Saturday, July 17, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 13)
By Rebecca Kwei
The Director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Advocacy and Training in Pharmacovigilance, Dr Alex Dodoo, has called for a re-evaluation of the large-scale rollout of the HINI vaccine nationwide.
He said any such large-scale deployment of vaccines should be informed by proper assessment of the risk and a good and rigorous determination of those most vulnerable and hence requiring vaccination.
“There are several people who would benefit from H1N1 vaccination but there are millions more for whom vaccination would present very little benefits” he said in an interview with The Mirror.
Dr Dodoo said the rollout should have been accompanied by very intensive and active monitoring for the occurrence of side effects to ensure that the known benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks posed by the vaccine itself.
“The fact that several people have complained of unacceptable side effects shows how important safety is to the public.Those likely to suffer severe consequences from H1N1 infection include pregnant women, people with serious pre-existing conditions like asthma and certain heart and lung conditions, as well as those with reduced immunity for instance cancer patients, HIV patients” he said.
Dr Dodoo explained that the benefits of vaccination to such people were expected to be higher than any side effects the vaccines might give.
However, for most normal adults, the H1N1 infection is likely to lead to mild symptoms. Hence, any severe side effects from the vaccine is not likely to be acceptable.
Since the nationwide H1N1 vaccination started, many people who have been vaccinated have complained of side effects such as dizziness, general weakness, reactions at the site of the injection such as hardening, swelling, pain and redness, fatigue and fever.
However, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in a press statement, vouched for the safety of the H1NI vaccine, indicating that it was to provide beneficiaries with protection against the disease.
It said although those adverse reactions, even after any drug administration were not unusual, the health authorities would deal with the reports with all the seriousness they deserved.
Dr Dodoo said the rollout of H1N1 vaccination to travellers to the World Cup and also to at-risk groups and vulnerable people was a good idea except that the very close monitoring that should have accompanied the rollout appeared to have been absent.
In addition, there has not been published evaluation of those events reported and what the implications of those are to the continuation of the mass immunisation.
Some people also claim they were not given any information on what to expect and what side effects may occur.
“The reported side effects and associated media coverage of them following the large-scale rollout of the H1N1 vaccine to the public, however, raises serious concerns which call for an immediate re-evaluation of the decision to vaccinate everyone.
Apart from the identified vulnerable populations, what are the expected benefits and how much risk is there of contracting H1N1 given that the pandemic appears to have abated and several countries have stayed away from mass immunisation?” he queried.
”If we don’t rollout public health initiatives with good education and appropriate safety monitoring, we risk alienating the public and compromising these laudable initiatives.
“Vaccination is good but only when targeted at the right people and carried out with good education and information provision accompanied with robust safety monitoring and communication systems” Dr Dodoo added.
He said the public needed to be continuously assured of the safety of vaccines and the small risk of adverse reactions that a minority of patients may suffer.
Dr Dodoo also called for a robust risk management plan to accompany the large-scale immunisation of the Ghanaian public with the H1N1 vaccine and regular publication of the adverse events associated with the vaccine as is currently being done in many countries.
In another development, there have been public concerns by several global experts who have questioned the whole management of the pandemic by the WHO, citing possible conflicts of interest and profiteering by the pharmaceutical industry.
In an editorial and investigative piece by the British Medical Journal on June 3, this year, the authors mentioned the example of Poland which refused to be involved in stockpiling vaccines and anti-retrovirals, a decision which now appears very prudent since countries such as France and England which stockpiled these medicines are now finding ways to sell them to other countries.
Other serious issues were raised by the editorial which the WHO had since responded to officially.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Ghana to benefit from cleft lip, palate management project
Saturday, July 10, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 13)
By Rebecca Kwei
TRANSFORMING Faces Worldwide (TFW), a Canadian charity which helps cleft lip and palate management projects in developing countries, has extended its operations in Ghana for the next three years.
At a press briefing on the operations of the Cleft Lip and Palate Management Project (CLPMP), Ghana, the non-governmental organisation which had been working in the country since 2002 revealed that it has so far supported about 500 patients through surgery and a larger number of patients have received multi-disciplinary services.
The project which is located at the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre (RPSBC) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital draws various health experts from both public and private health institutions to form a multi-disciplinary team.
Cleft lip and palate is a congenital anomaly or defect which causes a split of the lip and/or the roof of the mouth; a defect which allows someone to look into the mouth of a patient without the patient opening the mouth. Parents who want a ‘perfect baby’ are usually shocked when they are presented with such babies.
Problems associated with the defect are related to appearance, social stigma, failure to name the child, child not sent for immunisations, child not being sent to school, some not being allowed to live and also being abandoned by parents, mostly their fathers.
Medical problems linked with cleft lip are feeding problems, repeated ear infections, speech problems, hearing problems, learning difficulties, as well as other congenital problems such as heart, skeletal and genital problems.
According to Mr James Hottor, a representative of TFW, the NGO supports cleft lip and palate management projects in developing countries by providing funds for medical supplies, treatment and training of local cleft specialists among others.
He said TFW has projects in Bulgaria, Peru, Argentina, India, Nepal, Ethiopia, China and Thailand.
He said the goal of CLPMP, Ghana, was to evolve and sustain a comprehensive cleft lip and palate management in Ghana, pursue partnerships for the sustenance of the project and also provide assistance to poor persons with cleft lip and palate management.
The Executive Director of TFW, Mr Esteban Lasso, said close to 90,000 interventions have been performed for more than 6,000 patients.
These included reconstructive surgery, speech therapy, hearing tests and aids, breastfeeding counselling, dentistry/orthodontics, nutritional support, psychological counselling, ear, nose and throat (ENT) services.
He said a child was born with a cleft lip and palate every 11 minutes and that in many developing countries, access to multidisciplinary treatment was limited or lacking in quality.
Other challenges, he said, had to do with the ‘brain drain’ of local medical specialists which undermined the development of cleft centres and the fact that cleft lip and palate was a low priority for the overburdened health systems as well as limited funds.
He said there was, therefore, the need for long-term partnerships to build multidisciplinary teams and emphasis placed on building local capacity and training.
Dr Albert Paintsil, a member of the CLPMP, Ghana, said the cleft lip and palate defect occurred during the development of the face of the foetus in the first three months of pregnancy.
He noted that most mothers may not be aware of the pregnancy during that time and may engage in activities such as intake of alcohol and certain drugs, smoking, anticonvulsants, retinoic acid, steroids, lack of folic acid and vitamins and some herbal concoctions which may increase the risk factors of the baby developing the defect.
He said defects in the genetic material passed on to the child from the parents was also a factor.
Dr Paintsil emphasised that cleft lip and palate was not the result of witchcraft, unfaithfulness on the part of the woman, curse or the effect of a ‘bad look’ during pregnancy.
By Rebecca Kwei
TRANSFORMING Faces Worldwide (TFW), a Canadian charity which helps cleft lip and palate management projects in developing countries, has extended its operations in Ghana for the next three years.
At a press briefing on the operations of the Cleft Lip and Palate Management Project (CLPMP), Ghana, the non-governmental organisation which had been working in the country since 2002 revealed that it has so far supported about 500 patients through surgery and a larger number of patients have received multi-disciplinary services.
The project which is located at the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre (RPSBC) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital draws various health experts from both public and private health institutions to form a multi-disciplinary team.
Cleft lip and palate is a congenital anomaly or defect which causes a split of the lip and/or the roof of the mouth; a defect which allows someone to look into the mouth of a patient without the patient opening the mouth. Parents who want a ‘perfect baby’ are usually shocked when they are presented with such babies.
Problems associated with the defect are related to appearance, social stigma, failure to name the child, child not sent for immunisations, child not being sent to school, some not being allowed to live and also being abandoned by parents, mostly their fathers.
Medical problems linked with cleft lip are feeding problems, repeated ear infections, speech problems, hearing problems, learning difficulties, as well as other congenital problems such as heart, skeletal and genital problems.
According to Mr James Hottor, a representative of TFW, the NGO supports cleft lip and palate management projects in developing countries by providing funds for medical supplies, treatment and training of local cleft specialists among others.
He said TFW has projects in Bulgaria, Peru, Argentina, India, Nepal, Ethiopia, China and Thailand.
He said the goal of CLPMP, Ghana, was to evolve and sustain a comprehensive cleft lip and palate management in Ghana, pursue partnerships for the sustenance of the project and also provide assistance to poor persons with cleft lip and palate management.
The Executive Director of TFW, Mr Esteban Lasso, said close to 90,000 interventions have been performed for more than 6,000 patients.
These included reconstructive surgery, speech therapy, hearing tests and aids, breastfeeding counselling, dentistry/orthodontics, nutritional support, psychological counselling, ear, nose and throat (ENT) services.
He said a child was born with a cleft lip and palate every 11 minutes and that in many developing countries, access to multidisciplinary treatment was limited or lacking in quality.
Other challenges, he said, had to do with the ‘brain drain’ of local medical specialists which undermined the development of cleft centres and the fact that cleft lip and palate was a low priority for the overburdened health systems as well as limited funds.
He said there was, therefore, the need for long-term partnerships to build multidisciplinary teams and emphasis placed on building local capacity and training.
Dr Albert Paintsil, a member of the CLPMP, Ghana, said the cleft lip and palate defect occurred during the development of the face of the foetus in the first three months of pregnancy.
He noted that most mothers may not be aware of the pregnancy during that time and may engage in activities such as intake of alcohol and certain drugs, smoking, anticonvulsants, retinoic acid, steroids, lack of folic acid and vitamins and some herbal concoctions which may increase the risk factors of the baby developing the defect.
He said defects in the genetic material passed on to the child from the parents was also a factor.
Dr Paintsil emphasised that cleft lip and palate was not the result of witchcraft, unfaithfulness on the part of the woman, curse or the effect of a ‘bad look’ during pregnancy.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Are beauty queens getting 'ugly'
Saturday, July 3, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 27)
By Rebecca Kwei
As Ghanaians bask in the exploits of the Black Stars at the ongoing World Cup, one lady who may not be having fun right now is TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful, Nasara Mariam Abdul Rauf.
Nasara has been stripped of her title by the organisers of the pageant, TV3, for allegedly stealing a mobile phone belonging to Miss UK when they camped in the Philippines in preparation for the Miss Earth 2009.
Nasara, however, insists she did not steal any phone but only ‘borrowed’ the phone to make calls.
“As far as I know, I am still Ghana’s Most Beautiful. I don’t have any problem with TV3, everything that is being said about me is false rumour and I leave it all to God” she told the Graphic Showbiz.
TV3 also says it arrived at the decision to strip Nasara of her title after series of investigations, internal discussions and evidence it had. The lady whose phone has caused the controversy is Miss UK, Kirsty Nichol who works as a model and lives in London. She is also a trained singer under the Royal Associated Board and the Academy Of Contemporary Music. She was crowned Miss Earth England 2009 at the Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England.
The evidence TV3 had was an e-mail from Miss UK which was an itemised phone bill with lots of calls to Ghana at a time that the chip had disappeared. Efforts to get her comments on the unfolding drama were not successful.
In another development, Laura Anness, a teacher who was crowned Miss Cornwall and was set to participate in the Miss England final in Birmingham, has lost her crown after the organisers of the pageant discovered she had deceived them.
Her entry forms for 2010 said she was 22. So, too, were her entry forms for the competition in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Laura is, in fact, 27. Entrants have to be aged between 17 and 24. To make matters worse, the new Miss Cornwall actually lived in Plymouth — in Devon.
She was found out when Miss Cornwall organiser, Becky Chapman, spotted the age inconsistencies on the entry forms and then went to visit her Devon home.
Laura apologised and handed back her sash, crown, her 12-month modelling contract and £2,000 worth of prizes.
Another beauty queen, Venus Raj, who won the Pilipinas Universe title in the Philippines on March 6, 2010, was also stripped of her crown when the organisers discovered inconsistencies contained in her birth records, in contrast to her personal account of her birth.
In 2008, there was the case of a Mexican beauty queen, Laura Zuniga, who was detained on suspicion of drug and weapons violation was stripped of her crown in the Hispanoamerican queen pageant.
Laura was detained on December 22, 2008 along with seven men, some of them suspected to be drug traffickers. Authorities found a large stash of weapons, ammunition and $53,300 with them inside a vehicle.
By Rebecca Kwei
As Ghanaians bask in the exploits of the Black Stars at the ongoing World Cup, one lady who may not be having fun right now is TV3’s Ghana’s Most Beautiful, Nasara Mariam Abdul Rauf.
Nasara has been stripped of her title by the organisers of the pageant, TV3, for allegedly stealing a mobile phone belonging to Miss UK when they camped in the Philippines in preparation for the Miss Earth 2009.
Nasara, however, insists she did not steal any phone but only ‘borrowed’ the phone to make calls.
“As far as I know, I am still Ghana’s Most Beautiful. I don’t have any problem with TV3, everything that is being said about me is false rumour and I leave it all to God” she told the Graphic Showbiz.
TV3 also says it arrived at the decision to strip Nasara of her title after series of investigations, internal discussions and evidence it had. The lady whose phone has caused the controversy is Miss UK, Kirsty Nichol who works as a model and lives in London. She is also a trained singer under the Royal Associated Board and the Academy Of Contemporary Music. She was crowned Miss Earth England 2009 at the Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England.
The evidence TV3 had was an e-mail from Miss UK which was an itemised phone bill with lots of calls to Ghana at a time that the chip had disappeared. Efforts to get her comments on the unfolding drama were not successful.
In another development, Laura Anness, a teacher who was crowned Miss Cornwall and was set to participate in the Miss England final in Birmingham, has lost her crown after the organisers of the pageant discovered she had deceived them.
Her entry forms for 2010 said she was 22. So, too, were her entry forms for the competition in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Laura is, in fact, 27. Entrants have to be aged between 17 and 24. To make matters worse, the new Miss Cornwall actually lived in Plymouth — in Devon.
She was found out when Miss Cornwall organiser, Becky Chapman, spotted the age inconsistencies on the entry forms and then went to visit her Devon home.
Laura apologised and handed back her sash, crown, her 12-month modelling contract and £2,000 worth of prizes.
Another beauty queen, Venus Raj, who won the Pilipinas Universe title in the Philippines on March 6, 2010, was also stripped of her crown when the organisers discovered inconsistencies contained in her birth records, in contrast to her personal account of her birth.
In 2008, there was the case of a Mexican beauty queen, Laura Zuniga, who was detained on suspicion of drug and weapons violation was stripped of her crown in the Hispanoamerican queen pageant.
Laura was detained on December 22, 2008 along with seven men, some of them suspected to be drug traffickers. Authorities found a large stash of weapons, ammunition and $53,300 with them inside a vehicle.
Commit more resources to cervical cancer screening
Saturday, June 26, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
A CANCER CONTROL FOCAL PERSON of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Kofi Nyarko, has called on the government to commit more resources to the effective screening of cervical cancer in the country.
He said cervical cancer was the most common cancer affecting women in Ghana and the lack of an effective and systematic national testing or treatment as compared to other developed countries was increasing the cases of the disease.
Cervical cancer affects tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope). Cervical cancer is almost always caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
Dr Nyarko made this known during a press conference in Accra ahead of the 4th Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa to be held in Accra between July 25 and July 27 this year.
It will be on the theme: “Africa unite in action, mobilising political and financial support to strengthen cervical cancer prevention”.
The three-day international conference is in collaboration with Princess Nikky Breast and Cervical Cancer Foundation, a Nigerian based non-governmental organisation (NGO) at the forefront of breast and cervical cancer prevention and control in Africa.
Giving the cervical cancer statistics, Dr Nyarko said 274,000 deaths were recorded annually, out of which 61,000 (78 per cent) of those deaths were from Africa. About 79,000 women are diagnosed of cervical cancer in Africa each year.
He said women in developing world had the highest risk of developing cervical cancer because few are effectively screened.
He said although there had been interventions in Ghana such as the cervicare project to prevent and treat cervical cancer, there was the need for a systematic national campaign to increase awareness of the disease.
For his part, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, quoting from a World Health Organisation (WHO) studies, said that 18 per cent of all cancer deaths in Ghana was due to cervical cancer.
He noted that unfortunately, most of the cancers seen at the country’s health facilities were advanced cases which could have been cured if they had been detected early and that management of those advanced cases was very expensive.
“Prevention, early detection and treatment of early stages of cervical cancer is very cost effective and has good outcome,” he said.
Dr Kunbuor expressed the hope that conference would accelerate Ghana’s efforts at advocacy and awareness creation, as well as enhance the country’s efforts to implement a comprehensive cervical cancer prevention programme.
The Executive Director of Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation, Princess Nikky Onyeri, said the conference was expected to advocate increased awareness of cervical cancer in Africa; to reduce stigmatisation of people suffering and living with cervical cancer.
She said the conference also had the objective to mobilise the needed resources for the development of policies, strategies and action to fight cervical cancer at national, regional and international levels.
By Rebecca Kwei
A CANCER CONTROL FOCAL PERSON of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Kofi Nyarko, has called on the government to commit more resources to the effective screening of cervical cancer in the country.
He said cervical cancer was the most common cancer affecting women in Ghana and the lack of an effective and systematic national testing or treatment as compared to other developed countries was increasing the cases of the disease.
Cervical cancer affects tissues of the cervix (the organ connecting the uterus and vagina). It is usually a slow-growing cancer that may not have symptoms but can be found with regular Pap tests (a procedure in which cells are scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope). Cervical cancer is almost always caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
Dr Nyarko made this known during a press conference in Accra ahead of the 4th Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa to be held in Accra between July 25 and July 27 this year.
It will be on the theme: “Africa unite in action, mobilising political and financial support to strengthen cervical cancer prevention”.
The three-day international conference is in collaboration with Princess Nikky Breast and Cervical Cancer Foundation, a Nigerian based non-governmental organisation (NGO) at the forefront of breast and cervical cancer prevention and control in Africa.
Giving the cervical cancer statistics, Dr Nyarko said 274,000 deaths were recorded annually, out of which 61,000 (78 per cent) of those deaths were from Africa. About 79,000 women are diagnosed of cervical cancer in Africa each year.
He said women in developing world had the highest risk of developing cervical cancer because few are effectively screened.
He said although there had been interventions in Ghana such as the cervicare project to prevent and treat cervical cancer, there was the need for a systematic national campaign to increase awareness of the disease.
For his part, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, quoting from a World Health Organisation (WHO) studies, said that 18 per cent of all cancer deaths in Ghana was due to cervical cancer.
He noted that unfortunately, most of the cancers seen at the country’s health facilities were advanced cases which could have been cured if they had been detected early and that management of those advanced cases was very expensive.
“Prevention, early detection and treatment of early stages of cervical cancer is very cost effective and has good outcome,” he said.
Dr Kunbuor expressed the hope that conference would accelerate Ghana’s efforts at advocacy and awareness creation, as well as enhance the country’s efforts to implement a comprehensive cervical cancer prevention programme.
The Executive Director of Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation, Princess Nikky Onyeri, said the conference was expected to advocate increased awareness of cervical cancer in Africa; to reduce stigmatisation of people suffering and living with cervical cancer.
She said the conference also had the objective to mobilise the needed resources for the development of policies, strategies and action to fight cervical cancer at national, regional and international levels.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Rally round the flag
Saturday, June 12, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 3)
By Rebecca Kwei
STILL having the notion that football is an exclusive men’s sport? Wrong.
In the past few years, the world’s most widely-followed sport has expanded its fan base as ladies have also been hit by the football bug as much as the men.
At various tournaments around the world, women have suddenly assumed the role of cheerleaders, beautifying the stands in their chic, colourful, national colours to cheer their teams to victory. Not just that, they seem to also understand the rules of the game.
As the 19th historic World Cup kicked off in South Africa yesterday with 32 teams, thousands of beautiful ladies lent their support to their teams.
It may not be official, but Miss Malaika 2009, Gezelle Maame Konadu Addai, sees herself as a chief cheerleader for the Black Stars and is optimistic that the Stars will shine during this tournament and particularly, when they play Serbia in their opening Group D game tomorrow.
“I can feel it in my heart. I’ve watched them play and I think they play very well and with a lot of determination” she said with a lot of passion in an interview with The Mirror.
The Black Stars have received a lot of flak about their performance and preparation towards the world cup, especially, after the Ghana and The Netherlands friendly match which Ghana lost 4-1.
But Gezelle said it was important that all Ghanaians supported the Black Stars through thick and thin.
Gezelle, who rode on US President Barrack Obama’s audacious phrase “Yes, we can” to win the Malaika crown, said that phrase is still as relevant as when it first spoken.
“It is sad that we only have confidence in the team when they win, but we have to support them whether good or bad. We have to cheer them on and also remember them in our prayers.
“ They had proven when hopes were down that yes they could, and I want to remain optmistic that they can do very well at this World Cup. Yes, they can!”
Gezelle who leaves Ghana for South Africa today to cheer the Black Stars said she was hopeful the Black Stars will thrash their Serbian counterparts by at least three goals to nil.
She said Dominic Adiyiah, Asamoah Gyan, Kwadwo Asamoah, Matthew Amoah and Prince Kelvin Boateng, whom she described as the new kid on the bloc, were her favourite Black Stars players.
She encouraged the Black Stars to play as a team , listen to the coach’s instructions and stay focused adding “ I believe in my heart they will make Ghana proud and make the nation stand out on the international map. Go Black Stars, Go!”
Eighteen-year-old Gezelle entered the Miss Malaika Ghana competition with an ambition. Then a graduate of Holy Child Senior High school, she described herself as confident and ambitious — traits that proved useful which won her the crown as Miss Malaika 2009 over 16 other contestants.
Months down the line after winning the coveted crown, Gezelle, who aspires to be an International Journalist and a model, has been on the war path against malaria in Ghana — a responsibility that comes with winning the crown.
Winning Miss Malaika has opened a lot of doors to greater heights for the ambitious young lady and she has not taken the responsibility lightly.
She began not long after her crowning by hosting a Christmas party for the pupils of the Dzorwulu Special School and immediately followed it up with painting the Princess Marie Louis Hospital (Children’s Hospital), donated artworks to the wards, painted the walls of the wards in cartoon characters to encourage them to heal quickly.
It is interesting to note that, all this effort was before she took on full responsibility as the Malaria Youth Ambassador attached to the National Malaria Control Programme.
Gezelle also participated in the MTN 21 days of Yello’ Care for community enhancement project.
This community- based programme included distribution of mosquito nets, painting of selected hospitals, indoor residual spraying, tree-planting exercises and a malaria awareness talk in all the 10 regions.
Aside supporting the Black Stars,she took on other responsibilities such as the Malaria Youth Ambassador and a role as a Charity Icon for MTN. One will find a very active young woman who is constantly on the move to make her community a better place.
By Rebecca Kwei
STILL having the notion that football is an exclusive men’s sport? Wrong.
In the past few years, the world’s most widely-followed sport has expanded its fan base as ladies have also been hit by the football bug as much as the men.
At various tournaments around the world, women have suddenly assumed the role of cheerleaders, beautifying the stands in their chic, colourful, national colours to cheer their teams to victory. Not just that, they seem to also understand the rules of the game.
As the 19th historic World Cup kicked off in South Africa yesterday with 32 teams, thousands of beautiful ladies lent their support to their teams.
It may not be official, but Miss Malaika 2009, Gezelle Maame Konadu Addai, sees herself as a chief cheerleader for the Black Stars and is optimistic that the Stars will shine during this tournament and particularly, when they play Serbia in their opening Group D game tomorrow.
“I can feel it in my heart. I’ve watched them play and I think they play very well and with a lot of determination” she said with a lot of passion in an interview with The Mirror.
The Black Stars have received a lot of flak about their performance and preparation towards the world cup, especially, after the Ghana and The Netherlands friendly match which Ghana lost 4-1.
But Gezelle said it was important that all Ghanaians supported the Black Stars through thick and thin.
Gezelle, who rode on US President Barrack Obama’s audacious phrase “Yes, we can” to win the Malaika crown, said that phrase is still as relevant as when it first spoken.
“It is sad that we only have confidence in the team when they win, but we have to support them whether good or bad. We have to cheer them on and also remember them in our prayers.
“ They had proven when hopes were down that yes they could, and I want to remain optmistic that they can do very well at this World Cup. Yes, they can!”
Gezelle who leaves Ghana for South Africa today to cheer the Black Stars said she was hopeful the Black Stars will thrash their Serbian counterparts by at least three goals to nil.
She said Dominic Adiyiah, Asamoah Gyan, Kwadwo Asamoah, Matthew Amoah and Prince Kelvin Boateng, whom she described as the new kid on the bloc, were her favourite Black Stars players.
She encouraged the Black Stars to play as a team , listen to the coach’s instructions and stay focused adding “ I believe in my heart they will make Ghana proud and make the nation stand out on the international map. Go Black Stars, Go!”
Eighteen-year-old Gezelle entered the Miss Malaika Ghana competition with an ambition. Then a graduate of Holy Child Senior High school, she described herself as confident and ambitious — traits that proved useful which won her the crown as Miss Malaika 2009 over 16 other contestants.
Months down the line after winning the coveted crown, Gezelle, who aspires to be an International Journalist and a model, has been on the war path against malaria in Ghana — a responsibility that comes with winning the crown.
Winning Miss Malaika has opened a lot of doors to greater heights for the ambitious young lady and she has not taken the responsibility lightly.
She began not long after her crowning by hosting a Christmas party for the pupils of the Dzorwulu Special School and immediately followed it up with painting the Princess Marie Louis Hospital (Children’s Hospital), donated artworks to the wards, painted the walls of the wards in cartoon characters to encourage them to heal quickly.
It is interesting to note that, all this effort was before she took on full responsibility as the Malaria Youth Ambassador attached to the National Malaria Control Programme.
Gezelle also participated in the MTN 21 days of Yello’ Care for community enhancement project.
This community- based programme included distribution of mosquito nets, painting of selected hospitals, indoor residual spraying, tree-planting exercises and a malaria awareness talk in all the 10 regions.
Aside supporting the Black Stars,she took on other responsibilities such as the Malaria Youth Ambassador and a role as a Charity Icon for MTN. One will find a very active young woman who is constantly on the move to make her community a better place.
Maternal mortality rate still high
Saturday, June 5, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 13)
By Rebecca Kwei
Ghana has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. The Ghana 2007 Maternal Health Survey revealed that about 451 women per 100,000 live births died in the country due to pregnancy, unsafe abortion or complications of labour (GSS 2007).
According to the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Ghana is as high as 4.0, but the modern contraception usage rate is quite low at 17 per cent among married women.
The use of modern methods slightly declined from 19 per cent in 2003 to 17 per cent in 2008. The modern method distribution among married women is as follows: Tubal ligation - 1.6 per cent; Pill - 4.7 per cent; Intrauterine Device (IUD) - 0.2 per cent; Injectables - 6.2 per cent; Implants - 0.9 per cent; male condom - 2.4 per cent and female condom - 0.1 per cent
Although the government of Ghana has made some gains in the area of reproductive health services, the low levels of family planning practices and in particular, underutilisation of long-acting and permanent methods continue to indicate a lack of information about reproductive health as well as lack of access to these methods.
To support government’s response towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 of eliminating maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion in Ghana, a consortium of five agencies initiated a programme dubbed; Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (R3M) in September 2006.
The five agencies are EngenderHealth, Ipas, Marie Stopes International, Population Council and the Willows Foundation, all international non- governmental organisations that work to improve women’s reproductive health.
The R3M programme provide financial and technical resources that enable the government to significantly expand women’s access to modern family planning and comprehensive abortion care (CAC), reduce unwanted fertility and severe complications and deaths caused by unsafe abortion.
Additionally, it is working to help achieve the government’s contraceptive prevalence goal of 39 per cent by 2015; make family planning services, especially, long acting and permanent methods and comprehensive abortion care routinely available and utilised at all levels of the Ghana health system.
Furthermore, it aims at reducing mortality and morbidity due to unsafe abortion by 2015, by eliminating the majority of the severe complications and make abortion services available to the extent permitted by the Ghanaian Law of 1985, and to educate providers and communities on the law.
The initial three-year phase of the R3M programme ended in December 2009 and was implemented in three regions namely; Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti regions.
According to Mr Placide Tapsoba, Country Director of the Population Council, the organisation that co-ordinates the activities of the R3M, the consortium members have met their original objectives of training, promoting community behavioural change, and the use of long acting or permanent family planning methods and providing comprehensive abortion care in both private and public health facilities.
Mr Tapsoba indicated that, the second phase of the programme will run from January 2010 to December 2011.
By Rebecca Kwei
Ghana has one of the highest maternal mortality rate in the world. The Ghana 2007 Maternal Health Survey revealed that about 451 women per 100,000 live births died in the country due to pregnancy, unsafe abortion or complications of labour (GSS 2007).
According to the 2008 Ghana Demographic Health Survey, the total fertility rate (TFR) in Ghana is as high as 4.0, but the modern contraception usage rate is quite low at 17 per cent among married women.
The use of modern methods slightly declined from 19 per cent in 2003 to 17 per cent in 2008. The modern method distribution among married women is as follows: Tubal ligation - 1.6 per cent; Pill - 4.7 per cent; Intrauterine Device (IUD) - 0.2 per cent; Injectables - 6.2 per cent; Implants - 0.9 per cent; male condom - 2.4 per cent and female condom - 0.1 per cent
Although the government of Ghana has made some gains in the area of reproductive health services, the low levels of family planning practices and in particular, underutilisation of long-acting and permanent methods continue to indicate a lack of information about reproductive health as well as lack of access to these methods.
To support government’s response towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 of eliminating maternal deaths due to unsafe abortion in Ghana, a consortium of five agencies initiated a programme dubbed; Reducing Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (R3M) in September 2006.
The five agencies are EngenderHealth, Ipas, Marie Stopes International, Population Council and the Willows Foundation, all international non- governmental organisations that work to improve women’s reproductive health.
The R3M programme provide financial and technical resources that enable the government to significantly expand women’s access to modern family planning and comprehensive abortion care (CAC), reduce unwanted fertility and severe complications and deaths caused by unsafe abortion.
Additionally, it is working to help achieve the government’s contraceptive prevalence goal of 39 per cent by 2015; make family planning services, especially, long acting and permanent methods and comprehensive abortion care routinely available and utilised at all levels of the Ghana health system.
Furthermore, it aims at reducing mortality and morbidity due to unsafe abortion by 2015, by eliminating the majority of the severe complications and make abortion services available to the extent permitted by the Ghanaian Law of 1985, and to educate providers and communities on the law.
The initial three-year phase of the R3M programme ended in December 2009 and was implemented in three regions namely; Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti regions.
According to Mr Placide Tapsoba, Country Director of the Population Council, the organisation that co-ordinates the activities of the R3M, the consortium members have met their original objectives of training, promoting community behavioural change, and the use of long acting or permanent family planning methods and providing comprehensive abortion care in both private and public health facilities.
Mr Tapsoba indicated that, the second phase of the programme will run from January 2010 to December 2011.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Civil society train on CEAL guide
Saturday, May 29, 2010 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
A workshop to train representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) on the Citizens' Education Action Learning (CEAL) Guide has been held in Accra.
The CEAL guide, which was inspired by the Commonwealth Foundation's Citizens and Governance programme, provides practical ways of bringing about the greater participation of people in the governance of the things that affect their lives.
About 25 participants from countries in West Africa and Cameroon took part in the five-day workshop, which was hosted by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation.
The facilitator was the Executive Director of Dignity International, Jerald Joseph.
According to Mr Frank Bodza of WiLDAF Ghana, the Commonwealth Foundation was formed to strengthen CSOs across the Commonwealth as the CSOs promoted democracy, advanced sustainable development and fostered inter-cultural understanding.
The CEAL Guide, he said, would enable members of CSOs to better engage with citizens and their beneficiary audience for development.
He said the training was at the same time being held in East Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
Mr Bodza said the training workshop would enable CSOs to develop knowledge and skills and involve citizens as active participants in the governance process.
He noted that if people participated in governance, better decision-making processes would be formulated and that would ultimately lead to more effective development and a better society.
He said the CEAL Guide was primarily written for facilitators, trainers or community leaders in the field of citizenship and governance education.
However, it could be used as a resource material for anyone who might be interested in citizenship and governance, he added.
By Rebecca Kwei
A workshop to train representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) on the Citizens' Education Action Learning (CEAL) Guide has been held in Accra.
The CEAL guide, which was inspired by the Commonwealth Foundation's Citizens and Governance programme, provides practical ways of bringing about the greater participation of people in the governance of the things that affect their lives.
About 25 participants from countries in West Africa and Cameroon took part in the five-day workshop, which was hosted by Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and sponsored by the Commonwealth Foundation.
The facilitator was the Executive Director of Dignity International, Jerald Joseph.
According to Mr Frank Bodza of WiLDAF Ghana, the Commonwealth Foundation was formed to strengthen CSOs across the Commonwealth as the CSOs promoted democracy, advanced sustainable development and fostered inter-cultural understanding.
The CEAL Guide, he said, would enable members of CSOs to better engage with citizens and their beneficiary audience for development.
He said the training was at the same time being held in East Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
Mr Bodza said the training workshop would enable CSOs to develop knowledge and skills and involve citizens as active participants in the governance process.
He noted that if people participated in governance, better decision-making processes would be formulated and that would ultimately lead to more effective development and a better society.
He said the CEAL Guide was primarily written for facilitators, trainers or community leaders in the field of citizenship and governance education.
However, it could be used as a resource material for anyone who might be interested in citizenship and governance, he added.
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