Day: November 17, 2023

Ms Stella Klutse, an assembly member aspirant, has emphasised the need for women to be empowered to enhance national development.

She said women played key roles in the nation’s developmental agenda, the reason they must be given the needed empowerment to strengthen them.

Miss Klutse said this when she picked a form to contest the upcoming district level election at Nsana Zongo Electoral Area.

She said her quest to contest for the post was out of her passion to contribute to the development of the area and numerous calls from the electorates who believed in her.

The assembly member hopeful said the men had done their best, and that it was time for the women to rise and show their potential to bring development to their areas.

‘Being the only woman contesting in the whole Nkwanta town, gives me more joy, courage and I am very optimistic that victory shall be mine come December 19,’ she said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Some non-governmental organisations have lauded the Government’s plans to waive taxes on locally produced sanitary pads and import duties on raw materials for its local production.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, announced the waivers on Wednesday, November 15 when he presented the 2024 Budget Statement to Parliament.

The waivers are part of the Government’s effort to bring economic relief to citizens and lessen their plight.

The response comes after several groups, organisations and individuals made calls on the government to scrap the tax.

Ms Vera Elikem Awuye, Team Lead for Gender, International Needs Ghana, said the plan was in the right direction.

‘The fact that this issue has gained the attention of government means that all our efforts have not been in vain.’ Ms Awuye told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.

‘I hope that it is not just going to be a talkshow but that the government is really committed to implementing it,’ she added.

Ms Awuye noted that implementing the plan would ma
ke sanitary pads affordable which would help reduce period poverty among girls.

She said it would also reduce transactional sex, a situation where girls had to depend on other people to purchase basic sanitary materials but end up being abused and exploited by such people.

She said reducing transactional sex would significantly reduce adolescent pregnancies.

Ms Awuye noted that, with about 51 per cent of Ghana’s population being females, and a large portion of them menstruating, there was a huge market for sanitary pads, adding that, Ghanaians needed to leverage it to build the local economy.

‘Let’s open up the market so we have more manufacturers producing the sanitary pads locally, instead of importing them. It will create jobs for more people in the country,’ she said.

Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, Executive Director, RISE – Ghana, described the Government’s plan as ‘a significant progress.’

Aside from sanitary pads becoming more affordable for the final consumer, he noted that when implemented properly, it
would boost local manufacturing of sanitary pads.

‘Once we have more people getting into the industry, then the competition is likely to further bring down the prices,’ he explained.

Mr Kariama said beyond the tax waivers, other measures should be put in place to create a more enabling environment for local producers.

He cautioned the Government to be more vigilant regarding the implementation of the import duty waivers.

He said this was critical because at times, some tax waivers led to illicit trade, where people imported materials under the guise of using it in the country but ended up in other countries.

‘There should be proper regulation to ensure that people do not abuse it-so as to prevent a situation where importers make money whilst the consumer continues to suffer.’ Mr Kariama said.

‘This is a very delicate balance that needs to be done well,’ he noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana has joined the international community to mark the 12th International Day of Radiology (IDoR 2023) to promote the essential role that radiology plays in the patient journey.

The commemoration ignites a series of activities to promote the seismic impact of radiology on medicine earlier detection, fewer surgeries, and game-changing treatment outcomes.

As part of the commemoration, the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) Radiology Unit joined forces with Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office to mark the event with a lecture and call on the public to reconsider the role of radiology in the holistic health care system.

Speaking at the weekly ‘Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility,’ a health education platform initiated by the Ghana News Agency’s Tema Regional Office, Ms Sarah Asiedu, IMaH Diagnostic Radiographer, charged policymakers to expand the frontiers for comprehensive health care.

Ms Asiedu who spoke on the theme: ‘Celebrating Patient Safety,’ said the topic seeks to highlight the critic
al role that professionals played in maintaining the effectiveness of

healthcare systems and ensuring the well-being of patients, which extended beyond the field of radiation protection.

She said medical imaging was one of the most exciting and progressive disciplines in healthcare, explaining that while x-rays, MRI scans, ultrasound, and other medical imaging technologies were known to many people, their value and impact on patient care were not widely understood.

‘That’s why IDoR was launched in 2012 to build greater awareness of radiology and the vital role radiologists play in patient care,’ she said.

She commended GNA for creating a platform for the dissemination of health information.

Mr David Atawone, the Head of IMaH Radiography, encouraged all radiologists, radiographers, radiological technologists, professionals in other related fields, and patient groups to join hands to recognise and promote the essential role that radiology played in the patient journey.

He said the observance of the day ai
med at building greater awareness of the value that radiology contributed to safe patient care and improving public understanding of the vital role of radiologists and radiographers in the healthcare continuum.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, the GNA Tema Regional Manager, called on medical professionals to combine their skills with the communication expertise of media personnel in health communication.

He said effective health communication transmitted through credible media outlets to the public, would reduce the incidence of misinformation and create public awareness about healthy lifestyles.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Celebrated Ghana-based Belgian on-air personality Shallie Abbiusi has made a clarion call for support for the people of Mepe, who have been adversely affected by the recent Akosombo Dam spillage.

The award-winning TV reality star, upon an invitation by North Tongu Member of Parliament Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa, joined businessman Freedom Jacob Ceasar to donate to flood victims.

‘This flood situation gets me emotional whenever I see its devastating effects. I will support in any way I can, even as authorities are working tirelessly to restore the affected communities back to normal,’ she said.

Shallie’s latest visit comes barely two weeks after her previous trip to the town, where she toured two out of the 21 camps, which are currently housed in schools due to the devastating floods that have disrupted education in the area.

The TV personality stated that she took it upon herself to step up and provide crucial aid to the flood victims and helped to deliver essential relief items, including clothing and sanitar
y pads for women, to provide immediate assistance to the vulnerable.

She noted that her efforts seek to raise awareness about the ongoing challenges faced by the community and encouraged others to extend a helping hand and rally support for the affected communities.

In other related developments, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, recently announced a GHS220 million relief package for the thousands of displaced victims who have been affected by the spillage.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Central Regional Directorate of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development has threatened to close all illegal Residential Homes for Children (RHC) across the Region.

The Department will not countenance any illegal activities of children’s homes that often spring before, during and after major festivities like Christmas to cash in on donations.

Madam Monica Siaw, the Regional Director of the Department, told the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast that her office was going all out to stop the illegalities.

‘The Department is aware of the illegal springing up of childcare homes ahead of major festivities, particularly Christmas and Easter in Ghana. Most of them cease to exist after the festive seasons.’

She noted that because the festive periods were prime time alms giving, some unscrupulous people clandestinely resurrected dead homes or set up new ones to exploit unsuspecting donors of their kindness.

She warned perpetrators to desist from the illegal practice before the law caught up wi
th them, saying, the act would no longer ne countenanced.

Madam Siaw stated that the Region had 11 accredited Residential Children’s Homes including Living Hope, Elmina-Abenadzi, Charis Shepherd Vineyard, near Ataabadze Junction, Methodist Rafiki, Winneba junction-Gyahadzi, and Pearl House, Low Cost-Winneba.

Others were Hope Children Village, Gomoa Fetteh, Royal Saeed, Papaasi number one, Countryside, Bawjiase, Trinity Baptist Home Centre, Ayensudo, Mother Care, Swedru and Challenging Height at Afransi.

She reminded donors to always demand a Social Welfare certificate or reach out to the Department for their direction.

She said the Department had over the years closed some homes in the Region and across the country due to improper management of these facilities and their illegal operations.

Some illegal homes sometimes harvested children from communities who were not orphans, whilst some legal ones also purposefully populated their facilities with children not orphans during festive seasons, to get more
support from the public.

Such attitudes, by all intent and purpose, she said, were a drawback to the Department’s resolve to seek to the welfare and integrate the disadvantaged, vulnerable, people with disabilities and the excluded into mainstream society.

On other issues, she mentioned child maintenance as the leading reported cases of child rights abuses across the Region.

She said child maintenance was recognised as a mandatory parental obligation, enforced by the Department and the Court through social workers.

The Children’s Act of Ghana mandated a parent or any other person who was legally liable to maintain a child or contribute towards their maintenance, to supply the fundamentals of health, life, education and reasonable shelter for the child.

Therefore, parents who refused to take care of the maintenance of their children risked prosecution.

‘Everyone should know that children’s protection, education, health, and shelter are important for their growth and development and should therefore not b
e taken for granted,’ she said.

The Regional Director also urged those who had divorced, to ensure the upkeep of their children and appealed to community and family members to take care of orphans just as their children, rather than sending them to children’s homes.

‘It is important to raise a child in their homes where there is an opportunity for them to have contact with the families and community members,’ she stated.

While commending the government for its support over the years, she mentioned inadequate logistical constraints and funding as the main challenges confronting the Department in the region.

Source: Ghana News Agency