PRESIDENT LAUNCHES START OF WORK TO EXPAND GHANA’S MAIN PORT AT TAKORADI
ACCRA– President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday inaugurated the start of work to expand the country’s biggest port at Takoradi, about 220 kilometres west of here, with a pledge to remain focused on building a more robust and competitive economy.
We need a competitive economy which can create jobs and wealth for the people, he said, adding that this is at the core of thinking of everything that the government was doing. The port expansion project is being funded by Cal-bank and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund together with Justmoh Construction Limited and other local businesses.
It is being carried out by Ghanaian private investment company IBISTEK, the operators of the newly established Takoradi Container Terminal. Upon completion, it will significantly increase efficiency at the port and reduce congestion.
President Akufo-Addo applauded IBISTEK for developing a world class container terminal to ease congestion at the port to meet the growing demand on contemporary shipping and maritime sector. He expressed optimism that the project would be efficiently managed to enable the country to participate in a competitive business environment.
He made reference to modern ports in other countries like Togo, Benin, Senegal and Cote D’ Ivoire and said Ghana could not afford to be left out in this massive drive for development.
He had earlier commissioned the 500 million US dollars Tarkoradi Container Terminal and the rehabilitated road from Paa Grant Roundabout through New Takoradi to the port’s Gate 10.
Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah said the port would continue to get its fair share of infrastructure development.
IBISTEK and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority entered into a concession agreement in January 2016 to develop an inland clearing depot. The 27-acre site on which the project is sited has been developed into an ultra-modern container terminal and is already operational.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK
PRESIDENT LAUNCHES START OF WORK TO EXPAND GHANA’S MAIN PORT AT TAKORADI
ACCRA– President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday inaugurated the start of work to expand the country’s biggest port at Takoradi, about 220 kilometres west of here, with a pledge to remain focused on building a more robust and competitive economy.
We need a competitive economy which can create jobs and wealth for the people, he said, adding that this is at the core of thinking of everything that the government was doing. The port expansion project is being funded by Cal-bank and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund together with Justmoh Construction Limited and other local businesses.
It is being carried out by Ghanaian private investment company IBISTEK, the operators of the newly established Takoradi Container Terminal. Upon completion, it will significantly increase efficiency at the port and reduce congestion.
President Akufo-Addo applauded IBISTEK for developing a world class container terminal to ease congestion at the port to meet the growing demand on contemporary shipping and maritime sector. He expressed optimism that the project would be efficiently managed to enable the country to participate in a competitive business environment.
He made reference to modern ports in other countries like Togo, Benin, Senegal and Cote D’ Ivoire and said Ghana could not afford to be left out in this massive drive for development.
He had earlier commissioned the 500 million US dollars Tarkoradi Container Terminal and the rehabilitated road from Paa Grant Roundabout through New Takoradi to the port’s Gate 10.
Transport Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah said the port would continue to get its fair share of infrastructure development.
IBISTEK and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority entered into a concession agreement in January 2016 to develop an inland clearing depot. The 27-acre site on which the project is sited has been developed into an ultra-modern container terminal and is already operational.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK
FORMER GHANA FOOTBALL CHIEF RESIGNS FROM POSITIONS WITH FIFA, CAF
ACCRA– Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), has resigned from the West Africa Football Union (WAFU), the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), pending the outcome of investigations for fraud against him.
Ghanaian investigative journalists Anas Aremeyaw Anas in a documentary aired last week, caught Nyantakyi on camera engaging in some shady deals with some potential investors and sponsors of the Ghana Premier League. Aremeyaw Anas and the Tiger Eye PI undercover team have since reported Nyantakyi to both FIFA and the CAF respectively.
Nyantakyi, who has been banned by FIFA from all football-related activities for 90 days, has communicated his decision to resign to both FIFA and the CAF, which prompted CAF President Ahmad Ahmad to announce at the on-going FIFA Congress in Moscow that the African governing body would hold an extraordinary congress on h Sept 30 in Egypt.
Nyantakyi, who was appointed GFA President in 2005, has seen the Ghana senior national team, the Black Stars, make three consecutive appearances at the World Cup — in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 — while their female counterparts, the Black Satellites, won the African U-20 cup in 2009 and went further to win the U-20 Women’s World Cup the same year.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK
National maternal, child health and nutrition conference opens
Accra- The maiden National Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) Conference, on Tuesday opened in Accra, to map out strategies to decrease disparities in health services delivery, and increase Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by ensuring accountability.
The three-day conference, which also seeks to create a platform to increase partner involvement and knowledge sharing, was on the theme: Strengthening Partnerships for achieving Universal Health Coverage in Reproductive Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition.
The occasion was graced by the presence of the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who delivered the keynote address, and also brought together health sector partners and all key stakeholders including traditional leaders.
Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, the Minister of Health, in address, commended the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its Partners for hosting the conference and the continuous engagement to improve health sector outcomes.
He admitted that the country’s maternal child health and nutrition, had evolved over the years, evidently in the incremental improvement recorded with regards to access and quality of services, particularly for mothers, children and adolescents.
However, in spite of the significant progress in many health indicators, the prevailing levels of maternal and child illnesses and deaths were simply too high, and in most cases preventable.
He said to achieve Universal Health Coverage as stated in the target three of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), there must be a deliberate and sustained efforts to invest in maternal and child health, which presented both short and long term benefits vital to the development of the country.
Consequently, households with healthier and better nourished mothers and children spend less on healthcare. Reducing unexpectedly large and catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses for this vulnerable group is particularly important, he said.
Mr Agyeman Manu said the government was committed to ensuring a robust health insurance system, as well as develop and implement policies such as the free maternal health care services, to benefit women and children.
Further, government was working tirelessly to ensure equitable distribution of a competent health force and improve the health infrastructure, as well as institute measures to strengthen the primary health care system through the expansion of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme, which continued to receive massive investments from both government and its partners.
These are all towards building a resilient community health system that meets the health care needs of women and children, he said.
He said government would continue to make issues of maternal and child mortality a priority and continue to commit more resources to address the challenges.
Mr Agyeman Manu made a personal commitment to increase focus on building the capacity and fair distribution of frontline service providers and specialists in maternal and child health across the country.
He called for the institutionalisation of the conference, and challenged the participants to come out with innovative, comprehensive and home grown strategies to improve on maternal child health and nutrition in the country.
Dr Patrick K. Aboagye, the Director of Family Health, GHS, in an overview of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition situation, said current statistics showed a downward trend in the total fertility rate.
However, anaemia among pregnant women and young adolescent girls were still high, attributing this to the regional disparities in their nutritional status, and stated that progress had been made to screen about 300,000 school girls and administer iron supplements to address the challenge.
Maternal mortality, especially institutional maternal mortality, he said, was also still high, and called for the establishment of regional model health facilities to provide comprehensive care including immediate blood transfusion to save the lives of pregnant women referred from the primary health care level.
Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Director-General of the GHS, called for the need to review the sectors’ programmes premised on accountability, address the nutrition gaps between the northern and southern sectors of the country, and support for the Service’s technology drive to improve data.
Mr Niyi Ojuolape, the UNFPA Country Representative, on behalf of the development partners, expressed contentment for Ghana’s sustained focus on achieving UHC, by ensuring access to quality health care.
He however, said although Ghana had come a long way in its efforts to achieve UHC, there were still challenges in terms of disparities in geographical areas, age, sex and data, as well as inequities in health service delivery, with special emphasis on early childhood development including nutritional issues of children below the ages of five years.
He called for the development of the accompanying legal frameworks to make the Nutritional Policy more functional, and also strengthening programmes to reach out to the unreached population, including adolescents with family planning needs.
Source: Ghana News Agency
National maternal, child health and nutrition conference opens
Accra- The maiden National Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) Conference, on Tuesday opened in Accra, to map out strategies to decrease disparities in health services delivery, and increase Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by ensuring accountability.
The three-day conference, which also seeks to create a platform to increase partner involvement and knowledge sharing, was on the theme: Strengthening Partnerships for achieving Universal Health Coverage in Reproductive Maternal, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition.
The occasion was graced by the presence of the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, who delivered the keynote address, and also brought together health sector partners and all key stakeholders including traditional leaders.
Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, the Minister of Health, in address, commended the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and its Partners for hosting the conference and the continuous engagement to improve health sector outcomes.
He admitted that the country’s maternal child health and nutrition, had evolved over the years, evidently in the incremental improvement recorded with regards to access and quality of services, particularly for mothers, children and adolescents.
However, in spite of the significant progress in many health indicators, the prevailing levels of maternal and child illnesses and deaths were simply too high, and in most cases preventable.
He said to achieve Universal Health Coverage as stated in the target three of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), there must be a deliberate and sustained efforts to invest in maternal and child health, which presented both short and long term benefits vital to the development of the country.
Consequently, households with healthier and better nourished mothers and children spend less on healthcare. Reducing unexpectedly large and catastrophic out-of-pocket expenses for this vulnerable group is particularly important, he said.
Mr Agyeman Manu said the government was committed to ensuring a robust health insurance system, as well as develop and implement policies such as the free maternal health care services, to benefit women and children.
Further, government was working tirelessly to ensure equitable distribution of a competent health force and improve the health infrastructure, as well as institute measures to strengthen the primary health care system through the expansion of Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) programme, which continued to receive massive investments from both government and its partners.
These are all towards building a resilient community health system that meets the health care needs of women and children, he said.
He said government would continue to make issues of maternal and child mortality a priority and continue to commit more resources to address the challenges.
Mr Agyeman Manu made a personal commitment to increase focus on building the capacity and fair distribution of frontline service providers and specialists in maternal and child health across the country.
He called for the institutionalisation of the conference, and challenged the participants to come out with innovative, comprehensive and home grown strategies to improve on maternal child health and nutrition in the country.
Dr Patrick K. Aboagye, the Director of Family Health, GHS, in an overview of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition situation, said current statistics showed a downward trend in the total fertility rate.
However, anaemia among pregnant women and young adolescent girls were still high, attributing this to the regional disparities in their nutritional status, and stated that progress had been made to screen about 300,000 school girls and administer iron supplements to address the challenge.
Maternal mortality, especially institutional maternal mortality, he said, was also still high, and called for the establishment of regional model health facilities to provide comprehensive care including immediate blood transfusion to save the lives of pregnant women referred from the primary health care level.
Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, the Director-General of the GHS, called for the need to review the sectors’ programmes premised on accountability, address the nutrition gaps between the northern and southern sectors of the country, and support for the Service’s technology drive to improve data.
Mr Niyi Ojuolape, the UNFPA Country Representative, on behalf of the development partners, expressed contentment for Ghana’s sustained focus on achieving UHC, by ensuring access to quality health care.
He however, said although Ghana had come a long way in its efforts to achieve UHC, there were still challenges in terms of disparities in geographical areas, age, sex and data, as well as inequities in health service delivery, with special emphasis on early childhood development including nutritional issues of children below the ages of five years.
He called for the development of the accompanying legal frameworks to make the Nutritional Policy more functional, and also strengthening programmes to reach out to the unreached population, including adolescents with family planning needs.
Source: Ghana News Agency
