
“Some areas in Accra and Kumasi will experience flush floods if people continue to choke the drains with garbage. People dump garbage indiscriminately into drains. People are not law abiding. If we do not change that mentality we shall always experience flush floods”, he said
Togbe Fiamekor lamented that innocent people might be the victims of the floods.
It is important to observe that either because much has not been done or what has been done is not up to expectation, the President J.E.A. Mills is scheduled to lead the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to launch a “national pre-floods” clean-up campaign in Accra on March 27, this year.
The exercise, which is expected to minimise the effects of floods when they occur, involves clearing drains and bushy areas throughout the country, most especially identified flood-prone areas.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the proposed national clean-up exercise, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NADMO, Major Nicholas Mensah (retd), said that people from all sections of the Ghanaian society would be mobilised for the exercise.
With this intervention from NADMO, one could easily realise that not much has yet been done toward incident-free rainy season this year and if care is not taken, the problem which had for some time now been confroting us as any nation where lives and properties are lost anytime it rains, will be repeated. Does it mean we have not as yet learnt any lessons?
Disaster managers described the floods as the most destructive in recent times, with the most affected places being Sakaman, Abossey Okai, Darkuman Junction and Kaneshie.
The floods also washed away the bitumen on the main Kaneshie First Light-Mpamprom road and caught on some of the vehicles in the rush-hour traffic to float and crash into one another.
On the morning of Saturday, June 20, 2009, personnel from the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces joined members of the Emergency Unit of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to offer rescue services to some of those trapped in the disaster, some of whom were all-night worshippers at the Royal House Chapel at the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle who were carried to safer grounds by the soldiers.
Houses in low lying areas at Mallam Junction, Sakaman, Awoshie, Santa Maria, Odorkor, Darkuman Junction, Atico Junction, Mataheko, North Kaneshie, Mpamprom and the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle were filled with water, at some places above window level.
About 9 a.m. on Saturday morning when the Daily Graphic joined a team of government officials and security personnel, including the Police and the Ghana National Fire Service, as well as officials of NADMO, to assess the situation, hundreds of residents were seen moving already destroyed valuables from their rooms.
At the time of the incident, Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, the then Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo; the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Alfred Vanderpuije; the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio-Atinga; the Ga South Municipal Chief Executive, Sheriff Nii Otto Dodoo; the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Winfred Lomotey Tesia; the Director of Operations at the Police Headquarters, ACP Richmond Boi-Bi-Boi; as well as ACP Yohuno, the second-in-command in Accra spent almost the whole day touring areas affected by the flood.
During the tour, a handful of media practitioners who decided to see it all and therefore accompanied the public officials to visit the homes of some of the victims who had either lost relations or valuables, had the impression that something would be done to prevent a similar situation in the subsequent years.
That is the more reason why many of us heaved a sigh of relief when on Tuesday, July 7, 2009 the Daily Graphic carried a front page story headlined “ Govt to Tackle Accra Floods-GH¢2.5m injected into the project”
The story indicated that a massive construction work is to begin that month (July 2009) to overhaul the entire drainage system in Accra, as a way of dealing with the perennial flooding in the national capital “once and for all”.
Towards that project, the government was said to have released GH¢2.5 million to cover the construction, expansion and extension of drains, as well as clearing silt from both major and minor drains to allow the free flow of water when it rains.
In addition, all structures that were on watercourses were supposed to be demolished and owners of those that were put up illegally, investigated and prosecuted.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw explained that “this is an attempt to solve the flood problem once and for all”.
She stated that the funds for the project were made available to the ministry the previous week and expressed the hope that after the work had been completed, Accra would be free from floods.
She again pointed out that the government was aware that apart from Accra, other parts of the country also experienced flooding, and added that the ministry was collaborating with the various metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to ensure that every part of the country was free from flood.
Few weeks after that story was published, drains around the Obetseby Lamptey Circle, Mallam Junction and Darkuman Junction saw some works. That was after the portion of the Kaneshie road which was washed off during the flood had been repaired. Again the drain which ran along the Kaneshie-Obetseby Lamptey Circle road as well as certain areas in Mataheko and Abossey Okai were desilted.
Almost one year after the flood occurred, some of us are yet see any serious work being done prevent the perennial rains this year.
I am saying this because on Saturday, March 20, 2010 an hour of rain in Accra once again brought to the fore the issue of flood. There were radio announcements to the effect that areas like Santa Maria, Awoshie, Osu, Adabraka and Kaneshie were flooded. Again, any regular user of the Graphic Road could bear witness to the fact the Odaw River that runs through the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and crosses the Graphic Road to the Agbogloshie area is almost choked with silt. One could even see green grass and similar bushes growing in parts of the drain. There are occasions that cattle had been seen grazing in the weedy portion. With such a situation, how could large volumes of water which pass through that drain when it rains move fast to sea?
As the rainy season is almost here with us, the question some of us would want to ask is whether residents of Accra and most specially, those living in low laying areas are safe.
That question is important because a recent story by this paper indicated that the southern sector of Ghana (which include Accra) is likely to experience heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms between May and June, according to forecasts by the Ghana Meteorological Agency.
The story stated that some areas in Accra and Kumasi are expected to experience flooding as a result of choked drains and buildings on waterways.
In an interview with the paper, the Principal Meteorological Officer, Togbe Gbegbie Fiamekor I, said the rains some weeks ago in some coastal areas marked the beginning of the rains in the southern sector.
He said Accra recorded 13.8 millimetres; Tema, 17.6 mm; Akatsi, 33.4 mm; Ada, 59.5 mm, and Saltpond, 1.0 mm.
Togbe Fiamekor cautioned that residents of Accra and Kumasi would experience flush floods if they continued to dump refuse into drains.
“Some areas in Accra and Kumasi will experience flush floods if people continue to choke the drains with garbage. People dump garbage indiscriminately into drains. People are not law abiding. If we do not change that mentality we shall always experience flush floods”, he said
Togbe Fiamekor lamented that innocent people might be the victims of the floods.
It is important to observe that either because much has not been done or what has been done is not up to expectation, the President J.E.A. Mills is scheduled to lead the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to launch a “national pre-floods” clean-up campaign in Accra on March 27, this year.
The exercise, which is expected to minimise the effects of floods when they occur, involves clearing drains and bushy areas throughout the country, most especially identified flood-prone areas.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the proposed national clean-up exercise, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NADMO, Major Nicholas Mensah (retd), said that people from all sections of the Ghanaian society would be mobilised for the exercise.
With this intervention from NADMO, one could easily realise that not much has yet been done toward incident-free rainy season this year and if care is not taken, the problem which had for some time now been confroting us as any nation where lives and properties are lost anytime it rains, will be repeated. Does it mean we have not as yet learnt any lessons?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Evaluating 2009 HIV Sentinel Survey
The National HIV Sentinel Survey (HSS), conducted annually, is a useful tool to observe trends, reinforce or increase the commitment to accelerate implementation and provide feedback for health workers, as well as local and international groups involved in AIDS prevention programmes.
In the last five years, HSS data have been used as the primary data source for the national HIV and AIDS estimate in Ghana.
The sentinel survey is a cross-sectional survey targeting pregnant women attending antenatal clinics (ANC) in selected ANC sites in Ghana. The surveillance system was initiated based on the premise that prevalence of HIV among pregnant women was a good proxy indicator of the spread of the infection among the populace.
At a day’s workshop to disseminate the 2009 HSS in Accra, on Monday March 15, it came out that the estimated percentage of new HIV cases in Ghana increased to 1.9 per cent in 2009 from 1.7 per cent in 2008.
Also the HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics was 2.9 per cent representing a 31 per cent increase of 2.2 per cent in 2008.
Addressing participants in the dissemination workshop where facts and figures of the 2009 HIV Sentinel Survey and National HIV and AIDS Prevalence Estimates were released, the Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme, Dr Nii Akwei Addo, maintained that despite the increase in prevalence of HIV in 2009, Ghana’s epidemic was still on the low side.
He was, however, quick to add that more effort was required by all stakeholders to keep the HIV prevalence on further decline, since complacency would erode the progress made so far.
For the survey, a total of 18,833 samples were collected from 69 antenatal clinics (ANCs) located in 40 sentinel sites (23 urban and 17 rural) across the country and records on 18,809 were analysed.
Dr Addo said there were an estimated 267,069 persons comprising 112,457 males and 154,612 females living with HIV and AIDS in Ghana and 25,666 of that were children; 12,579 being females.
Additionally, there were 22,177 new infections and 20,313 AIDS deaths with 2,566 being children.
The HIV site prevalence ranged from 0.7 per cent in North Tongu (rural) to 5.8 per cent in Koforidua and Agomanya (urban).
Dr Addo pointed out that interestingly, Agomanya saw a drop in prevalence from 2008’s figure of eight per cent to 5.8 per cent but still maintained its position as the site with the highest prevalence with Koforidua. Again, although Fanteakwa’s prevalence dropped to four per cent, it still remained the rural site with highest prevalence.
It also came out that all the regions with the exception of the Eastern Region recorded an increase in prevalence over 2008, Upper West Region recorded the highest increase of 3.1 per cent from 1.6 per cent. However, Eastern Region continues to be the region with the highest prevalence level.
For the age group, 40 to 44 years recorded the highest prevalence of four per cent while the 15-19 year group had the least prevalence of 1.9 per cent. Prevalence among the youth of age group 15-24 years which is used as a marker for new infections was 2.1 per cent.
According to the report, 91.8 per cent of the HIV positive samples were HIV type I; HIV type II was 5.2 per cent while HIV types I and II was three per cent.
Dr Addo said the country was gradually getting more HIV type II and HIV types I and II and considerations for a review of national antiretrovirals (ART) guidelines must take this trend into account given the limited regimens available for managing HIV type II.
For syphilis, the survey came out that the Central Region remained the region with the highest syphilis prevalence and Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (rural) the site with the highest prevalence.
The report indicated that rural areas continued to have higher syphilis prevalence than urban areas.
HIV prevalence among Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clients was almost halved from 10.5 per cent in 2008 to 5.5 per cent in 2009 due to decreases at both the Adabraka and Kumasi sites.
Dr Addo stated that while the number of AIDS deaths was expected to decline, the number of people living with HIV was expected to increase gradually with improved access to ART taking into consideration the emergence of new infections.
He said more persons living with HIV would need ART and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis but the demand for these medications in children was expected to decline as the risk of Mother-to-Child transmission of HIV was reduced through PMTCT intervention.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, said the results of the survey remained an important indicator for monitoring the trend of the disease in the country and provide useful information for policy intervention.
He cautioned against complacency in order not to erode the gains made so far, saying “the more we reduce the prevalence, the more we must work hard to keep it low”.
In the last five years, HSS data have been used as the primary data source for the national HIV and AIDS estimate in Ghana.
The sentinel survey is a cross-sectional survey targeting pregnant women attending antenatal clinics (ANC) in selected ANC sites in Ghana. The surveillance system was initiated based on the premise that prevalence of HIV among pregnant women was a good proxy indicator of the spread of the infection among the populace.
At a day’s workshop to disseminate the 2009 HSS in Accra, on Monday March 15, it came out that the estimated percentage of new HIV cases in Ghana increased to 1.9 per cent in 2009 from 1.7 per cent in 2008.
Also the HIV prevalence among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics was 2.9 per cent representing a 31 per cent increase of 2.2 per cent in 2008.
Addressing participants in the dissemination workshop where facts and figures of the 2009 HIV Sentinel Survey and National HIV and AIDS Prevalence Estimates were released, the Programme Manager of the National AIDS/STI Control Programme, Dr Nii Akwei Addo, maintained that despite the increase in prevalence of HIV in 2009, Ghana’s epidemic was still on the low side.
He was, however, quick to add that more effort was required by all stakeholders to keep the HIV prevalence on further decline, since complacency would erode the progress made so far.
For the survey, a total of 18,833 samples were collected from 69 antenatal clinics (ANCs) located in 40 sentinel sites (23 urban and 17 rural) across the country and records on 18,809 were analysed.
Dr Addo said there were an estimated 267,069 persons comprising 112,457 males and 154,612 females living with HIV and AIDS in Ghana and 25,666 of that were children; 12,579 being females.
Additionally, there were 22,177 new infections and 20,313 AIDS deaths with 2,566 being children.
The HIV site prevalence ranged from 0.7 per cent in North Tongu (rural) to 5.8 per cent in Koforidua and Agomanya (urban).
Dr Addo pointed out that interestingly, Agomanya saw a drop in prevalence from 2008’s figure of eight per cent to 5.8 per cent but still maintained its position as the site with the highest prevalence with Koforidua. Again, although Fanteakwa’s prevalence dropped to four per cent, it still remained the rural site with highest prevalence.
It also came out that all the regions with the exception of the Eastern Region recorded an increase in prevalence over 2008, Upper West Region recorded the highest increase of 3.1 per cent from 1.6 per cent. However, Eastern Region continues to be the region with the highest prevalence level.
For the age group, 40 to 44 years recorded the highest prevalence of four per cent while the 15-19 year group had the least prevalence of 1.9 per cent. Prevalence among the youth of age group 15-24 years which is used as a marker for new infections was 2.1 per cent.
According to the report, 91.8 per cent of the HIV positive samples were HIV type I; HIV type II was 5.2 per cent while HIV types I and II was three per cent.
Dr Addo said the country was gradually getting more HIV type II and HIV types I and II and considerations for a review of national antiretrovirals (ART) guidelines must take this trend into account given the limited regimens available for managing HIV type II.
For syphilis, the survey came out that the Central Region remained the region with the highest syphilis prevalence and Asikuma Odoben Brakwa (rural) the site with the highest prevalence.
The report indicated that rural areas continued to have higher syphilis prevalence than urban areas.
HIV prevalence among Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) clients was almost halved from 10.5 per cent in 2008 to 5.5 per cent in 2009 due to decreases at both the Adabraka and Kumasi sites.
Dr Addo stated that while the number of AIDS deaths was expected to decline, the number of people living with HIV was expected to increase gradually with improved access to ART taking into consideration the emergence of new infections.
He said more persons living with HIV would need ART and co-trimoxazole prophylaxis but the demand for these medications in children was expected to decline as the risk of Mother-to-Child transmission of HIV was reduced through PMTCT intervention.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, said the results of the survey remained an important indicator for monitoring the trend of the disease in the country and provide useful information for policy intervention.
He cautioned against complacency in order not to erode the gains made so far, saying “the more we reduce the prevalence, the more we must work hard to keep it low”.
Define who is journalist-Minister urges GJA
THE Minister of Information, Mr John Akolgo Tia, has tasked the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to go back to the old-school definition of who a journalist is.
He said since professional associations like the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) would not allow anybody without the requisite training to be recognised as one of them, journalists should also protect the integrity of the profession by redefining who actually was a journalist.
At a meeting with the management and union executive of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra yesterday, Mr Tia, who is a journalist himself, said it was important the GJA found ways to prevent the situation where anybody who could write or use a microphone to speak was referred to as a journalist.
The Information Minister said he would discuss with the GJA as to how to solve the problem and to bring sanctity into the practice of journalism in the country.
Touching on other issues confronting media practice currently, Mr Tia called for balance reportage so as to fairly serve all manner of persons within the society.
He observed that the Ghanaian media landscape currently was full of politics to the detriment of other development issues and urged both writers and presenters to do well by touching on other issues which bordered on the development of the Ghanaian society.
He reminded the media to always take into consideration the fundamentals of journalism, which border on the need to educate, to inform and to entertain, saying that some media entities usually settled on one aspect, especially the entertainment aspect, and ignore the other two.
He noted that media practice in Ghana at the moment had become highly competitive but went on to state that in spite of the competition, it was important each practitioner served as guide to the other for the benefit of society.
The minister took time to speak against unnecessary sensationalism, advising that information had become so vital to the world today that anybody who had the opportunity to have something to do with dissemination of information should be circumspect.
“Information has become one of the key factors of good governance and must be seen as such,” he stressed.
Mr Tia, who had already paid familiarisation visits to other state media houses, commended the GCGL for doing so well and urged other media organisations to learn from the company.
He also took the opportunity to commend the management staff for having good relationship with the workers’ union and pointed out that unlike other places that he visited, executives of the GCGL local union were present at the meeting without any prompting by him.
The Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, welcomed the minister on behalf of the company and took the opportunity to inform him about the 60th Anniversary celebration of the company, which falls due this year.
He acknowledged the fact that the media business in Ghana had become highly competitive since 1992 but was convinced that good work would always prevail.
As part of the visit, Mr Tia, who was in the company of staff of his ministry and a number of journalists, was taken round the various sections of the GCGL, where he interacted with some of the workers.
He said since professional associations like the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) would not allow anybody without the requisite training to be recognised as one of them, journalists should also protect the integrity of the profession by redefining who actually was a journalist.
At a meeting with the management and union executive of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) in Accra yesterday, Mr Tia, who is a journalist himself, said it was important the GJA found ways to prevent the situation where anybody who could write or use a microphone to speak was referred to as a journalist.
The Information Minister said he would discuss with the GJA as to how to solve the problem and to bring sanctity into the practice of journalism in the country.
Touching on other issues confronting media practice currently, Mr Tia called for balance reportage so as to fairly serve all manner of persons within the society.
He observed that the Ghanaian media landscape currently was full of politics to the detriment of other development issues and urged both writers and presenters to do well by touching on other issues which bordered on the development of the Ghanaian society.
He reminded the media to always take into consideration the fundamentals of journalism, which border on the need to educate, to inform and to entertain, saying that some media entities usually settled on one aspect, especially the entertainment aspect, and ignore the other two.
He noted that media practice in Ghana at the moment had become highly competitive but went on to state that in spite of the competition, it was important each practitioner served as guide to the other for the benefit of society.
The minister took time to speak against unnecessary sensationalism, advising that information had become so vital to the world today that anybody who had the opportunity to have something to do with dissemination of information should be circumspect.
“Information has become one of the key factors of good governance and must be seen as such,” he stressed.
Mr Tia, who had already paid familiarisation visits to other state media houses, commended the GCGL for doing so well and urged other media organisations to learn from the company.
He also took the opportunity to commend the management staff for having good relationship with the workers’ union and pointed out that unlike other places that he visited, executives of the GCGL local union were present at the meeting without any prompting by him.
The Managing Director of the GCGL, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, welcomed the minister on behalf of the company and took the opportunity to inform him about the 60th Anniversary celebration of the company, which falls due this year.
He acknowledged the fact that the media business in Ghana had become highly competitive since 1992 but was convinced that good work would always prevail.
As part of the visit, Mr Tia, who was in the company of staff of his ministry and a number of journalists, was taken round the various sections of the GCGL, where he interacted with some of the workers.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Ghana marks TB Day on March 24
THE National Tuberculosis (TB) Control Programme (NTP) has announced that this year’s World TB Day celebration scheduled for March 24, would be held in Tamale, the Northern Regional capital.
The theme for this year’s celebration is: "On the move against tuberculosis: Innovative to accelerate action".
March 24, each year commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the germ that causes tuberculosis.
Each year, Ghana joins the rest of the world to commemorate the World TB Day from March 24, and continues throughout the year. Activities carried out highlights the menace of TB amongst the general public.
At a workshop for selected journalists in Accra in preparation for this year’s TB Day, the NTP indicated that the theme called for a fast move to new innovations in the global fight against the disease. The year has also been dedicated to all diseases of the lung.
Synopsis for the 2010 World TB Day and Year of the Lung presented to journalists by officials of the NTP in Accra, stated that TB control was no longer the preserve of a few health professionals but everybody in the society had a role to play.
Addressing participants in the workshop, the TB Technical Advisor to NTP, Dr Rhehab Chimzizi, said HIV and AIDS and TB were currently referred to as the "deadly duo".
He observed that without a good TB control, the impact of HIV and AIDS in society would be devastating, adding Ghana had a TB control programme which was better than many programmes elsewhere.
He stated that for example, Ghana's policy to provide food to people on TB treatment in addition to free medication would help in controlling the disease in the country.
Dr Chimzizi, who also represents Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and the Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TB\CTA) said TB was the third leading cause of death among women of reproductive age globally, adding that although TB affected more men than women, it killed more women than men due to various factors.
He explained that women who suffered TB were less likely to be diagnosed than men and also less likely to receive treatment.
Dr Chimzizi said the cost of seeking treatment was high for women because of their household duties and child care responsibilities, which involved cost.
He added that in some societies women did not make decision to seek health care, adding that in such cases, husbands or other household members decided for the women as to when and how to seek for treatment.
Dr Chimzizi said when women were infected with the disease or died from it, households suffered from the loss of her earnings and also suffered additional losses due to reduction of activities that women routinely performed in the households.
Touching on what one should know about TB and other lung diseases, as well as the path to cure, an official of the NTP, Ms Mary Ann Ahaibu, said TB was a contagious bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis which mostly affected the lungs (pulmonary TB) but could also affect any organ of the body (extra pulmonary TB).
She mentioned pulmonary TB, which was the commonest, and said some of the cardinal symptoms were a cough lasting for two weeks of more, loss of weight, tiredness, night sweats, chest pain and cough with blood.
Ms Ahaibu said TB was preventable and curable and that treatment was free in all public and certified private health institutions throughout the country.
The Communications Officer of the NTP, Ms Cynthia Oware, urged media houses to support the fight against tuberculosis, since the staff of the programme could not do it all alone.
She said the media could do this by educating the public on the dos and don'ts of the disease to help control it.
The theme for this year’s celebration is: "On the move against tuberculosis: Innovative to accelerate action".
March 24, each year commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the germ that causes tuberculosis.
Each year, Ghana joins the rest of the world to commemorate the World TB Day from March 24, and continues throughout the year. Activities carried out highlights the menace of TB amongst the general public.
At a workshop for selected journalists in Accra in preparation for this year’s TB Day, the NTP indicated that the theme called for a fast move to new innovations in the global fight against the disease. The year has also been dedicated to all diseases of the lung.
Synopsis for the 2010 World TB Day and Year of the Lung presented to journalists by officials of the NTP in Accra, stated that TB control was no longer the preserve of a few health professionals but everybody in the society had a role to play.
Addressing participants in the workshop, the TB Technical Advisor to NTP, Dr Rhehab Chimzizi, said HIV and AIDS and TB were currently referred to as the "deadly duo".
He observed that without a good TB control, the impact of HIV and AIDS in society would be devastating, adding Ghana had a TB control programme which was better than many programmes elsewhere.
He stated that for example, Ghana's policy to provide food to people on TB treatment in addition to free medication would help in controlling the disease in the country.
Dr Chimzizi, who also represents Management Sciences for Health (MSH) and the Tuberculosis Coalition for Technical Assistance (TB\CTA) said TB was the third leading cause of death among women of reproductive age globally, adding that although TB affected more men than women, it killed more women than men due to various factors.
He explained that women who suffered TB were less likely to be diagnosed than men and also less likely to receive treatment.
Dr Chimzizi said the cost of seeking treatment was high for women because of their household duties and child care responsibilities, which involved cost.
He added that in some societies women did not make decision to seek health care, adding that in such cases, husbands or other household members decided for the women as to when and how to seek for treatment.
Dr Chimzizi said when women were infected with the disease or died from it, households suffered from the loss of her earnings and also suffered additional losses due to reduction of activities that women routinely performed in the households.
Touching on what one should know about TB and other lung diseases, as well as the path to cure, an official of the NTP, Ms Mary Ann Ahaibu, said TB was a contagious bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis which mostly affected the lungs (pulmonary TB) but could also affect any organ of the body (extra pulmonary TB).
She mentioned pulmonary TB, which was the commonest, and said some of the cardinal symptoms were a cough lasting for two weeks of more, loss of weight, tiredness, night sweats, chest pain and cough with blood.
Ms Ahaibu said TB was preventable and curable and that treatment was free in all public and certified private health institutions throughout the country.
The Communications Officer of the NTP, Ms Cynthia Oware, urged media houses to support the fight against tuberculosis, since the staff of the programme could not do it all alone.
She said the media could do this by educating the public on the dos and don'ts of the disease to help control it.
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