Saturday, October 24, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 25)
By Rebecca Kwei
The Director of the National Centre for Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine, Dr Joel Yarney, has called for the establishment of a National Cancer Control Programme in the country.
This he said he would help increase cancer awareness and reduce its burden in the country.
“Just as we have the National Malaria Control Programme and for Tuberculosis, we need one for cancer so that cancers in all forms can be taken seriously because it is a major public health problem. Cancer awareness will permeate to the district level and there will be more public education” he told The Mirror in an interview.
Additionally, he said there was also a need for a National Cancer Registry to enable the country collect accurate cancer data that can be used for cancer control and research purposes.
The centre which is located at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital handles all kinds of cancers such as breast, cervix, prostrate, head and neck, bowel, and gynaecological cancers except cancers of the blood.
In 2008, the centre handled 950 new cases of cancers as compared to about 850 in 2007. As of now (October) the cancer cases seen at the centre is 910 and Dr Yarney was sure the figure may get to a 1000 by the end of the year.
He said breast cancer was the leading case that was brought to the centre. In 2008, there were 266 new cases representing 28 per cent of the total number of cancers reported there.
Dr Yarney said a cancer control programme and a cancer registry in the case of breast cancer would also help in institutionalising a screening programme for women who are 40 years and above.
He attributed the increasing number of cancer cases reported at the centre to increase in awareness adding that “a cancer registry will give you an accurate picture of the cancer cases in the whole country. The figures are for this centre only and not a reflection of what is happening in the whole country. Nigeria has a cancer registry and so has Zimbabwe”.
October is breast cancer month and touching on that Dr Yarney said about 65 per cent of patients who reported at the centre with breast cancer cases reported very late when the cancer had reached an advanced stage.
“Most women fear that their breast will be cut and they will die but it is not automatic. Being diagnosed of breast cancer is not a death sentence” he stressed.
Dr Yarney said as soon as a woman feels a lump in her breast, it was important to see a doctor and not attribute it to the work of witches.
He said when breast cancer was detected early it can be cured adding that breast cancer in its early stage presents no symptoms “that is why every woman must make a conscious effort to self examine her breast regularly and if there is anything unusual see a doctor.”
Some risk factors of breast cancer, Dr Yarney said was that if one had a relative who had breast cancer before age 40 or family history of breast cancer, then one has a high risk of developing breast cancer; high fatty food, sedentary lifestyle, early menstruation, late menopause, hormone replacement therapy and oral contraceptive which he said was debatable.
He explained that one or several risk factors does not necessarily mean one will develop cancer since some women with breast cancer have no known risk factors other than being a woman.
He said the centre runs a breast cancer screening programme every Tuesday and said any woman can walk in for screening since there was no need for a referral.
The centre also has all modalities such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for the treatment of cancers.
According to Dr Yarney, the cost of treatment for cancers at the centre was manageable adding that breast cancer was on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and some of the medication for treatment.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Increase women's participation in governance
Saturday, October 10, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 36)
By Rebecca Kwei
A Governance Programme Officer of the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ghana, Mr Frank Wilson Bodza, has called on the government to come out with an affirmative action policy for the country to ensure increased women’s participation in political decision-making.
He said analysis of countries that had adopted affirmative action showed increased participation of women in governance in those countries.
Mr Bodza explained that affirmative action was an action by an institution to improve the lot of poorly represented people, adding that it was a temporary measure to address a structural or systemic problem over time.
He made the call at a media seminar on affirmative action policy organised by Wildaf, Ghana, in Accra.
Giving examples of countries that have affirmative action policy , Mr Bodza said Rwanda which practices constitutional quota had 24 seats reserved for women.
He said Rwanda had an 80-member parliament and now had 45 women parliamentarians.
Another country, Sweden, has a 50 per cent quota for women in all the parties and there are 164 women in the 349-member parliament.
The 150-member parliament of The Netherlands has 62 women while in South Africa there are 132 women in the 400-member parliament.
The number of women in Ghana’s 200-member parliament in 1992 was 16 and increased to 18 in 1996 and then to 19 in 2000.
In 2004, the 230-member parliament had 25 women. This number, however, decreased to 20 in 2008. The number has further been reduced to 19 following the death of the MP for Chereponi, Doris Asibi Seidu. The by-election was won by Mr Samuel Abdulai Jabanyite of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He said Ghana made bold steps towards affirmative action in the 1960s where 10 women were elected unopposed to represent their regions in 1960 and the number of women parliamentarians increased to 19 in 1965 where 10 went through the special law and nine contested and won on merit.
Mr Bodza said Wildaf was not satisfied with the number of women appointed to political positions, and appealed to government to be committed to its promise of reviewing the 1998 Affirmative Action Policy Guideline.
He said, for instance, the 10-member Government Economic Advisory Council had no woman on the council and queried whether “there was no woman economist in Ghana?”
The 25-member Council of State has only three women while the 10 regional ministers had only one woman.
“There is a need for affirmative action not in all sectors but for political decision making because of the low number of women representation. Both men and women need to represent equally,” he emphasised.
The National Programmes Coordinator of Wildaf, Bernice Sam said Ghana had ratified many international instruments which advocate affirmative action to ensure equal gender participation and representation in political decision making.
For instance, she said the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 calls on governments to meet a 30 per cent representation of women in political positions.
Ms Sam said Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda had achieved the United Nations threshold of 30 per cent and beyond.
She said women parliamentarians represented 8.7 per cent (20 out of 230) in Ghana which places the country at the 108th position of world classification of women’s representation in parliament.
By Rebecca Kwei
A Governance Programme Officer of the Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ghana, Mr Frank Wilson Bodza, has called on the government to come out with an affirmative action policy for the country to ensure increased women’s participation in political decision-making.
He said analysis of countries that had adopted affirmative action showed increased participation of women in governance in those countries.
Mr Bodza explained that affirmative action was an action by an institution to improve the lot of poorly represented people, adding that it was a temporary measure to address a structural or systemic problem over time.
He made the call at a media seminar on affirmative action policy organised by Wildaf, Ghana, in Accra.
Giving examples of countries that have affirmative action policy , Mr Bodza said Rwanda which practices constitutional quota had 24 seats reserved for women.
He said Rwanda had an 80-member parliament and now had 45 women parliamentarians.
Another country, Sweden, has a 50 per cent quota for women in all the parties and there are 164 women in the 349-member parliament.
The 150-member parliament of The Netherlands has 62 women while in South Africa there are 132 women in the 400-member parliament.
The number of women in Ghana’s 200-member parliament in 1992 was 16 and increased to 18 in 1996 and then to 19 in 2000.
In 2004, the 230-member parliament had 25 women. This number, however, decreased to 20 in 2008. The number has further been reduced to 19 following the death of the MP for Chereponi, Doris Asibi Seidu. The by-election was won by Mr Samuel Abdulai Jabanyite of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He said Ghana made bold steps towards affirmative action in the 1960s where 10 women were elected unopposed to represent their regions in 1960 and the number of women parliamentarians increased to 19 in 1965 where 10 went through the special law and nine contested and won on merit.
Mr Bodza said Wildaf was not satisfied with the number of women appointed to political positions, and appealed to government to be committed to its promise of reviewing the 1998 Affirmative Action Policy Guideline.
He said, for instance, the 10-member Government Economic Advisory Council had no woman on the council and queried whether “there was no woman economist in Ghana?”
The 25-member Council of State has only three women while the 10 regional ministers had only one woman.
“There is a need for affirmative action not in all sectors but for political decision making because of the low number of women representation. Both men and women need to represent equally,” he emphasised.
The National Programmes Coordinator of Wildaf, Bernice Sam said Ghana had ratified many international instruments which advocate affirmative action to ensure equal gender participation and representation in political decision making.
For instance, she said the Beijing Platform for Action of 1995 calls on governments to meet a 30 per cent representation of women in political positions.
Ms Sam said Rwanda, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda had achieved the United Nations threshold of 30 per cent and beyond.
She said women parliamentarians represented 8.7 per cent (20 out of 230) in Ghana which places the country at the 108th position of world classification of women’s representation in parliament.
Community involvement in HIV, AIDS key
Saturday, October 3, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 25)
By Rebecca Kwei
THE President of Afro Global Alliance, Chief Austin Arinze Obiefuna, has called for more community involvement in the fight against HIV and AIDS pandemic.
He said the community’s involvement in the care and support of people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS will complement efforts of governments and civil society to reduce the burden of the disease.
Chief Abiefuna made the call at the opening of a four-day special meeting of the International Advisory Board of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in Accra.
The Memorial, a programme of the Global Health Council, is one of the largest grass roots mobilisation campaigns for HIV/AIDS awareness in the world.
He said the 2006 UNAIDS report indicated that sub-Saharan Africa had the largest burden of the AIDS epidemic and it was estimated that about 2.1 million Africans died of AIDS in 2006.
He said HIV/AIDS and other related diseases like tuberculosis were no longer a health matter, but “a government, development and collective issue requiring the attention of all of us.”
The Country Co-ordinator of UNAIDS, Dr Leo Zekeng, also emphasised the need to broaden and strengthen engagements with communities in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Dr Zekeng cautioned Ghana not to be complacent about the drop in the HIV prevalence but rather double up to make sure the prevalence was further reduced.
The national adult HIV prevalence is 1.7 per cent, which is a decline from the 2007 prevalence of 1.9 per cent.
The International Outreach Co-ordinator of the Global Health Council, Todd Lawrence, said the Candlelight Memorial started in 1983 and took place on the third Sunday of May every year and led by a coalition of 1,200 community organisations in 115 countries.
He said the coalition hosted local memorials that honoured the lost and raise social consciousness about the disease.
Additionally, he said the memorial provided opportunities for leadership development, policy advocacy, partnerships and improvement of community mobilisation skills.
In a speech read on her behalf, the acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Angela El-Adas, said with the almost 33 million people living with HIV and AIDS, the programme continued to offer global solidarity and hope to generations.
By Rebecca Kwei
THE President of Afro Global Alliance, Chief Austin Arinze Obiefuna, has called for more community involvement in the fight against HIV and AIDS pandemic.
He said the community’s involvement in the care and support of people infected and affected by HIV and AIDS will complement efforts of governments and civil society to reduce the burden of the disease.
Chief Abiefuna made the call at the opening of a four-day special meeting of the International Advisory Board of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial in Accra.
The Memorial, a programme of the Global Health Council, is one of the largest grass roots mobilisation campaigns for HIV/AIDS awareness in the world.
He said the 2006 UNAIDS report indicated that sub-Saharan Africa had the largest burden of the AIDS epidemic and it was estimated that about 2.1 million Africans died of AIDS in 2006.
He said HIV/AIDS and other related diseases like tuberculosis were no longer a health matter, but “a government, development and collective issue requiring the attention of all of us.”
The Country Co-ordinator of UNAIDS, Dr Leo Zekeng, also emphasised the need to broaden and strengthen engagements with communities in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Dr Zekeng cautioned Ghana not to be complacent about the drop in the HIV prevalence but rather double up to make sure the prevalence was further reduced.
The national adult HIV prevalence is 1.7 per cent, which is a decline from the 2007 prevalence of 1.9 per cent.
The International Outreach Co-ordinator of the Global Health Council, Todd Lawrence, said the Candlelight Memorial started in 1983 and took place on the third Sunday of May every year and led by a coalition of 1,200 community organisations in 115 countries.
He said the coalition hosted local memorials that honoured the lost and raise social consciousness about the disease.
Additionally, he said the memorial provided opportunities for leadership development, policy advocacy, partnerships and improvement of community mobilisation skills.
In a speech read on her behalf, the acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Angela El-Adas, said with the almost 33 million people living with HIV and AIDS, the programme continued to offer global solidarity and hope to generations.
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