Saturday, March 13, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 3)
By Rebecca Kwei
At a first glance, petite Aisha Obuobi looks unassuming. And when I had a look at her Christie Brown collection, I was very impressed.
The neat cuts and the simple but nice designs using African prints laced with satin, silk or beads were just perfect.
Aisha (with the design label Christie Brown) is one of the new young designers on the scene and her work speaks volumes for a 24-year-old.
“I have always loved fashion. I love clothes and making them. Growing up, I used to help my grandma who was a seamstress by hemming a dress or fixing buttons. I was also making miniature clothes from the left over pieces of cloth. I guess that’s where my interest started” she reminisced.
However, while schooling at Morning Star and Achimota Senior High School, Aisha shelved her passion for fashion.
It was when she was in her final year at the University of Ghana, Legon, that her passion for fashion came back to her again.
“I majored in Psychology and in my final year, when I was thinking of which career path to take, then my love for fashion came back to me because really, that is what I’ve always loved doing” she said.
Consequently, Aisha started designing clothes for friends and in March 2008, she launched the Christie Brown label while at the university.
Christie Brown is a women’s clothing line and Aisha uses African prints vamping it up with silk, satin, beads and other accessories in modern trends.
When she completed her university education, she enrolled at the VogueStyle School of Fashion to undertake a one-year course in fashion design to learn more about what actually goes into making a garment.
While at VogueStyle School, she was invited to participate in Arise Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2009.
Her designs wowed the audience such that at the end of the fashion show, she was adjudged the Emerging Designer of the Year.
As part of her prize, she took part in the Paris Fashion Week which had alongside it the Arise L’Afrique a Porte fashion show.
There were 10 designers from Africa and Aisha was the only one from Ghana.
Having attended the Paris Fashion Week early this month, Aisha is back with a lot of ideas and in fact she is dreaming big.
Already Glamour Magazine has featured her as one of the women going to make headlines in 2010.
“I want to make African prints appealing to people of other origins by producing latest trends of all seasons that women love so much but with an African twist.
In the same vein I have realised most Ghanaians relate African prints to ‘kaba’ and slit or boubou and I want to change that perception. African prints can be used for trendy wear for all occasions and not just ‘kaba’ and slit,” she added.
Aisha observed that Ghana was not very much known on the international scene for its fashion and she hopes to give Ghana that visibility.
“I plan on participating in more international fashion shows and also produce a lot of ready-to-wear outfits using African prints.”
Aisha is also planning on opening a retail shop in Accra soon where people could easily walk in an pick up an outfit from the rack other than going to a tailor or seamstress to be measured before getting an outfit made for you.
“We don’t have that tradition where one can walk into a shop and pick up an outfit made from African print (standard dress sizes) and I want to establish that. It’s like buying a brand like Chanel, Dior and others,” she said.
Aisha said the fashion industry in Ghana was gradually picking up but there was the need to organise more fashion shows to give new designers the opportunity to showcase their creativity.
Also, she was of the view that a lot of fashion magazines need to be introduced into the country to let people know the various designers and their works so as to push the fashion industry in Ghana forward.
“It is also important for us designers to create designs that people can relate to or be able to wear. If we concentrate too much on the “over the top” designs that people cannot wear anywhere apart from the runway, then the public will not patronise our products,” Aisha added.
Aisha says Christie Brown is a breath of fresh air to the fashion industry, saying “our aim is to make wearable clothes for the modern Ghanaian woman who keeps abreast of developments and knows exactly what she wants”.
So what inspires Aisha? “Everything,” she says, from the environment to anything she lays her eyes on. Fashion designer Joyce Ababio also inspires her a lot.
Her parents are Derek and Thyra Obuobi and she has a brother, Nana Addo.
On why her label is christened Christie Brown, Aisha said “Christie Brown is my late grandmother’s name. She’s my inspiration for this clothing line. I guess that’s where I got my passion for fashion, beautiful clothes and the art of making them.
My grandmother sewed for the longest time; even when her eyesight was failing her. She was blunt to a fault, she had spunk, she was chic and most importantly she had style. These qualities are what Christie Brown clothing embodies — spunk, chic, women who are in tune with themselves”.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
First Lady launches polio campaign
Saturday, March 6, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 25)
By Rebecca Kwei
A TOTAL of 5.1 million children aged between zero and five years are expected to be vaccinated against polio through the two rounds of nationwide Poliomyelitis (polio) Immunisation Campaigns.
The first round of the immunisation is from March 5-7 and the second round takes place from April 23-25 this year.
Polio is an acute viral disease that is easily spread from human contact through contaminated food or water and can kill or cripple children for life.
The First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, who launched this year’s polio immunisation exercise in Accra, said she was delighted to note that the number of polio cases in West Africa was going down.
Ghana, from September 2003 to August 2008, recorded no case of wild polio virus in the country until November 2008 when eight cases were reported in the Northern Region.
However, as of now no case has been recorded. There has been three polio cases from neighbouring countries from January to date as compared to 21 recorded within the same period last year.
Mrs Mills said the eradication of the polio disease in Ghana was a subject that ought to receive the utmost attention in preventive health care.
“Polio, one of the childhood killer diseases has no cure but a vaccine, which has been in existence since 1963 can prevent a child from being affected. It would, therefore, be very unacceptable to witness children in this modern era being killed or incapacitated by polio”, she said.
The Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Dr Kwadwo O. Antwi-Agyei, said the rationale for the 2010 National Immunisation Days (NIDs) was to synchronise the exercise in 14 West African countries to ensure that the entire sub-region was free from the disease.
He gave the assurance that more doses of the vaccine was not injurious.
Dr Antwi-Agyei said a Vitamin A supplement would be added to the second round of the exercise for children between the ages of six months and five years.
The Chairman of the Ghana National Polio Plus of Rotary International (GNPPC), Mr Winfred A. Mensah, said Rotary had committed a total of $1,150,000 globally to help in the eradication of polio.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr Daniel Kertesz, on behalf of health partners, said the vaccination campaign was a collective responsibility of everyone to ensure that children received the life saving vaccine.
By Rebecca Kwei
A TOTAL of 5.1 million children aged between zero and five years are expected to be vaccinated against polio through the two rounds of nationwide Poliomyelitis (polio) Immunisation Campaigns.
The first round of the immunisation is from March 5-7 and the second round takes place from April 23-25 this year.
Polio is an acute viral disease that is easily spread from human contact through contaminated food or water and can kill or cripple children for life.
The First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, who launched this year’s polio immunisation exercise in Accra, said she was delighted to note that the number of polio cases in West Africa was going down.
Ghana, from September 2003 to August 2008, recorded no case of wild polio virus in the country until November 2008 when eight cases were reported in the Northern Region.
However, as of now no case has been recorded. There has been three polio cases from neighbouring countries from January to date as compared to 21 recorded within the same period last year.
Mrs Mills said the eradication of the polio disease in Ghana was a subject that ought to receive the utmost attention in preventive health care.
“Polio, one of the childhood killer diseases has no cure but a vaccine, which has been in existence since 1963 can prevent a child from being affected. It would, therefore, be very unacceptable to witness children in this modern era being killed or incapacitated by polio”, she said.
The Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Dr Kwadwo O. Antwi-Agyei, said the rationale for the 2010 National Immunisation Days (NIDs) was to synchronise the exercise in 14 West African countries to ensure that the entire sub-region was free from the disease.
He gave the assurance that more doses of the vaccine was not injurious.
Dr Antwi-Agyei said a Vitamin A supplement would be added to the second round of the exercise for children between the ages of six months and five years.
The Chairman of the Ghana National Polio Plus of Rotary International (GNPPC), Mr Winfred A. Mensah, said Rotary had committed a total of $1,150,000 globally to help in the eradication of polio.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) representative, Dr Daniel Kertesz, on behalf of health partners, said the vaccination campaign was a collective responsibility of everyone to ensure that children received the life saving vaccine.
Ghana to host WHO confab on tobacco
Saturday, February 27, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
UNDER its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) is encouraging member countries to promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco workers, growers, as well as sellers.
This is because people who cultivate and handle tobacco leaves are equally at risk of tobacco-related diseases such as green tobacco sickness, pesticide intoxication, respiratory and dermatological disorders and other types of cancers.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and articles 17 and 18 deal with the provision of alternative means of livelihood for those who rely on tobacco farming or work for their living; and also to protect the environment and people from the harmful effects of tobacco.
To this end, Ghana will host the second working group on Article 17 and 18 of the WHO FCTC from April 20 to 23, 2010 in Accra.
About 38 delegates from 18 member countries and civil society will participate in the meeting in Accra.
The first meeting was held in India in September last year.
Inaugurating the local planning committee for the second working group of the WHO FCTC, the immediate past Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Nii Oakley Quaye-Kumah, and now Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, said tobacco smoking was unhealthy, caused chronic diseases and could lead to death.
He said the FCTC called on all parties to the convention to raise awareness about the addictive and harmful nature of tobacco products and about industry interference with tobacco control policies.
Additionally, it also called on all parties to avoid conflicts of interest for government officials and employees to monitor and evaluate measures to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke and enforce laws on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Dr Quaye-Kumah said the main objectives of the working group meeting in Accra was to interact with other global players and to deliberate and strategise on alternative livelihoods to tobacco growing in order to protect the environment and health of persons in the production and manufacture of tobacco products.
The working group meeting is also expected to come up with recommendations on effective measures that parties may take to promote sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing.
The local planning committee has Dr Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist, as its chairman. The members are Mrs Edith Wellington, Focal Person, Tobacco Control Programme, Ghana Health Service; Mrs Marian Tackie, Director, Administration and Gender, Ministry of Health; Ms Sophia Twum-Barima, WHO; Mrs Pearl Akiwumi-Siriboe, Attorney General’s Department; a representative each from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms Martha Osei, Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control, and Mr Ben Ahiagbe, Consumer Concerns Initiative.
For his part, Dr Osei said the meeting in Accra would elaborate on the FCTC guidelines, which would then be used by the WHO to guide various countries in their implementation of the articles.
He said the document would then be discussed and adopted by the General Assembly towards the end of the year as a guide for the world towards the control of tobacco production, marketing and consumption.
Dr Osei assured the deputy minister that “we will do our utmost best for this meeting to be a memorable and a very productive one so that the working group can produce a document worthy of its sort”.
By Rebecca Kwei
UNDER its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the World Health Organisation (WHO) is encouraging member countries to promote economically viable alternatives for tobacco workers, growers, as well as sellers.
This is because people who cultivate and handle tobacco leaves are equally at risk of tobacco-related diseases such as green tobacco sickness, pesticide intoxication, respiratory and dermatological disorders and other types of cancers.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) reaffirms the right of all people to the highest standard of health and articles 17 and 18 deal with the provision of alternative means of livelihood for those who rely on tobacco farming or work for their living; and also to protect the environment and people from the harmful effects of tobacco.
To this end, Ghana will host the second working group on Article 17 and 18 of the WHO FCTC from April 20 to 23, 2010 in Accra.
About 38 delegates from 18 member countries and civil society will participate in the meeting in Accra.
The first meeting was held in India in September last year.
Inaugurating the local planning committee for the second working group of the WHO FCTC, the immediate past Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Nii Oakley Quaye-Kumah, and now Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, said tobacco smoking was unhealthy, caused chronic diseases and could lead to death.
He said the FCTC called on all parties to the convention to raise awareness about the addictive and harmful nature of tobacco products and about industry interference with tobacco control policies.
Additionally, it also called on all parties to avoid conflicts of interest for government officials and employees to monitor and evaluate measures to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke and enforce laws on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
Dr Quaye-Kumah said the main objectives of the working group meeting in Accra was to interact with other global players and to deliberate and strategise on alternative livelihoods to tobacco growing in order to protect the environment and health of persons in the production and manufacture of tobacco products.
The working group meeting is also expected to come up with recommendations on effective measures that parties may take to promote sustainable alternatives to tobacco growing.
The local planning committee has Dr Akwasi Osei, Chief Psychiatrist, as its chairman. The members are Mrs Edith Wellington, Focal Person, Tobacco Control Programme, Ghana Health Service; Mrs Marian Tackie, Director, Administration and Gender, Ministry of Health; Ms Sophia Twum-Barima, WHO; Mrs Pearl Akiwumi-Siriboe, Attorney General’s Department; a representative each from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ms Martha Osei, Coalition of NGOs in Tobacco Control, and Mr Ben Ahiagbe, Consumer Concerns Initiative.
For his part, Dr Osei said the meeting in Accra would elaborate on the FCTC guidelines, which would then be used by the WHO to guide various countries in their implementation of the articles.
He said the document would then be discussed and adopted by the General Assembly towards the end of the year as a guide for the world towards the control of tobacco production, marketing and consumption.
Dr Osei assured the deputy minister that “we will do our utmost best for this meeting to be a memorable and a very productive one so that the working group can produce a document worthy of its sort”.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Ministry considers Chiropractic health care
Saturday, November 7, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 25)
By Rebecca Kwei
Chiropractic practice is being considered for the mainstream of health delivery in the country.
This is under the Ministry of Health’s quality assurance policy on training and practice of complementary health practitioners.
This was made known by the Minister of Health designate, Dr Ben Kumbour, at the launch of the Chiropractic and Wellness Centre’s corporate wellness programme in Accra.
Chiropractic is an alternative medical system which takes a different approach from standard medicine in treating health problems. Its basic concept is that the body has a powerful self-healing ability and the chiropractic professionals use a type of hands-on therapy called spinal manipulation or adjustment.
According to the minister, in line with the programme, the chiropractic doctor was to be seen as a primary contact practitioner, who is a collaborator and sees to the optimum function of the body.
Additionally, he said, guidelines for regulatory control of all wellness spas and complementary alternative medicine practices by the ministry were being rolled out for implementation.
He said the board of the Regulatory Council would soon be inaugurated to enable the registry for complementary medicine to become fully operational.
Dr Kumbour said the launch of the corporate wellness programme had come at a time when Ghana was experiencing an increase in lifestyle-related diseases.
“Much of the work of the middle and upper classes falls under the category which is described as sedentary, and this, coupled with opportunities for over-indulgence while doing less manual work, puts these classes of the population at serious risk of cardio-vascular and other lifestyle diseases,” he observed.
He noted that a key component of every successful nation was a healthy and vibrant workforce and that the workplace was, therefore, the perfect place to start a health and wellness revolution.
“Diseases need hospitals to be treated, and the public health service needs the community to support each other in disease prevention but wellness depends on the choices an individual makes on personal discipline, moral behaviour, lifestyle and early health preventive interventions,” Dr Kumbour added.
He expressed the hope that insurance companies would begin to pay for chiropractic services to enable more people to access the service.
The CEO of the Chiropractic and Wellness Centres, Dr Marcus Manns, said in Ghana and globally, employees and employers were grappling with the challenge of maintaining a healthy balance between being productive at work while maintaining a quality life at home.
He said the centre thus felt it was necessary to introduce a programme that specifically targeted the workplace.
The corporate wellness programme was designed such that the centre would introduce and maintain a wellness culture in an organisation that creates happier, healthier, more focused and productive employees.
“The health choices your employees make today create a healthy or sick bottom line for your company tomorrow,” Dr Manns added.
He noted that preventable diseases made up 70 per cent of the entire burden of illness and associated costs to corporations.
The features of the corporate wellness programme include quarterly corporate wellness workshops, advanced strategies to adapt to stress, workstation exercises, ergonomics for life, on-site massages and corporate wellness consultancy.
By Rebecca Kwei
Chiropractic practice is being considered for the mainstream of health delivery in the country.
This is under the Ministry of Health’s quality assurance policy on training and practice of complementary health practitioners.
This was made known by the Minister of Health designate, Dr Ben Kumbour, at the launch of the Chiropractic and Wellness Centre’s corporate wellness programme in Accra.
Chiropractic is an alternative medical system which takes a different approach from standard medicine in treating health problems. Its basic concept is that the body has a powerful self-healing ability and the chiropractic professionals use a type of hands-on therapy called spinal manipulation or adjustment.
According to the minister, in line with the programme, the chiropractic doctor was to be seen as a primary contact practitioner, who is a collaborator and sees to the optimum function of the body.
Additionally, he said, guidelines for regulatory control of all wellness spas and complementary alternative medicine practices by the ministry were being rolled out for implementation.
He said the board of the Regulatory Council would soon be inaugurated to enable the registry for complementary medicine to become fully operational.
Dr Kumbour said the launch of the corporate wellness programme had come at a time when Ghana was experiencing an increase in lifestyle-related diseases.
“Much of the work of the middle and upper classes falls under the category which is described as sedentary, and this, coupled with opportunities for over-indulgence while doing less manual work, puts these classes of the population at serious risk of cardio-vascular and other lifestyle diseases,” he observed.
He noted that a key component of every successful nation was a healthy and vibrant workforce and that the workplace was, therefore, the perfect place to start a health and wellness revolution.
“Diseases need hospitals to be treated, and the public health service needs the community to support each other in disease prevention but wellness depends on the choices an individual makes on personal discipline, moral behaviour, lifestyle and early health preventive interventions,” Dr Kumbour added.
He expressed the hope that insurance companies would begin to pay for chiropractic services to enable more people to access the service.
The CEO of the Chiropractic and Wellness Centres, Dr Marcus Manns, said in Ghana and globally, employees and employers were grappling with the challenge of maintaining a healthy balance between being productive at work while maintaining a quality life at home.
He said the centre thus felt it was necessary to introduce a programme that specifically targeted the workplace.
The corporate wellness programme was designed such that the centre would introduce and maintain a wellness culture in an organisation that creates happier, healthier, more focused and productive employees.
“The health choices your employees make today create a healthy or sick bottom line for your company tomorrow,” Dr Manns added.
He noted that preventable diseases made up 70 per cent of the entire burden of illness and associated costs to corporations.
The features of the corporate wellness programme include quarterly corporate wellness workshops, advanced strategies to adapt to stress, workstation exercises, ergonomics for life, on-site massages and corporate wellness consultancy.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Set up national cancer control programme
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.
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.
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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