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.
Monday, November 9, 2009
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.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Civil society health forum held in Accra
Saturday, September 26, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 18)
By Rebecca Kwei
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr Esther Offei Aboagye, has called on the public sector to recognise the important role civil society organisations (CSOs) play in the health sector.
Dr Aboagye said the CSOs are important stakeholders in health delivery and the public service has no choice but to rely on their initiatives to help reach the unreached in society.
Dr Aboagye made the call at a two-day civil society health forum in Accra which was organised by the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health. It was on the theme “Reaching the Unreached: The role of civil society”.
She also called on the public sector to enhance its capacity to be able to accept the ability of civil society to deliver.
“There is an unfortunate tendency on either side to lump all together, public health practitioners seeing all CSOs as charlatans and CSOs seeing public health practitioners as all unfeeling and uncaring”, she noted.
She described the unreached as those who do not have access to acceptable, basic standards of health care.
She commended NGOs and CSOs for their support in health delivery in remote areas despite the numerous challenges that they face.
However, she said for CSOs to play its role effectively, they must be integrated into the sustainable institutions of the state which has the mandate and responsibility to ensure effective, equitable and quality life for all.
The Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory, said the contribution of NGOs and CSOs to health delivery in the country was key and they cannot be left out if the health sector was to succeed.
He urged them to organise regular training to build their capacity and efficiency.
Dr Sory said although a good number of NGOs and CSOs were doing well, there were others who had ulterior motives and suggested that they review each other.
He also suggested that the organisations should find innovative ways of reaching the unreachable; not only in the rural areas but in the cities as well.
The Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Daniel Kerpesz, commended NGOs and CSOs for their role in the health sector and other areas and said their commitment had pushed issues of the vulnerable on the world agenda.
A representative of the Royal Netherlands, Mr Theophilus Ayugane, called on NGOs and CSOs to be more transparent and accountable to the constituencies they represent, improve research capacity and institute measures to expose fraudulent organisations.
By Rebecca Kwei
The Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Dr Esther Offei Aboagye, has called on the public sector to recognise the important role civil society organisations (CSOs) play in the health sector.
Dr Aboagye said the CSOs are important stakeholders in health delivery and the public service has no choice but to rely on their initiatives to help reach the unreached in society.
Dr Aboagye made the call at a two-day civil society health forum in Accra which was organised by the Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health. It was on the theme “Reaching the Unreached: The role of civil society”.
She also called on the public sector to enhance its capacity to be able to accept the ability of civil society to deliver.
“There is an unfortunate tendency on either side to lump all together, public health practitioners seeing all CSOs as charlatans and CSOs seeing public health practitioners as all unfeeling and uncaring”, she noted.
She described the unreached as those who do not have access to acceptable, basic standards of health care.
She commended NGOs and CSOs for their support in health delivery in remote areas despite the numerous challenges that they face.
However, she said for CSOs to play its role effectively, they must be integrated into the sustainable institutions of the state which has the mandate and responsibility to ensure effective, equitable and quality life for all.
The Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Elias Sory, said the contribution of NGOs and CSOs to health delivery in the country was key and they cannot be left out if the health sector was to succeed.
He urged them to organise regular training to build their capacity and efficiency.
Dr Sory said although a good number of NGOs and CSOs were doing well, there were others who had ulterior motives and suggested that they review each other.
He also suggested that the organisations should find innovative ways of reaching the unreachable; not only in the rural areas but in the cities as well.
The Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Daniel Kerpesz, commended NGOs and CSOs for their role in the health sector and other areas and said their commitment had pushed issues of the vulnerable on the world agenda.
A representative of the Royal Netherlands, Mr Theophilus Ayugane, called on NGOs and CSOs to be more transparent and accountable to the constituencies they represent, improve research capacity and institute measures to expose fraudulent organisations.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
GJA launches HIV/AIDS project
Saturday, September 19, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
The Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Angela El-Adas, has called on the media to use its agenda setting role to educate the public on the need to lead healthy lifestyles so as to prevent the spread of the HIV infection.
She said the media was an important partner and had a vital role to play in the campaign to reduce HIV related stigma and discrimination in the society.
Dr El-Adas made the call at the launch of a Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) project dubbed “Using the Media to Create Public Awareness on HIV and AIDS” in Accra. The one-year project is being sponsored by the Ghana AIDS Commission.
The Acting Director-General said the commission recognised the need to engage the media in order to deepen knowledge on HIV and AIDS, enhance accurate reporting of HIV issues and keep HIV in the spotlight.
She said this year, the commission had supported more than 24 radio stations and other media houses across the country to intensify programmes aimed at behaviour modification and dispel misinformation/misconception surrounding the disease among others.
On the HIV epidemic, she said from 1986 to 2006, 121,050 AIDS cases were reported by the Ministry of Health and in 2006, about 297,000 Ghanaians were estimated to be living with HIV. Currently, about 240,000 Ghanaians are believed to be living with the virus.
She said the national adult HIV prevalence was 1.7 per cent which was a decline from the 2007 prevalence of 1.9 per cent.
She said the HIV epidemic in Ghana was described as a general one, with pockets of high prevalence among certain sub-populations and geographic areas.
However, she noted that these pockets of high prevalence had the capacity to increase the HIV and AIDS cases in the country and said it was important to use effective interventions to reduce the infection in those areas.
Dr El-Adas said over the next five years the commission would invest in evidence-based prevention interventions to avert new infections, while scaling up treatment and care efforts for those already infected and affected.
The President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, said for an area such as HIV and AIDS, which is both technical and scientific, one must get the issues right before attempting to inform and educate the public.
Therefore, he said “we are pleased that through this project, we are going to educate ourselves more of HIV and AIDS, so that we can give this dangerous disease that still has no cure the deserved attention, so that we can employ the necessary mass communication strategies against it to be able to expose its dangers persistently and consistently to our people.”
Mr Tetteh said the project would organise training programmes for journalists specialising in health reporting.
Additionally, there will be an award scheme, where journalists who write exclusive stories on HIV and AIDS and related health issues will be rewarded. The writer of any story that is carried in the media and meets the criteria set will receive GH¢100. There will also be a special award at the 2010 GJA awards night.
The Programme Manager of the National AIDS Control Programme, Dr Akwei Addo, who chaired the launch, said although knowledge of HIV and AIDS was high, only a few of the population adhered to preventive methods.
He also appealed to the media to educate the public on the need to protect themselves from HIV, patronise Voluntary Counselling and Testing and not to stigmatise those who are infected and affected.
By Rebecca Kwei
The Acting Director-General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Angela El-Adas, has called on the media to use its agenda setting role to educate the public on the need to lead healthy lifestyles so as to prevent the spread of the HIV infection.
She said the media was an important partner and had a vital role to play in the campaign to reduce HIV related stigma and discrimination in the society.
Dr El-Adas made the call at the launch of a Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) project dubbed “Using the Media to Create Public Awareness on HIV and AIDS” in Accra. The one-year project is being sponsored by the Ghana AIDS Commission.
The Acting Director-General said the commission recognised the need to engage the media in order to deepen knowledge on HIV and AIDS, enhance accurate reporting of HIV issues and keep HIV in the spotlight.
She said this year, the commission had supported more than 24 radio stations and other media houses across the country to intensify programmes aimed at behaviour modification and dispel misinformation/misconception surrounding the disease among others.
On the HIV epidemic, she said from 1986 to 2006, 121,050 AIDS cases were reported by the Ministry of Health and in 2006, about 297,000 Ghanaians were estimated to be living with HIV. Currently, about 240,000 Ghanaians are believed to be living with the virus.
She said the national adult HIV prevalence was 1.7 per cent which was a decline from the 2007 prevalence of 1.9 per cent.
She said the HIV epidemic in Ghana was described as a general one, with pockets of high prevalence among certain sub-populations and geographic areas.
However, she noted that these pockets of high prevalence had the capacity to increase the HIV and AIDS cases in the country and said it was important to use effective interventions to reduce the infection in those areas.
Dr El-Adas said over the next five years the commission would invest in evidence-based prevention interventions to avert new infections, while scaling up treatment and care efforts for those already infected and affected.
The President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, said for an area such as HIV and AIDS, which is both technical and scientific, one must get the issues right before attempting to inform and educate the public.
Therefore, he said “we are pleased that through this project, we are going to educate ourselves more of HIV and AIDS, so that we can give this dangerous disease that still has no cure the deserved attention, so that we can employ the necessary mass communication strategies against it to be able to expose its dangers persistently and consistently to our people.”
Mr Tetteh said the project would organise training programmes for journalists specialising in health reporting.
Additionally, there will be an award scheme, where journalists who write exclusive stories on HIV and AIDS and related health issues will be rewarded. The writer of any story that is carried in the media and meets the criteria set will receive GH¢100. There will also be a special award at the 2010 GJA awards night.
The Programme Manager of the National AIDS Control Programme, Dr Akwei Addo, who chaired the launch, said although knowledge of HIV and AIDS was high, only a few of the population adhered to preventive methods.
He also appealed to the media to educate the public on the need to protect themselves from HIV, patronise Voluntary Counselling and Testing and not to stigmatise those who are infected and affected.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Chief Psychiatrist calls for mental health law
Saturday, September 12, 2009 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, says there is an urgent need for the Mental Health Bill to be passed into law since it will protect the rights of people.
He noted that mental health borders mainly on human rights and the law will prevent people from being abused.
“Every day that the bill is delayed, somebody’s right is being abused and the country loses resources,” he said.
Dr Osei was speaking at a day’s workshop for reporters on the Mental Health Bill in Ghana. The workshop was organised by BasicNeeds, an NGO that seeks to bring change in the lives of people with mental illness or epilepsy and their families.
According to Dr Osei, the bill, which has been revised many times and currently with the Attorney General, has nine sections, including a Mental Health Board to oversee the implementation of the law.
There is also a Mental Health Service, which will be separate from the Ghana Health Service, making it autonomous, but will collaborate with the general health system.
Other sections are the Mental Health Review Tribunal to rule on abuse of rights of patients; Visiting Committees to ensure that the right things are being done; Voluntary and Involuntary treatment; Rights of persons with mental disorder and Protection of Vulnerable groups.
Dr Osei said the Mental Health Bill would de-emphasise institutional care and emphasise community care, making mental care cheaper.
He said the bill had gone through a lot of consultation and the World Health Organisation would likely use it as a template for Gambia.
A Psychiatrist Consultant, Dr J. B. Asare, who presented a paper on “A justification for a separate Mental Health Service with an authority”, said the bill sought to improve the care of the mentally ill in the country.
Additionally, it would address the decentralisation of mental health care at community and in spiritual and traditional settings.
Dr Asare said mental health would be much visible and better funded, if it was established as an authority.
On why the bill, which was drafted in 2004, was still in the offing, he said among others that there was lack of interest in mental health by policy makers and very little consideration was given to mental health during health sector reforms.
For his part, a Health Management Consultant, Dr Kofi Ahmed, said an independent Mental Health Law was needed because mentally ill persons, in most cases, could not control themselves and so were regarded as people who needed special attention.
Giving a historical perspective of the Bill, he said in 1888, the colonial government passed the first legislative instrument, the Lunatic Asylum Ordinance, Cap 79.
The Ordinance remained in force with little amendment until 1972, when the Mental Health Decree, NRCD 30, now Mental Health Act, 1972, was introduced.
A representative of the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), Ms Maria Amanor-Akrofi, said people with mental disabilities experienced some of the harshest conditions of living that existed in any society.
Most of the hardships, she noted, were caused by discrimination and the absence of legal protection against improper and abusive treatment.
The Director, Legal Services of the Attorney General’s Department, Mrs Estella Appiah, who chaired the function, said everyone had a role to play in the passage of the bill and appealed to journalists not to stigmatise by using words such as ‘mad’ or ‘lunatics’ for mentally ill persons.
Mr Humphrey Kofie of BasicNeeds also appealed to media practitioners to continue advocating the passage of the mental health bill into law since the country stood to gain a lot from it.
By Rebecca Kwei
The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, says there is an urgent need for the Mental Health Bill to be passed into law since it will protect the rights of people.
He noted that mental health borders mainly on human rights and the law will prevent people from being abused.
“Every day that the bill is delayed, somebody’s right is being abused and the country loses resources,” he said.
Dr Osei was speaking at a day’s workshop for reporters on the Mental Health Bill in Ghana. The workshop was organised by BasicNeeds, an NGO that seeks to bring change in the lives of people with mental illness or epilepsy and their families.
According to Dr Osei, the bill, which has been revised many times and currently with the Attorney General, has nine sections, including a Mental Health Board to oversee the implementation of the law.
There is also a Mental Health Service, which will be separate from the Ghana Health Service, making it autonomous, but will collaborate with the general health system.
Other sections are the Mental Health Review Tribunal to rule on abuse of rights of patients; Visiting Committees to ensure that the right things are being done; Voluntary and Involuntary treatment; Rights of persons with mental disorder and Protection of Vulnerable groups.
Dr Osei said the Mental Health Bill would de-emphasise institutional care and emphasise community care, making mental care cheaper.
He said the bill had gone through a lot of consultation and the World Health Organisation would likely use it as a template for Gambia.
A Psychiatrist Consultant, Dr J. B. Asare, who presented a paper on “A justification for a separate Mental Health Service with an authority”, said the bill sought to improve the care of the mentally ill in the country.
Additionally, it would address the decentralisation of mental health care at community and in spiritual and traditional settings.
Dr Asare said mental health would be much visible and better funded, if it was established as an authority.
On why the bill, which was drafted in 2004, was still in the offing, he said among others that there was lack of interest in mental health by policy makers and very little consideration was given to mental health during health sector reforms.
For his part, a Health Management Consultant, Dr Kofi Ahmed, said an independent Mental Health Law was needed because mentally ill persons, in most cases, could not control themselves and so were regarded as people who needed special attention.
Giving a historical perspective of the Bill, he said in 1888, the colonial government passed the first legislative instrument, the Lunatic Asylum Ordinance, Cap 79.
The Ordinance remained in force with little amendment until 1972, when the Mental Health Decree, NRCD 30, now Mental Health Act, 1972, was introduced.
A representative of the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), Ms Maria Amanor-Akrofi, said people with mental disabilities experienced some of the harshest conditions of living that existed in any society.
Most of the hardships, she noted, were caused by discrimination and the absence of legal protection against improper and abusive treatment.
The Director, Legal Services of the Attorney General’s Department, Mrs Estella Appiah, who chaired the function, said everyone had a role to play in the passage of the bill and appealed to journalists not to stigmatise by using words such as ‘mad’ or ‘lunatics’ for mentally ill persons.
Mr Humphrey Kofie of BasicNeeds also appealed to media practitioners to continue advocating the passage of the mental health bill into law since the country stood to gain a lot from it.
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