Day: November 23, 2023

As part of efforts to rein in road accidents in the Adansi enclave ahead of the yuletide, 50 commercial and institutional drivers as well as cyclists have undergone free training on safe road usage.

The training was put together by AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Ghana Ambulance Service, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), and the Obuasi Municipal Assembly.

According to statistics from the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, more than 30 people died out of 145 accident cases recorded in Obuasi between January and September 2023.

This, according to the Social Development and Gender Superintendent of AngloGold Ashanti, Mavis Nana Yaa Kyei, was very alarming thereby informing stakeholders to put in place proactive measures to contain the situation.

She told the media on the sidelines of the training that, it formed part of the community safety programme o
f AngloGold Ashanti, aimed at instilling a culture of responsible driving and adherence to traffic rules, as well as raise awareness about potential hazards on the road.

She said through the training, drivers would be equipped with the necessary tools and information which would enable them to use the road safely, thereby reducing accidents and preventing deaths or injuries on the road.

Ms Kyei was optimistic that the training would provide the platform to enhance cooperation and communication between drivers and relevant authorities, to address concerns and ensure strict adherence to road traffic regulations.

She hinted that AngloGold Ashanti after the training, would come out with a broader road safety campaign project which would further empower drivers with the necessary knowledge and skills.

‘We believe with this, we can make a significant contribution in reducing road accidents and saving lives,’ she noted.

Mr. Edwin Ofori, the Obuasi Manager of DVLA, lauded AngloGold Ashanti for organising and spo
nsoring the training, stressing that it would empower drivers by refreshing their minds on the best practices to adopt to ensure safety on the road which would help reduce road accidents in Obuasi.

He called on drivers to prioritise vehicle maintenance, which he said was crucial for keeping cars running smoothly and safely.

‘Regularly check and change the oil, inspect the tires, brakes, and lights, and schedule routine maintenance like tune-ups and fluid checks.

Always remember, proper maintenance can help prevent breakdowns and extend the life of the vehicle,’ he advised.

Chief Inspector Francis Egyir of Obuasi MTTD, who took the drivers through how to ensure safety on the road, blamed the surge in road accidents on reckless driving.

He advised drivers to avoid texting or talking on the phone and other activities that could distract their attention while driving.

‘It means anticipating potential hazards and taking proactive measures to avoid accidents and stay alert, follow traffic rules, and be mindfu
l of other drivers,’ he reiterated.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Young Professional and Youth Coalition (YPYC) has charged the youth to increase climate activism in furtherance of achieving the objects of the ‘Conference of the Parties’ – COP 28.

In a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency in Accra ahead of a one-day high level virtual youth conference, scheduled for November 27, President and Founder, YPYC, Mr Andy Osei Okrah, said diverse initiatives had been triggered locally to feed into the global challenge to strengthen youth participation in climate change programmes and urged young people to take advantage of them.

‘The YPYC will join the comity of nations in a concerted campaign to roll back the pervasive effects of climate change on humanity and livelihoods.’

Mr Osei Okrah said behavioral change held the key to positioning the youth as owners with a greater stake in the fortunes of the environment in the distant future to join global initiatives in restoring the ecology to its former self.

He said student leaders, tertiary students, young professional
s, youth and climate change advocates and ambassadors, who made up the target group, should constitute themselves into brand ambassadors of climate change content for the good of humanity.

He said the conference would navigate the delicate balance of achieving a healthy, regulated climate and the ever-increasing human reliance on same for research, industrial growth and technological advances.

‘We need collective mobilisation to bring issues of the environment to the front burner to let same feature prominently on the table of officialdom in tandem with political success and economic prosperity, which predominantly, has been the priority of the political class,’ Mr Osei Okrah added.

He noted that: ‘Stopping global warming is an inherently global goal since greenhouse gasses emitted anywhere, affect people everywhere, and the survival or otherwise of one, is inextricably indexed to the other.’

The YPYC Founder called for fair and inclusive decision-making process in a bid to thread down the wave of increas
ed heat and drought in parts of the world.

‘The single biggest health threat facing humanity, including air quality, disease, extreme weather events, forced displacement, increased hunger and poor nutrition can be reversed with the active inclusion of the youth.’

Speakers for the conference include Miss Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Director of Climate Change, Forestry Commission, Professor Daniel Ofori, Director, Forest Research institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and Miss Dora Cudjoe, lead stakeholder engagement, CIF,USA.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Civil society actors in Ghana, led by Vision for Alternative Development (VALD-Ghana) have expressed their support to the Food and Drugs Authority’s (FDA) position to ban alcohol advertisements by celebrities.

They said the banning of celebrities from advertising alcoholic beverages was an effective public health measure that would protect the health and rights of Ghanaian children.

This was in a statement signed by Mr Labram Musah, the Executive Director of Programmes of VALD-Ghana and copied the Ghana News Agency.

The actors expressed their displeasure with the section of the media and some celebrities who are up in arms fighting the FDA and the government for formulating alcohol guidelines aimed at protecting and safeguarding the health, well-being and rights of children and young people from harm caused by alcohol consumption.

The statement said alcohol marketing was largely targeted at children and young people; ‘this is a violation of their rights, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on t
he Rights of the Child.

‘Children have the right to grow up in a healthy environment, to be protected from being hurt, from receiving harmful information and from any exploitation.’

It said concurrently, Article 28 of Ghana’s constitution reiterated that children and young people must, in all circumstances, receive special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards.

‘This article agrees that every Ghanaian child has the right to life and education,’ the statement said, and added that; ‘it is worth noting that these global and national provisions are all dependent on whether or not the child in question is healthy; thus, the child’s right to health must at all times superseded all other interests.’

They said as civil society actors with the mandate to champion public health against business interests, ‘we strongly support the FDA’s stance regarding hindering well-known individuals and celebrities from advertising alcoholic beverages.

‘Our core responsibility is to advocate for comprehensive
public health policies that safeguard the rights, health and well-being of children and young people.’

The statement said It was appalling that some celebrities wished to engage in alcohol advertisements for monetary benefits or personal gains without recognizing its adverse effect on children and young people as well as the poor.

‘They leverage their significant influence and huge social media following to entice young people who look up to them into alcohol consumption at the expense of their health and future,’ it stated, adding that; ‘Every country, including Ghana, has the utmost responsibility to protect its present and future generations from health-harming products such as alcohol and tobacco.’

The statement said alcohol consumption among children and young people led to a substantial burden of disease, disabilities and death, which could be prevented.

‘The science is very clear that alcohol use in young people, especially early-onset among minors, increases the risk of disrupting brain developmen
t, developing alcohol use problems later in life, unwanted pregnancies, contracting transmissible diseases, being injured, or even killed through violence and road traffic crashes.

‘Since the human brain develops until the age of 25, alcohol consumption poses a developmental risk to children and youth, affecting the development of cognitive and intellectual capacities,’ it stated.

The statement said: ‘We, the entire civil society fraternity in public health stand with the FDA and the government of Ghana in their decision to continue to implement the ban on celebrities from alcohol advertisement.

‘It is a step in the right direction to avoid the incubation of a new generation of alcohol addicts and the associated diseases and the socioeconomic burden.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) says claims from the Minority in Parliament accusing the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COCOBOD of over selling cocoa forward sales was false.

In a statement issued in Accra, COCOBOD said the allocation of 338,600 metric tonnes of cocoa as a guarantee for the syndicated loan did not imply that the remaining quantity would be or had been exclusively sold at spot prices.

Forward sales serve the dual purpose of securing syndicated loans and strategically managing cocoa stocks.

The statement said at the time of determining the producer price for the 2023/24 Season, a substantial portion of the cacoa had been sold based on the reasons indicated above, therefore, the statement by the CEO was accurate and cannot be described as a lie

However, it said COCOBOD employed a diversified approach to cocoa sales, utilising forward, spot, and prepayment strategies based on market dynamics, funding, and collateral requirements.

‘The use of forward sales is a deliberate strategy aimed at
price risk mitigation and stock management,’ it added.

It assured all stakeholders that if the final average achieved price surpasses the US$2,600 used by the Producer Price Review Committee (PPRC) in arriving at the current producer price of cocoa, due consideration will be given and addressed in favour of the hardworking farmers.

‘We still remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring a transparent and fair cocoa production and trading environment,’ it added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Nana Akosua Gyamfiaba II, Queen Mother of Nyankrom and Acting Paramount Queen Mother, Shama Traditional Council has decried the increasing illegal mining activities in the country.

According to Nana Gyamfiaba II, illegal mining was getting out of hand and urged the government to intervene to save water bodies.

She noted that illegal mining was not only destroying water bodies, but destroying farmlands, plant species and buffer zones.

Nana Gyamfiaba II was speaking at the 14th Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Annual Natural Resources and Environment Review Forum 2023 held in Accra.

The forum was under the theme: ‘Enhancing the integration of sustainable National Resource and Environment Priorities in Ghana’s Development Frameworks: Critical issues by CSOs for State Agencies and Political Actors.’

The forum organised by Kasa Initiative Ghana, aims at promoting the reflection of Key Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) issues in political manifestos towards 2024.

Kasa Initiative Ghana is a NRE platfo
rm that works with over 500 Civil Society partners to support participatory environmental and natural resource governance.

Nana Gyamfiaba appealed to the government to repeal LI 2462 to ensure that mining activities in all forest reserves are prohibited.

According to her, mining activities had serious bearing on the health of the people adding use of mercury in mining was affecting fertility (menstruation) and childbirth.

Dr Mary Ewusi Deputy Director Interparty/ CSOs Organisation, National Democratic Congress (NDC) said a sustainable Natural resource environment involved the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil and plants and animals.

‘It deals with managing the way in which people and natural landscapes interact and it also brings together land using planning, water management and biodiversity conservation and the future sustainability of the future industries such as agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry.

According to her, natural resources provide all important bas
ic human existences and human activities.

Dr Ewusi said the relevance of natural resources demand that the country ought to take critical steps should be taken to educate the citizens on managing resources in a sustainable way

‘It is therefore imperative to create awareness of the physical environment and develop people’s knowledge and skills and their capacity to manage and protect these resources.’

Dr Ewusi noted that Ghana as a country faced many challenges such as securing energy and fuel supply, creating jobs and income, tackling the threats of climate change and floods among others.

She said tackling these challenges required fresh ideas, radical new ways of thinking and doing things.

‘These include how we maintain, improve and use our natural resources. A poorly managed environment increases the long-term risk of our well-being and makes challenges worse.

A healthy and resilient environment helps sustain people and our economy. We need to look for ways that our natural resources can provide multi
ple benefits for people and nature,’ she added.

Dr Ewusi said when the environment works at its best, society as a whole thrives.

She said the NDC has prioritised the environmental issues in their campaign document.

According to her the party has a strong commitment to prioritise environmental management by reducing deforestation and increasing afforestation.

Dr Ewusi said illegal mining (galamsey) has destroyed Ghana’s forest reserve to the extent that cocoa trees were being cut down for people to engage in illegal mining.

She said the NDC government would increase the private sector participation, CSOs, communities and individuals in reforestation.

According to her the party would increase forest reserve patrols and enforcement activities in some critical areas.

She said the party intends to be done through intense staff training.

Mr Albert Kataka said mining in forest reserves should not be entertained adding if care was not taken the country would lose all its forest reserves.

Mr Jonathan Gokah,
Coordinator, Kasa Initiative Ghana, said his organisation has decided to hold continuous discussions with political parties on issues concerning natural resources management.

Mr Gokah said Kasa Initiative Ghana seeks to finetune policies of political parties within their manifestoes and draft official communiques for state agencies and ministries in NRE issues.

Mr Gokah said his organisation as a next step would like to engage political parties one on one on issues of environment and natural resources.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), on Wednesday hosted an open day to interact with and inform the public about its workings.

The open day precedes its 8th Annual Research Meeting, which aims to bring together experts from diverse fields to present cutting-edge research findings and facilitate discussions on the implications of their work for health policy.

This year’s meeting is on the theme ‘Strengthening research capacity to mitigate current and future disease threats, bridging the research policy divide.’

The open day provided an opportunity for members of the public, particularly students, to tour the institute’s laboratory and learn firsthand about the range of research projects the organisation is involved in.

Professor Micheal Ofori, Head of the Immunology Department, NMIMR said another goal of the day was to inspire students to participate in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programmes.

‘We know that most of them have heard about Noguchi Memoria
l Institute for Medical Research, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they don’t have enough knowledge on the work done here.’

He said the open day would give the NMIMR a chance to show students how science is applied in real-world settings and how it can be used to solve issues.

It was attended by over 15 Basic schools, Junior High School, Senior High School, and students from the University of Ghana.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Bono East Regional Health Insurance Authority, in a special exercise, has freely renewed the National Health Insurance cards for students in six public Senior High Schools.

The exercise covered also some members of the public to enable them to have access to health care in the region.

About 700 people, including students of the Mount Carmel Girls Senior High School in Techiman benefited from the weeklong exercise aimed at encouraging people to renew their cards on time to access quality health services during emergencies.

Mr George Opong-Dankwah, Bono East Regional Director for the NHIA disclosed this on Wednesday during a blood donation exercise organized by the NHIA at the Mount Carmel Girls Senior High School to mark the 20 years of the scheme operations in the Region.

According to Mr. Opong-Dankwah the exercise was part of measures to inspire people to register with the scheme, to achieve it purpose of ensuring quality health services for the public adding that the NHIA has put in place effective
measures to address the co-payment system affecting the smooth running of the scheme.

Mr. Opong-Dankwah mentioned that co-payment committees have been inaugurated in all the district and regional offices of NHIA while front desks have been established in most of the major health facilities to check the billing systems of the scheme

He reiterated the need for card bearers to always confirm they were active and that of their family members because they would not know the time that they may need help in emergency situations or accidents.

He noted that the gesture to involve students whose cards has expired and could not renew due to financial constraint and other challenges was very good intervention to assist them access affordable and reliable health care timely even when they were in school.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) and the University of West Indies (UWI) have signed an agreement for a joint medical exchange programme.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to promote cultural diversity in medical education.

The programme, dubbed ‘Transnational Medical Programme,’ is a six-year joint medical programme designed to allow students to complete the first three years of their studies at the University of the West Indies, leading to the award of a Bachelor of Science Post-clinical Science degree by the University of the West Indies.

Students who successfully complete the BSc. Programme would be admitted to the fourth year of the MBChB programme at the University of Ghana Medical School for the clinical phase of their training.

Upon completion the students would be awarded Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Degree from the University of Ghana.

The establishment of the student exchange programme would enable staff and students from the University of Ghana and the Uni
versity of West Indies to collaborate in ground-breaking research, teaching, and learning.

Speaking at the launch of the programme, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana, said the agreement would enable both universities to exchange resources and educational opportunities, as well as share expertise.

She the UGMS had so far obtained accreditation, signed a three-year MoU, and completed the first batch of admissions.

Prof Alfred Edwin Yawson, the Dean, UGMS, explained that the President Akufo-Addo’s visit to the West Indies and discussion of potential areas of cooperation marked the beginning of the relationship between the two institutions.

He said the exchange programme was developed as an international and institutional collaborative venture to promote cultural diversity in medical education in two social and environmental settings to enhance practice and the proficiency of the doctors who would be trained.

According to Prof. Yawson, the programme was consistent with
the UG’s internationalization initiative and its pursuit of global partnerships with sister universities.

He said the programme was designed to provide students with the best of both worlds by giving them the opportunity to use the advanced technologies from the West Indies and the modern facilities at the UGMS.

Julliette Babb-Riley, Charge d’Affaires and Head of Mission High Commission of Barbados to the Republic of Ghana, said the establishment of the joint programme was in line with Barbados’ aim of fostering cooperation between the two nations.

She commended the University of Ghana and the University of West Indies for bringing the programme to fruition, adding, ‘I look forward to further building on the relationship between faculties of the two universities.’

Professor Clive Landis, the Principal and Pro Vice -Chancellor, UWI, also commended the UG on the success of the joint initiative.

He said the first batch of students were already in Barbados.

Source: Ghana News Agency