Saturday, September 25, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 27)
By Rebecca Kwei
A REPORT on tracking the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health has called for a clearer definition of the ‘free maternal care’ scheme.
This according to the report was to minimise conflicting interpretations of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) policy and its associated exemptions.
The report said the free maternal care was interpreted differently by practitioners at different locations.
For instance, it indicated that without an NHIS subscription, a mother may be required to pay for various delivery services while in some cases, mothers were required to provide a string of items. Nurses were also reported to have insisted on particular product brands or rejected used sheets and old cloths intended as nappies all of which limited poor women’s access to skilled deliveries at such facilities.
The report dubbed ‘Tracking Health MDGs: Beneficiary Perspectives- Ghana Civil Society MDGs Campaign was launched at a forum “Stand Up and Take Action Against Maternal Deaths in Ghana”, organised by the Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) in collaboration with the Health Platform in Accra.
The content of the report is divided into eight main parts namely child health, care-seeking behaviour, sanitation, immunisation and maternal prophylaxis, treated bed nets, maternal health, HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis and malaria. The report also addresses the identified goals, targets and indicators of the official MDG list as well as priorities indicated in the Ghana Health Service’s current Programme of Work.
The forum comes on the heels of of the 2008 Ghana Millennium Development Goals Report which said that “Maternal mortality rate at 451 deaths at 100,000 live births is high and Ghana is unlikely to attain the target of reducing by three quarters, the maternal mortality ratio between 1990 and 2015, even though maternal health care has improved over the past 20 years.”
Giving a review of the document, the Director of the Local Government Institute, Dr Esther Ofei-Aboagye, said the report focused on five selected districts – Agona East, Bongo, Builsa, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) and Kwahu North.
She said the current report also expanded on the previous effort which involved three districts — Bongo, KEEA and Kwahu-North.
Dr Ofei-Aboagye said the low knowledge on the danger signs in pregnancy as shown in the report was a problem on which action must be stepped up.
However, she said the report indicated that more women were participating in ante-natal care was rewarding, while the fact that women recognised the importance of formal facilities in the event of obstetric emergencies was also encouraging.
She said, non-medical factors such as transport challenges to facility-based healthcare institutions in rural areas, attitude of care givers, differential interpretation of the policy on free maternal care and what the National Health Insurance Scheme paid for and what it did were still barriers to maternal health and should not be ignored in discussions aimed at improving maternal health.
The report also recommended a lot of education to counter constraining beliefs shrouding the experience of pregnancy.
At the launch of the report, the Regional Programme Manager of Abantu for Development, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said it was unacceptable for a woman to be pregnant for nine months and then lose the baby or her life and called for concerted efforts to address the situation adding that ‘zero tolerance for maternal deaths should be our target”.
Mrs Elizabeth Vaah, who is also a victim of maternal death, called on policy makers to stop paying lip service to maternal mortality and embark on urgent measures to address the issues.
For her part, the Executive Director of ARHR, Ms Vicky Okine said the apparent sluggish progress in achieving the health-related goals required a new strategy and renewed commitment from both the government and civil society.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Dzigbordi — The alluring marketing woman of the year
Saturday, September 18, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 3)
By Rebecca Kwei
THERE has not been a turning back for Mrs Dzigbordi K. Dosoo since she set up Allure salon with only two people in a living room in Osu, a suburb of Accra in 1998.
Twelve years down the line, Allure has transitioned into Allure Africa of which Dzigbordi is the founder and CEO, an award-winning premier spa group in Accra with an office in Washington DC, USA.
Allure Africa seeks to develop and grow premium spa companies throughout Africa, with emphasis on forging international strategic partnerships.
For having consistently marketed the Allure brand successfully in Ghana and beyond, Dzigbordi was last weekend adjudged the Marketing Woman of the Year by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIMG).
Part of the citation read “Your visibility has been strong in the areas of marketing research, education and advocacy. You have raised the standards in spa, health and wellness and beauty industry in Ghana.”
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibrahim M. Awal, received the Marketing Man of the Year Award.
“I feel privileged. It’s a great honour and I believe this shows that the efforts that we put in our day-to-day activities does not go unrecognised” she said of her award in an interview with The Mirror.
Dzigbordi said back in 1998, she realised that the concept of spa was non-existent and “I chose to start from the bottom within the salon industry, grow within it, educate and advocate until we were ready for the spa concept,” she explained.
Within four months, the ‘two-man’ salon had become a sole proprietorship in a shop which led to the opening of another shop in Labone where the new branch’s name, Allure, meaning ‘attraction’ started.
In order to have a one-stop beauty salon, the Allure Beauty Palace was opened in 2002 which became a limited liability company in 2003.
Aside ‘alluring’ people to her beauty palace, Dzigbordi had also run another company, Business Linkages International, a financial services consultancy, which transitioned into the Eagle Group in 2004.
The Eagle Group which employed about 80 people then was the holding company of Allure Ghana Limited, a beauty services company (which encompasses Allure Beauty Palace, Allure Sales Distribution Centre and Allure Spa in the City), Eagle Consulting International, an investment, trade, business and project consultancy with offices in the US and Accra and G’CINDKS Services Limited, a catering and hospitality service company which provides banqueting, event management and rental services and also runs a restaurant, Nudufe, at Osu, in Accra.
However, the year 2007 marked a turning point for Allure. The business model was restructured to provide technical leadership in wellness grooming and beauty and thus all the other business lines were discontinued. The Eagle Group became Allure Africa which focused on services, product distribution, education and consulting within the spa industry.
Another important milestone for Allure Africa was in 2009 when Iyaba was organised. Iyaba is an innovative concept of Africa’s premier spa and beauty trade exhibition and conference.
Iyaba, which has become an annual event, brings together key international manufacturers and African buyers in the spa and beauty industry under one roof to network, build capacity and make sales.
Recently, Allure Africa has also introduced a new authentically African natural aromatherapy product line, Kanshi.
Described as one of the new breed of young female entrepreneurs shaking up corporate Ghana, Dzigbordi concedes that she has not taken her eyes off the vision of her company being known and acknowledged as the premier service company.
“I can say three things about myself: I’m a consultant by career choice; a wellness and skincare expert by passion and an entrepreneur by experience” she said.
That’s true! Throughout her schooling days, she had studied business courses. After her secondary education at Accra Girls’ Secondary School, she left Ghana for the United States where she studied at Virginia State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting.
Later, at Syracuse, New York, she did her post-graduate course in banking and finance and this she combined with working at Onbank & Trust, a bank in the US.
Dzigbordi also had a stint with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in Washington DC before relocating to Ghana in 1998.
Wondering why she has spread her ‘entrepreneurial wings’ this far? Dzigbordi said she was inspired when she was very young by her late grandmother, Madam Emelia Annan, who was able to become wealthy by venturing into small businesses.
Her father, the late Tennyson Emmanuel Kwaku was also an inspiration. She said her father aside being a lawyer also had other businesses and recalled that at the tender age of 12, she was working on her father’s accounts for his businesses.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer because of my father but by age 12, my entrepreneurial edge had fledged. Watching my father and grandmother made me realise you can do more than one business and be successful” she said.
Dzigbordi says running a business has its day-to-day operational challenges but at the end, it is about how one is able to serve his or her clients; ensuring that one is well-equipped and being able to deliver that counts.
She admitted that working in Ghana has not been easy but having networked with the right people has been worthwhile.
She believes that challenges come to give lessons and the lessons learnt everyday helps to transform people.
“My own life has been transformed, the evolution to get to this stage has been wonderful. What is about to come in the future is what drives me to put in my best. For Allure Africa, the future has just began.”
“In the next five years, I see Allure Africa without any limits; having achieved the vision it set out for itself; expand the vision to other territories by God’s help”.
A very affable, person, Dzigbordi is determined to inspire young ladies to be all they can be. She has taken young ladies with potential and mentoring them in her own way.
“I don’t make the mentoring formal. I believe people come across your path for a reason and that is destiny”.
Aside her stripes as a business consultant, ‘beauty enthusiast’ and an entrepreneur, Dzigbordi is a very spiritual person and says she loves her family and work, as well as spending lots of time at home with her daughter, Fafali and husband, Lionel Vanlare Dosoo, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
A director of Zonta International Club of Accra II, and a member of the Governing Council of United Way Ghana, she also finds time to play lawn tennis.
Dzigbordi advised young ladies that in whatever they venture into, they should seek God first; then develop their education and careers “then all the other things will follow”.
Sounding philosophical, she said “If you build it, they will come. Once you establish yourself people will gravitate towards you”.
By Rebecca Kwei
THERE has not been a turning back for Mrs Dzigbordi K. Dosoo since she set up Allure salon with only two people in a living room in Osu, a suburb of Accra in 1998.
Twelve years down the line, Allure has transitioned into Allure Africa of which Dzigbordi is the founder and CEO, an award-winning premier spa group in Accra with an office in Washington DC, USA.
Allure Africa seeks to develop and grow premium spa companies throughout Africa, with emphasis on forging international strategic partnerships.
For having consistently marketed the Allure brand successfully in Ghana and beyond, Dzigbordi was last weekend adjudged the Marketing Woman of the Year by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIMG).
Part of the citation read “Your visibility has been strong in the areas of marketing research, education and advocacy. You have raised the standards in spa, health and wellness and beauty industry in Ghana.”
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibrahim M. Awal, received the Marketing Man of the Year Award.
“I feel privileged. It’s a great honour and I believe this shows that the efforts that we put in our day-to-day activities does not go unrecognised” she said of her award in an interview with The Mirror.
Dzigbordi said back in 1998, she realised that the concept of spa was non-existent and “I chose to start from the bottom within the salon industry, grow within it, educate and advocate until we were ready for the spa concept,” she explained.
Within four months, the ‘two-man’ salon had become a sole proprietorship in a shop which led to the opening of another shop in Labone where the new branch’s name, Allure, meaning ‘attraction’ started.
In order to have a one-stop beauty salon, the Allure Beauty Palace was opened in 2002 which became a limited liability company in 2003.
Aside ‘alluring’ people to her beauty palace, Dzigbordi had also run another company, Business Linkages International, a financial services consultancy, which transitioned into the Eagle Group in 2004.
The Eagle Group which employed about 80 people then was the holding company of Allure Ghana Limited, a beauty services company (which encompasses Allure Beauty Palace, Allure Sales Distribution Centre and Allure Spa in the City), Eagle Consulting International, an investment, trade, business and project consultancy with offices in the US and Accra and G’CINDKS Services Limited, a catering and hospitality service company which provides banqueting, event management and rental services and also runs a restaurant, Nudufe, at Osu, in Accra.
However, the year 2007 marked a turning point for Allure. The business model was restructured to provide technical leadership in wellness grooming and beauty and thus all the other business lines were discontinued. The Eagle Group became Allure Africa which focused on services, product distribution, education and consulting within the spa industry.
Another important milestone for Allure Africa was in 2009 when Iyaba was organised. Iyaba is an innovative concept of Africa’s premier spa and beauty trade exhibition and conference.
Iyaba, which has become an annual event, brings together key international manufacturers and African buyers in the spa and beauty industry under one roof to network, build capacity and make sales.
Recently, Allure Africa has also introduced a new authentically African natural aromatherapy product line, Kanshi.
Described as one of the new breed of young female entrepreneurs shaking up corporate Ghana, Dzigbordi concedes that she has not taken her eyes off the vision of her company being known and acknowledged as the premier service company.
“I can say three things about myself: I’m a consultant by career choice; a wellness and skincare expert by passion and an entrepreneur by experience” she said.
That’s true! Throughout her schooling days, she had studied business courses. After her secondary education at Accra Girls’ Secondary School, she left Ghana for the United States where she studied at Virginia State University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting.
Later, at Syracuse, New York, she did her post-graduate course in banking and finance and this she combined with working at Onbank & Trust, a bank in the US.
Dzigbordi also had a stint with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in Washington DC before relocating to Ghana in 1998.
Wondering why she has spread her ‘entrepreneurial wings’ this far? Dzigbordi said she was inspired when she was very young by her late grandmother, Madam Emelia Annan, who was able to become wealthy by venturing into small businesses.
Her father, the late Tennyson Emmanuel Kwaku was also an inspiration. She said her father aside being a lawyer also had other businesses and recalled that at the tender age of 12, she was working on her father’s accounts for his businesses.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a lawyer because of my father but by age 12, my entrepreneurial edge had fledged. Watching my father and grandmother made me realise you can do more than one business and be successful” she said.
Dzigbordi says running a business has its day-to-day operational challenges but at the end, it is about how one is able to serve his or her clients; ensuring that one is well-equipped and being able to deliver that counts.
She admitted that working in Ghana has not been easy but having networked with the right people has been worthwhile.
She believes that challenges come to give lessons and the lessons learnt everyday helps to transform people.
“My own life has been transformed, the evolution to get to this stage has been wonderful. What is about to come in the future is what drives me to put in my best. For Allure Africa, the future has just began.”
“In the next five years, I see Allure Africa without any limits; having achieved the vision it set out for itself; expand the vision to other territories by God’s help”.
A very affable, person, Dzigbordi is determined to inspire young ladies to be all they can be. She has taken young ladies with potential and mentoring them in her own way.
“I don’t make the mentoring formal. I believe people come across your path for a reason and that is destiny”.
Aside her stripes as a business consultant, ‘beauty enthusiast’ and an entrepreneur, Dzigbordi is a very spiritual person and says she loves her family and work, as well as spending lots of time at home with her daughter, Fafali and husband, Lionel Vanlare Dosoo, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
A director of Zonta International Club of Accra II, and a member of the Governing Council of United Way Ghana, she also finds time to play lawn tennis.
Dzigbordi advised young ladies that in whatever they venture into, they should seek God first; then develop their education and careers “then all the other things will follow”.
Sounding philosophical, she said “If you build it, they will come. Once you establish yourself people will gravitate towards you”.
Monday, September 13, 2010
First consignment of AMFm drugs arrive
Saturday, September 11, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 13)
By Rebecca Kwei
THE first consignment of CO-pay drugs under the Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria (AMFm) has arrived in the country and will soon be rolled out.
The AMFm is an initiative to ensure that people suffering from malaria have access to inexpensive, effective anti-malaria treatment in the form of Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT).
The Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Constance Bart-Plange, made this known when members of the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), a group of journalists and scientists working to fight malaria paid a visit to the offices of the programme in Accra.
She explained that the roll of the first consignment of three million treatment doses have not yet been rolled out since that of the medicines for the public sector has not been received yet.
Dr Bart-Plange noted that ACTs were not affordable to many people but under the AMFm it will be very cheap at a price as little as GH¢1.10p and expressed the hope that it will stop people from using chloroquine and other monotherapies which were no longer effective treatment for malaria.
She explained that under the AMFm which is been hosted by the Global Fund with the support of UNITAID and members of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership there was a financing mechanism for drug manufacturers to reduce the price of ACTs to ensure that the poor and vulnerable in society get access to the medicines.
She said there was also the need to educate the public not to equate the low cost of the ACTs under the AMFm facility to low quality since the medicines were of good quality and have been approved by the World Health Organisation.
Dr Bart-Plange expressed concern about the over diagnosing of malaria and said it was important that any fever presented at the hospital should be confirmed through microscopy or the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to be malaria.
“The era where every fever was malaria is over” she stressed.
To this end, she said the NMCP has distributed a lot of RDT kits to health facilities and pharmacies to ensure that people are confirmed to be having malaria before are given an anti-malarial.
Dr Bart-Plange noted that the frequent use of malarial drugs when one does not have malaria leads to abuse of the drug.
On the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), she said a survey showed that almost every household in Ghana had an ITN but it was the “sleeping in the ITN” that was the problem.
However, she said even if adults do not sleep under the ITNs it was important that children and pregnant women who were most vulnerable to malaria slept under them.
She said the programme also piloted an Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) project in the north and Obuasi and it will soon be rolled out nation-wide to cover 45 districts where it was feasible.
Dr Bart-Plange urged the media to continue the education that the anopheles mosquito which transmits the parasite causing malaria does not breed in filth but rather in relatively clean stagnant waters.
She commended AMMREN for its efforts in the fight against malaria and gave the assurance that the NMCP will continue to collaborate with the group.
The Ghana Country Co-ordinator of AMMREN, Mrs Clare Banoeng-Yakubo thanked the NMCP for its support over the years and expressed the hope that the deliberations will go a long way to improve the lives of people through malaria control.
By Rebecca Kwei
THE first consignment of CO-pay drugs under the Affordable Medicines Facility-Malaria (AMFm) has arrived in the country and will soon be rolled out.
The AMFm is an initiative to ensure that people suffering from malaria have access to inexpensive, effective anti-malaria treatment in the form of Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT).
The Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Constance Bart-Plange, made this known when members of the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), a group of journalists and scientists working to fight malaria paid a visit to the offices of the programme in Accra.
She explained that the roll of the first consignment of three million treatment doses have not yet been rolled out since that of the medicines for the public sector has not been received yet.
Dr Bart-Plange noted that ACTs were not affordable to many people but under the AMFm it will be very cheap at a price as little as GH¢1.10p and expressed the hope that it will stop people from using chloroquine and other monotherapies which were no longer effective treatment for malaria.
She explained that under the AMFm which is been hosted by the Global Fund with the support of UNITAID and members of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership there was a financing mechanism for drug manufacturers to reduce the price of ACTs to ensure that the poor and vulnerable in society get access to the medicines.
She said there was also the need to educate the public not to equate the low cost of the ACTs under the AMFm facility to low quality since the medicines were of good quality and have been approved by the World Health Organisation.
Dr Bart-Plange expressed concern about the over diagnosing of malaria and said it was important that any fever presented at the hospital should be confirmed through microscopy or the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) to be malaria.
“The era where every fever was malaria is over” she stressed.
To this end, she said the NMCP has distributed a lot of RDT kits to health facilities and pharmacies to ensure that people are confirmed to be having malaria before are given an anti-malarial.
Dr Bart-Plange noted that the frequent use of malarial drugs when one does not have malaria leads to abuse of the drug.
On the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), she said a survey showed that almost every household in Ghana had an ITN but it was the “sleeping in the ITN” that was the problem.
However, she said even if adults do not sleep under the ITNs it was important that children and pregnant women who were most vulnerable to malaria slept under them.
She said the programme also piloted an Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) project in the north and Obuasi and it will soon be rolled out nation-wide to cover 45 districts where it was feasible.
Dr Bart-Plange urged the media to continue the education that the anopheles mosquito which transmits the parasite causing malaria does not breed in filth but rather in relatively clean stagnant waters.
She commended AMMREN for its efforts in the fight against malaria and gave the assurance that the NMCP will continue to collaborate with the group.
The Ghana Country Co-ordinator of AMMREN, Mrs Clare Banoeng-Yakubo thanked the NMCP for its support over the years and expressed the hope that the deliberations will go a long way to improve the lives of people through malaria control.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Nikki finds her rhythm on screen
Saturday, September 4, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 3)
By Rebecca Kwei
Nikoletta Samonas (popularly called Nikki) ‘accidentally’ landed in the movie industry, and she seems to be loving every bit of her new found passion.
So far she has featured in more than 10 movies having had her break in Pretty Queen in 2008, which featured Jackie Appiah and Majid Mitchel.
“I would say the movies found me because I had gone to see a friend whose house was been used to shoot a movie and I was recruited to be part of that film ” she recalled in an interview with The Mirror.
Although that movie “Don Caritas” did not make waves it did serve as a spring board for Nikki to get noticed in the movie industry.
She later got roles in Beyonce 1 & 2, War of Roses, Desperate Measure, Red Label, Love and Bullets, Wrong Line, DNA Test.
Her latest flick, Deadly Obsession featuring Yvonne Nelson and Jim Iyke is set to be released next month in which she plays a psychopath.
Although being an actress was not on the cards for Nikki initially, her entry into the make believe world also sprung from her involvement in modelling and television advertisements.
According to Nikki she met one Ekow Daniel who heard her sing in church who took her to OM Studios for her to feature in a music video clip of Tinny’s song “Mamle” featuring Adane Best in 2004.
That video clip propelled her to get an advertising contract with Tigo, a Telecommunications company for two years from 2007 to 2008. She was Face of Tigo in 2007.
Nikki also appeared in the Septrin Soap, Éclat Gel and Wisdom toothbrush and mouthwash advertisements on television and was also a freelance model.
Presently, she has just secured a contract with Charterhouse to present Rhythmz, a music video show on TV with Chris Attoh.
Although acting is not a full time profession for Nikki, she says “I love it. It’s fun. You get to express yourself in so many ways that is not the natural you,” she said with a broad smile.
The free spirited Nikki who is in her early 20s is the only child of her dad Stephanus Samonas, a Greek (deceased) and Felicia Adjei.
Born in Tema, she attended Deks Preparatory School also in Tema for her basic education and then continued at Holy Child Senior High School in Cape Coast where she offered Graphic Design because she loved arts — drawing and painting and completed in 2003.
No wonder she received the best Graphic Designer awards in 2002 and 2003 and outstanding award for combining sports effectively with academic work in the same years at Holy Child School.
She was a member of the Entertainment Committee and the Sports Prefect of the school.
After Holy Child, Nikki continued at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) graduating with a BA in Communication Design in 2009.
In the near future Nikki hopes to open her own company that will engage in showbiz productions, continue modelling as well as groom aspiring models.
Nikki is in a relationship with a lovely man whose name she would not mention. When not acting, modelling or presenting Rhythmz she loves to swim, play basketball, watch movies, which she says is an inspiration to her to offer her best in the movies in which she acts.
Do you love salsa? Then you have something in common with Nikki. She is a salsa dancing freak!
By Rebecca Kwei
Nikoletta Samonas (popularly called Nikki) ‘accidentally’ landed in the movie industry, and she seems to be loving every bit of her new found passion.
So far she has featured in more than 10 movies having had her break in Pretty Queen in 2008, which featured Jackie Appiah and Majid Mitchel.
“I would say the movies found me because I had gone to see a friend whose house was been used to shoot a movie and I was recruited to be part of that film ” she recalled in an interview with The Mirror.
Although that movie “Don Caritas” did not make waves it did serve as a spring board for Nikki to get noticed in the movie industry.
She later got roles in Beyonce 1 & 2, War of Roses, Desperate Measure, Red Label, Love and Bullets, Wrong Line, DNA Test.
Her latest flick, Deadly Obsession featuring Yvonne Nelson and Jim Iyke is set to be released next month in which she plays a psychopath.
Although being an actress was not on the cards for Nikki initially, her entry into the make believe world also sprung from her involvement in modelling and television advertisements.
According to Nikki she met one Ekow Daniel who heard her sing in church who took her to OM Studios for her to feature in a music video clip of Tinny’s song “Mamle” featuring Adane Best in 2004.
That video clip propelled her to get an advertising contract with Tigo, a Telecommunications company for two years from 2007 to 2008. She was Face of Tigo in 2007.
Nikki also appeared in the Septrin Soap, Éclat Gel and Wisdom toothbrush and mouthwash advertisements on television and was also a freelance model.
Presently, she has just secured a contract with Charterhouse to present Rhythmz, a music video show on TV with Chris Attoh.
Although acting is not a full time profession for Nikki, she says “I love it. It’s fun. You get to express yourself in so many ways that is not the natural you,” she said with a broad smile.
The free spirited Nikki who is in her early 20s is the only child of her dad Stephanus Samonas, a Greek (deceased) and Felicia Adjei.
Born in Tema, she attended Deks Preparatory School also in Tema for her basic education and then continued at Holy Child Senior High School in Cape Coast where she offered Graphic Design because she loved arts — drawing and painting and completed in 2003.
No wonder she received the best Graphic Designer awards in 2002 and 2003 and outstanding award for combining sports effectively with academic work in the same years at Holy Child School.
She was a member of the Entertainment Committee and the Sports Prefect of the school.
After Holy Child, Nikki continued at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) graduating with a BA in Communication Design in 2009.
In the near future Nikki hopes to open her own company that will engage in showbiz productions, continue modelling as well as groom aspiring models.
Nikki is in a relationship with a lovely man whose name she would not mention. When not acting, modelling or presenting Rhythmz she loves to swim, play basketball, watch movies, which she says is an inspiration to her to offer her best in the movies in which she acts.
Do you love salsa? Then you have something in common with Nikki. She is a salsa dancing freak!
Journalists attend course in IT
Saturday, August 28, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 27)
By Rebecca Kwei
FIFTEEN female journalists have undergone a three-day course in Information Technology to build their capacity in modern ways of communicating and processing news.
The course organised by Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), an NGO with sponsorship from the Global Fund for Women, was on the theme: “ICT and the Media”.
WOMEC which was founded in 1994 aims at bringing about change in women’s lack of awareness of the power of the media in shaping and pursuing their goals.
Information technology officers of the Centre for IT Professional Development (CIPD) of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) took the participants who were drawn from both the print and electronic media through programmes such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Access and Blogging.
A media consultant, Mrs Charity Binka, said the course was a new approach to empower female journalists not only as ICT users, but also to be creative researchers with technology.
She said the course was also to aid the participants in their search and dissemination of information.
“The workshop is to nurture female journalists in the effective use of the computer with skills to access, browse the Internet to expand their knowledge base in a competitive world” Mrs Binka emphasised.
She said information technology had become the life blood of every business and since the world was adapting more towards an information-based society, it was important for women to acquire such skills so that they were not left behind.
An IT Officer of CIPD, Mr Albert Quaicoe, encouraged the participants to build on the skills they have acquired since Information Technology changes everyday.
By Rebecca Kwei
FIFTEEN female journalists have undergone a three-day course in Information Technology to build their capacity in modern ways of communicating and processing news.
The course organised by Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), an NGO with sponsorship from the Global Fund for Women, was on the theme: “ICT and the Media”.
WOMEC which was founded in 1994 aims at bringing about change in women’s lack of awareness of the power of the media in shaping and pursuing their goals.
Information technology officers of the Centre for IT Professional Development (CIPD) of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) took the participants who were drawn from both the print and electronic media through programmes such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Access and Blogging.
A media consultant, Mrs Charity Binka, said the course was a new approach to empower female journalists not only as ICT users, but also to be creative researchers with technology.
She said the course was also to aid the participants in their search and dissemination of information.
“The workshop is to nurture female journalists in the effective use of the computer with skills to access, browse the Internet to expand their knowledge base in a competitive world” Mrs Binka emphasised.
She said information technology had become the life blood of every business and since the world was adapting more towards an information-based society, it was important for women to acquire such skills so that they were not left behind.
An IT Officer of CIPD, Mr Albert Quaicoe, encouraged the participants to build on the skills they have acquired since Information Technology changes everyday.
'Stop embellishing news items'
Saturday, August 14, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
A LINGUIST and broadcaster, Nana Anima Wiafe-Akenten, has called on local language newsreaders to avoid embellishing and exaggerating news items since it has the tendency to create conflict or incite a group against the other.
She noted that some of the proverbs, idiomatic expressions and other literally devices used by the newsreaders most of the time distorts the core message, leads to misreporting and misinformation, subjects the news to different interpretation, and tends to attack or abuse the newsmaker.
“Some of the translators although may mean well, cast innuendoes and use invectives and end up attacking the personality behind the issue or newsmakers. It is culturally unacceptable to speak ill of an elderly person,” she said.
Mrs Wiafe-Akenten made the call when she made a presentation on “Language, Culture and the Media”, at a workshop organised by the Cultural Initiative Support Programme in Akosombo.
Giving the example of the Rwandan conflict, she said it was just a statement made on radio which led to the war in that country and there was the need for local language news readers, especially, in Akan to be cautious of how they presented the news.
She said the liberalisation of the airwaves had led to the emergence of many radio and television stations which was a welcome idea but there was the need to draw attention to certain developments which if not checked, may adversely affect the essence of news presentation and pose serious challenges to cultural values and the art of speaking.
Mrs Wiafe-Akenten said when newsreaders embellish or exaggerate the news items, some people saw it as the creativity of the presenters or their proficiency in the language but noted that from the communication point of view, that was inappropriate and could be said to lack professionalism.
Additionally, she said, the audience tend to focus on the embellishment by trying to understand the proverbs, idioms and other devices being used, rather than focusing on the news and what was supposed to be a serious issue became a form of entertainment.
She said there were culturally relevant and acceptable ways to use a language by paying attention to the norms and rules that governed the use of the language.
“In the Akan language, certain concepts are considered literally unmentionable, that is, verbal taboos. For instance, if one has to mention the male and female reproductive organs in a given context, he/she has to use a euphemism” she explained.
She said in the Akan cultural context, unapologetic use of those words made the speaker’s audience see him/her as uncouth or uncultured.
She observed that over the years, finding a fair balance between what was culturally acceptable and journalistically correct have been compromised all in the name of “scoop — being the first to break the news”.
In an effort to make the Ghanaian media one that is linguistically, journalistically and culturally sound, Mrs Wiafe-Akenten said a group known as Language Watchers made up of linguist, language experts and media practitioners will soon come out to monitor and help curb the use of insulting, inflammatory and harsh words in the media by social commentators, phone in callers, presenters and politicians.
By Rebecca Kwei
A LINGUIST and broadcaster, Nana Anima Wiafe-Akenten, has called on local language newsreaders to avoid embellishing and exaggerating news items since it has the tendency to create conflict or incite a group against the other.
She noted that some of the proverbs, idiomatic expressions and other literally devices used by the newsreaders most of the time distorts the core message, leads to misreporting and misinformation, subjects the news to different interpretation, and tends to attack or abuse the newsmaker.
“Some of the translators although may mean well, cast innuendoes and use invectives and end up attacking the personality behind the issue or newsmakers. It is culturally unacceptable to speak ill of an elderly person,” she said.
Mrs Wiafe-Akenten made the call when she made a presentation on “Language, Culture and the Media”, at a workshop organised by the Cultural Initiative Support Programme in Akosombo.
Giving the example of the Rwandan conflict, she said it was just a statement made on radio which led to the war in that country and there was the need for local language news readers, especially, in Akan to be cautious of how they presented the news.
She said the liberalisation of the airwaves had led to the emergence of many radio and television stations which was a welcome idea but there was the need to draw attention to certain developments which if not checked, may adversely affect the essence of news presentation and pose serious challenges to cultural values and the art of speaking.
Mrs Wiafe-Akenten said when newsreaders embellish or exaggerate the news items, some people saw it as the creativity of the presenters or their proficiency in the language but noted that from the communication point of view, that was inappropriate and could be said to lack professionalism.
Additionally, she said, the audience tend to focus on the embellishment by trying to understand the proverbs, idioms and other devices being used, rather than focusing on the news and what was supposed to be a serious issue became a form of entertainment.
She said there were culturally relevant and acceptable ways to use a language by paying attention to the norms and rules that governed the use of the language.
“In the Akan language, certain concepts are considered literally unmentionable, that is, verbal taboos. For instance, if one has to mention the male and female reproductive organs in a given context, he/she has to use a euphemism” she explained.
She said in the Akan cultural context, unapologetic use of those words made the speaker’s audience see him/her as uncouth or uncultured.
She observed that over the years, finding a fair balance between what was culturally acceptable and journalistically correct have been compromised all in the name of “scoop — being the first to break the news”.
In an effort to make the Ghanaian media one that is linguistically, journalistically and culturally sound, Mrs Wiafe-Akenten said a group known as Language Watchers made up of linguist, language experts and media practitioners will soon come out to monitor and help curb the use of insulting, inflammatory and harsh words in the media by social commentators, phone in callers, presenters and politicians.
We Know Politics II launched
Saturday, August 7, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 26)
By Rebecca Kwei
A project to improve the low level of women's participating in policy-making and government representation has been launched in Accra.
Dubbed 'We know Politics II' is aimed at creating an environment where women are able to effectively participate in politics.
Currently, women account for only 19 (8.3 per cent) out of the 230 positions in parliament and only 6.5 per cent of district chief executives within local government structures and 11 out of the 170 Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives.
The project is being implemented by WiLDAF, Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, the Hunger Project and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Ghana) and sponsored by the European Union represented by the European Commission in Ghana, UK Aid, Ghana, Womankind, World-wide and UK Aid, London.
In 2008, the 'We Know Politics I' project was initiated which ensured that concerns of women remained an integral part of the political campaign that year.
Giving an overview of the second phase of the 'We Know Politics' project, the National Programme Co-ordinator of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ms Bernice Sam said the three-year project had targeted 24 districts in the 10 regions of the county.
The beneficiary districts are Jomoro, Shama, Evalue Gwira, Tarkwa Nsuem, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem, Breman Asikuma, Assin South, Ho East, Keta, Kpandu, Ga South and Dangme West.
The rest are Lambusi, Sisala East, Jaman South, Jaman North, Asante Akim South, Obuasi, New Juabeng, Lower West Akyem, Savelugu Nantong, Nalerigu, Navrongo and Bolgatanga.
Ms Sam said the criteria for selecting the districts were that they had female Members of Parliament (MP); female Metropolitan or District Chief Executives; had dynamic women with potential to contest elections and or were at difficult areas where women had challenges engaging in politics.
Some of the activities that will be undertaken are the training of 600 community people in governance, sensitisation workshops, production of a documentary featuring 12 key women in leadership positions, 2nd Women's Dialogue with presidential candidates in 2012, meeting with the NDC government and four political parties to assess the progress of women in Ghana since 2008 and networking with journalists, editors and women's organisations.
Ms Sam said it was expected that the “We Know Politics II” project will among others increase the effectiveness of women’s participation in politics to address women’s issues at the local and national levels by 2013 and help the government and main political parties produce affirmative action policies to ensure at least 40 per cent women’s representation in party positions and elections.
The Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, who launched the project, said the low number of women in policy-making limits women's contribution to development, poverty reduction and to the achievement of gender equality.
She said although women in government had been talking about the low representation of women in public office, a lot of pressure from outside would also help to address the situation.
She, therefore, congratulated WiLDAF and its partners and sponsors for the initiative.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah announced that her ministry and the Ministry of Local Government would embark on a programme which would identify 20 women who would be supported to take part in the forthcoming district assembly elections in October, this year.
By Rebecca Kwei
A project to improve the low level of women's participating in policy-making and government representation has been launched in Accra.
Dubbed 'We know Politics II' is aimed at creating an environment where women are able to effectively participate in politics.
Currently, women account for only 19 (8.3 per cent) out of the 230 positions in parliament and only 6.5 per cent of district chief executives within local government structures and 11 out of the 170 Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives.
The project is being implemented by WiLDAF, Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre, the Hunger Project and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Ghana) and sponsored by the European Union represented by the European Commission in Ghana, UK Aid, Ghana, Womankind, World-wide and UK Aid, London.
In 2008, the 'We Know Politics I' project was initiated which ensured that concerns of women remained an integral part of the political campaign that year.
Giving an overview of the second phase of the 'We Know Politics' project, the National Programme Co-ordinator of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), Ms Bernice Sam said the three-year project had targeted 24 districts in the 10 regions of the county.
The beneficiary districts are Jomoro, Shama, Evalue Gwira, Tarkwa Nsuem, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem, Breman Asikuma, Assin South, Ho East, Keta, Kpandu, Ga South and Dangme West.
The rest are Lambusi, Sisala East, Jaman South, Jaman North, Asante Akim South, Obuasi, New Juabeng, Lower West Akyem, Savelugu Nantong, Nalerigu, Navrongo and Bolgatanga.
Ms Sam said the criteria for selecting the districts were that they had female Members of Parliament (MP); female Metropolitan or District Chief Executives; had dynamic women with potential to contest elections and or were at difficult areas where women had challenges engaging in politics.
Some of the activities that will be undertaken are the training of 600 community people in governance, sensitisation workshops, production of a documentary featuring 12 key women in leadership positions, 2nd Women's Dialogue with presidential candidates in 2012, meeting with the NDC government and four political parties to assess the progress of women in Ghana since 2008 and networking with journalists, editors and women's organisations.
Ms Sam said it was expected that the “We Know Politics II” project will among others increase the effectiveness of women’s participation in politics to address women’s issues at the local and national levels by 2013 and help the government and main political parties produce affirmative action policies to ensure at least 40 per cent women’s representation in party positions and elections.
The Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, who launched the project, said the low number of women in policy-making limits women's contribution to development, poverty reduction and to the achievement of gender equality.
She said although women in government had been talking about the low representation of women in public office, a lot of pressure from outside would also help to address the situation.
She, therefore, congratulated WiLDAF and its partners and sponsors for the initiative.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah announced that her ministry and the Ministry of Local Government would embark on a programme which would identify 20 women who would be supported to take part in the forthcoming district assembly elections in October, this year.
Document to promote rational use of medicines
Saturday, August 7, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 27)
By Rebecca Kwei
The sixth edition of the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) and Essential Medicines List (EML) to promote the rational use of medicines has been launched in Accra.
The STGs are scientifically developed documents that assist prescribers in deciding on appropriate treatments for specific clinical conditions, while the EML is an accompanying document that contains the list of medicines to be procured by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and reimbursable by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The Chairman of the STG Review Committee, Dr Francis Ofei, said the STGs were valuable tools which would, among others, help in the sustainability of the NHIA, ensure that patients received medications appropriate to their clinical needs at the lowest cost to them and improve the quality of health received by patients.
He said since 1993, the MoH, through the Ghana National Drugs Programme, had been involved with the regular development and promotion of comprehensive therapeutic guidelines for use by all its agencies.
He said the document was the sixth edition of the ministry's officially approved prescribers' and dispensers' guide for all levels of health care.
Dr Ofei said care had also been taken to align the health insurance benefits package to that edition, adding that it had incorporated additional information on blood disorders such myeloma, leukaemia and lymphoma and specific cancers such as cervix and breast.
Topics on eye diseases such as glaucoma, conjunctivitis, trachoma and cataract and attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) for psychiatry have also been included.
Adding to the advantages of the STGs, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, whose speech was read on his behalf, said apart from the document giving guidance for selecting the most appropriate drugs for use and enriching doctors’ prescribing pattern, it would enable health insurance institutions to enter into partnership with the ministry to ensure that patients were cared for at the least affordable cost.
"The treatment guidelines will enable healthcare providers to programme effectively for health logistics, thereby using funds more effectively. The information base for forecasting and ordering drugs will be easily strengthened, thereby making restocking a much more scientific process," he added.
Dr Kunbuor appealed to chief executives of teaching hospitals, regional directors and other stakeholders in health to ensure that the new guidelines were well disseminated among prescribers.
For his part, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester A. Mensah, said one of the biggest issues the insurance scheme was facing was irrational prescribing, with its cost implications which posed a threat to the sustainability of the scheme.
"Clinical audits and a claims verification exercise have shown that many of the problems facing the NHIS are to do with prescriptions not in line with the MoH’s laid down policies on treatments. Many prescribers also prescribe medicines above the levels agreed by the experts at the MoH," he explained.
Mr Mensah expressed the hope that the use of the STGs would help minimise treatment variations and also promote the appropriate use of the most cost-effective treatments, provide guidance for health professionals on the diagnosis and treatment of specific clinical conditions and serve as a reference point by which to judge the quality of prescribing medicines.
By Rebecca Kwei
The sixth edition of the Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) and Essential Medicines List (EML) to promote the rational use of medicines has been launched in Accra.
The STGs are scientifically developed documents that assist prescribers in deciding on appropriate treatments for specific clinical conditions, while the EML is an accompanying document that contains the list of medicines to be procured by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and reimbursable by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
The Chairman of the STG Review Committee, Dr Francis Ofei, said the STGs were valuable tools which would, among others, help in the sustainability of the NHIA, ensure that patients received medications appropriate to their clinical needs at the lowest cost to them and improve the quality of health received by patients.
He said since 1993, the MoH, through the Ghana National Drugs Programme, had been involved with the regular development and promotion of comprehensive therapeutic guidelines for use by all its agencies.
He said the document was the sixth edition of the ministry's officially approved prescribers' and dispensers' guide for all levels of health care.
Dr Ofei said care had also been taken to align the health insurance benefits package to that edition, adding that it had incorporated additional information on blood disorders such myeloma, leukaemia and lymphoma and specific cancers such as cervix and breast.
Topics on eye diseases such as glaucoma, conjunctivitis, trachoma and cataract and attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) for psychiatry have also been included.
Adding to the advantages of the STGs, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, whose speech was read on his behalf, said apart from the document giving guidance for selecting the most appropriate drugs for use and enriching doctors’ prescribing pattern, it would enable health insurance institutions to enter into partnership with the ministry to ensure that patients were cared for at the least affordable cost.
"The treatment guidelines will enable healthcare providers to programme effectively for health logistics, thereby using funds more effectively. The information base for forecasting and ordering drugs will be easily strengthened, thereby making restocking a much more scientific process," he added.
Dr Kunbuor appealed to chief executives of teaching hospitals, regional directors and other stakeholders in health to ensure that the new guidelines were well disseminated among prescribers.
For his part, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester A. Mensah, said one of the biggest issues the insurance scheme was facing was irrational prescribing, with its cost implications which posed a threat to the sustainability of the scheme.
"Clinical audits and a claims verification exercise have shown that many of the problems facing the NHIS are to do with prescriptions not in line with the MoH’s laid down policies on treatments. Many prescribers also prescribe medicines above the levels agreed by the experts at the MoH," he explained.
Mr Mensah expressed the hope that the use of the STGs would help minimise treatment variations and also promote the appropriate use of the most cost-effective treatments, provide guidance for health professionals on the diagnosis and treatment of specific clinical conditions and serve as a reference point by which to judge the quality of prescribing medicines.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)