Day: December 10, 2021

Francisca Lamini from Keta Senior High Technical School, the first female student to make it to the grande finale of the National Science and Maths Quiz in the past eight years met Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh – Board director of the Bank of Ghana, Abena Amoah, Samuel Tettey Amanor, and other CEOs and senior executives.

The CEOs together established an educational fund with an undisclosed amount to help Francisca further her education

The CEOs used this as a catalyst to support, mentor, and encourage Francisca and other female students.

Abena Amoa – Deputy managing director of the Ghana Stock Exchange and Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh talking to Francisca.

The 2021 edition of the National Science and Mathematics Quiz took place at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and saw Ketasco battle Prempeh college for the ultimate title. At the end of the intense competition, Prempeh College came out the winner. But the real winner of the competition has been Francisca.

After turning down the opportunity to get a part of the winning team’s prize, she has seen a steady stream of attention from the media, feminist & women empowerment organizations, and individuals who are impressed with her.

The group of CEOs at the lunch advised her on how to pursue her goal of becoming a medical doctor

Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh urged the brilliant lady to be confident in herself and own her space as the star she is, something that is very vital for her journey to the top. She added that Francisca should envision the future she wants and what she would likely be.

Abena Amoah, the Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Stock Exchange praised Francisca on her academic prowess and urged her to be herself in whatever she does.

Francisca who was raised by a single mother has always wanted to be a medical doctor. She disclosed that she wants to attend medical school at Yale University. When she sat for the NOV-DEC edition of WAEC exams in her second year, she came out with 8 A’s and is yet to check her final exam results.

She is 18 years old and the first daughter of 2 children.

Apart from Angela Kyerematen Jimoh, the group included Edith Dankwa – CEO of the Business and Financial Times, Asad Nazir – CEO of Silver Star Auto Limited, Abena Amoah – Deputy managing director of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Nana Ama Dowuona – Founder and managing partner of N. Dowuona & Company, Juliet Shieddy Akamboe – Head of Mining and Metals (West Africa) at Standard Bank Group, Samuel Amanor – Founder and CEO of BlueSPACE Africa, Theresa Ayoade – CEO of Charter House, Yvette Adonuvo Atekpe – CEO of Dimension Data, William Delali Ofori – Senior partner and consultant at Chiron Health Consult, Success Akpene Asima – General manager of Privysas limited, Fatima Ali Mohammed – CEO of Africa Brand Warrior and Edward Asare – Digital Marketer at UBA Ghana.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, Dec.09, GNA – People for Health (P4H), a project aimed at reducing inequities in the delivery of health services through the promotion of good governance practices of accountability, transparency, equity, and participation, has ended after five years of its implementation.

The project accomplished three inter-related outcomes; increased capacity of civil society to advocate on key issues in the health and HIV sector, mobilised and empowered communities demanding better and equitable service delivery and strengthening civil society organisations to demand for accountability, compliance, and equity in health service delivery.

The USAID-funded project, aimed at promoting equity in the planning and delivery of health services, especially for vulnerable populations, started in 2016.

Operationally, it covered 100 underserved rural and urban communities in 20 districts and seven regions.

The overarching implementation strategy of the project was SEND West Africa’s Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) framework, a social accountability mechanism backed by Penplusbytes’ digital technologies and the Ghana News Agency’s district-based reporters.

Mr Siapha Kamara, Chief of Party, People for Health, speaking at the closing of the project, said throughout the period of implementation, social accountability strategies had been employed by People for Health to empower disadvantaged groups to collectively champion on the strengthening of community health systems while capitalising on volunteerism.

He said the ability of Community-based Health and Planning Services to provide quality primary health care was increased by enhancing the capacity of Community Health Management Committees to advocate and mobilise resources for health infrastructure.

Mr Kamara said the strategic linkages were built between Community-based Health and Planning Services and other service providers, such as community information centres and radio stations to mobilise target groups in hard-to-reach areas.

The project, he said, popularised the Patient’s Charter to mobilise vulnerable groups to demand their health rights and exercise their patient responsibilities at health care facilities.

The Chief of Party noted that people living with HIV, female sex workers, men sleeping with men, and other members of stigmatised groups were included on District Citizens Monitoring Committees to foster solidarity for their health rights among fellow members.

He added that, during the implementation period, budget advocacy was undertaken, which inspired and incentivised Assemblies to invest in improving local health care delivery.

He said through partnerships developed with District Health Management Teams, access to health experts for technical training and education on topics ranging from nutrition to sanitation was guaranteed.

Mr Kamara, also the Country Director for SEND West Africa, said the capacity building for community health structures and local leadership, from district focal persons to father-to-father support groups, was prioritised throughout the project implementation to promote the sustainability of People for Health outcomes.

He indicated that action plans proved to be effective tools for implementing partners to monitor and promote social accountability, determine whether capacity-building issues were understood, and identified when skills were acquired.

He said some 43,487 participants attended 433 sensitisation sessions, increasing community awareness on health rights as well as policies and programmes to claim them.

As part of the strides made, he said a total of 54 policy dialogue sessions attended by over 773 men and women were held in 15 out of the 20 districts, with as many as 646 commitments secured, and 419 representing 66 per cent delivered by stakeholders.

“For example, as many as 7841 very poor men and women were registered unto the NHIS or had their membership cards renewed. Also 20 District Citizens Monitoring Committees participated in 45 training sessions on how to use Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PM&E) to advocate,” he said.

The Domeabra Community-Based Health and Planning Services (CHPS), in the Central Gonja District of the Savannah Region was awarded the National Best CHPS in recognition of the contributions made in the attainment of People for Health’s mission to advocate for equitable health service delivery in the district.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The African Women Leadership Programme launched by AZA Finance, a fintech company, in partnership with Naaw by Beautiful Soul, a digital leadership development platform, has begun its activities earlier this week on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

The programme dubbed ‘Growing Africa’s Future Leaders in Fintech’ is aimed at increasing the percentage of African women in fintech and equipping them with tools to increase their likelihood of reaching high management positions. The programme will bring together African women who are interested in the fintech sector to mentor, train and coach them.

The nine monthly training programme will involve activities such as group coaching sessions, group mentoring sessions with Azawatus –self-coaching exercises– and online challenges. Monthly activities will include, one group coaching or mentoring session of two hours every first Tuesday of the month, one self-coaching exercise or a challenge and one 15 minutes online checking in every month on Naaw community platform.

According to a team member at ‘Naaw by Beautiful Soul’, Fatuma Sokona, the training began with a coaching session on ‘Navigating the Fintech World as a Woman’. Interested participants can join via this link:
https://fr.surveymonkey.com/r/awlpaza

Elizabeth Rossiello, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AZA Finance said: “AZA Finance’s vision is to build a robust pipeline of African women with C-level potential for the fintech industry. As an employer, they are truly dedicated to empowering women and aspire to promote women in managerial roles as much as possible.

Given the nature of the industry, AZA is particularly keen on attracting into the programme women with a background in engineering and product management. It is also interested in data analysis/business intelligence and customer service. These women should have experience in highly dynamic environments (start-up, consultancy) within the technology or financial industries.”

She added that her aspiration is to create opportunities for African women to become leaders, not only at AZA Finance but in the fintech industry in general.
“We are building up the pool of female talents to benefit from this nine-month online programme designed and delivered by leadership and fintech experts that includes training, mentoring and coaching. Find people who are sharing your values, link up with them and stick together, link up with us,” she said
Sharing her experience with AZA Finance, the Chief Revenue Officer, Meryem Habibi said she was inspired to join AZA because of the value and culture it carries across to grow and build women.

“AZA is taking interest in women’s growth and getting everyone involved in decision making which gives the women a sense of belonging as they know their effort is recognized and their contribution to the work output,” she said.
The Head of People Operations at AZA Finance, Premo Ojokojo has also reiterated that AZA is a place of growth, especially for women who are looking forward to growing their careers. She however explained that career growth or career success is not always about moving from one level of position to the other but how much the individual has grown, the responsibility is taken on, the opportunities presented and how they impact or influence decisions.

“The opportunities here are opened to everyone. The first thing that caught my attention at AZA is that about 50% of the executive teams are women and I believe women are the best managers. Here, we respect the value you are adding to the organizational growth and we give you the platform to be you,” she added.

Source: Ghana Web

Board Member of Hearts of Oak, Alhaji Akambi has insisted that Samuel Boadu will not be shown the exit despite the poor showing in Africa.

The reigning Ghana Premier League champions suffered a humiliation in their campaign in Africa.

Hearts of Oak were crashed out of the Champions League playoffs in a 6-2 aggregates scoreline against Wydad Athletic Club.

After being dropped to the CAF Confederations Cup, the Phobians having recorded a 2-0 win in the first leg against JS Saoura at the Accra Sports Stadium.

In the reverse leg in Algeria, Hearts of Oak suffered a 4-0 defeat to end the tie 4-2 on aggregates.

However, recent reports suggest that Boadu will be sacked when the team arrives from Algeria Friday.

But Akambi who is with the team in Algeria says no Boadu will continue his work.

“As a board, we have never discussed sacking Samuel Boadu. From Algeria, we have not even talked about anything on Boadu getting sacked with the other board members in Accra.

“The focus is on getting our team back to winning ways and it begins with the impending games in the Ghana Premier League. Our attention is not even on sacking the head coach,” he added.

Samuel Boadu led Hearts of Oak to the domestic double last season despite tough challenge from rivals Asante Kotoko.

It took the Phobians eleven years to end their major trophy drought.

Hearts of Oak now turn the attention to the domestic competition where they are yet to win a game.

Source: Modern Ghana

Ghana’s foremost life insurance company, Enterprise Life in partnership with Assure Advisors, has launched a new life solution dubbed ‘Alumni’ at the Advantage Place at Ridge, Accra. The ‘Alumni’ product, which is the first of its kind, is aimed at addressing the challenges associated with fundraising by old-school associations.

Speaking at the launch, General Manager, Distribution at Enterprise Life, Francis Akoto-Yirenkyi explained that the ‘Alumni’ product is a timely intervention that will provide comfort and peace of mind to members of old school associations who have to endure constant demands of financial contributions for one thing or the other.

“As an innovative and leading life insurance company, Enterprise Life together with our partners Assure Advisors have developed this new and unique solution that will on one hand give peace of mind to members with regard to making unplanned payments and also provide members of old school associations and their families an insurance cover from a credible and trustworthy source. The time is now for old school associations to embrace the Alumni product”, Mr. Akoto-Yirenkyi said.

The Executive Director of Assure Advisors, Afua Boahemaa Owusu, reiterated the importance of the new policy.

“As part of the visions of both Enterprise Life and Assure Advisors, we always put the needs of our customers and clients first. We identified the need the various old-school associations had in terms of financial contributions during the demise of loved ones. This need resulted in donor fatigue among members. To address these challenges, we introduced this group life product. It is worth noting that uptake among old school associations has been very encouraging. Alumni is a simplified, exciting, and tailored solution for all old school associations” Afua Boahemaa Owusu said.

The ‘Alumni’ policy is meant to offer old school associates and fraternities the luxury of paying their contributions for activities with ease and claim packages when the need arises. It is a convenient and affordable solution that takes care of issues such as funerals, childbirth, critical illness, and permanent disability.

Source: Ghana Web

The Ones Who Keep Walking film produced by Johnnie Walker and Forbes 30 under 30 filmmaker Amarachi Nwosu has been premiered at the Golden Bean Hotel in Kumasi.

The viewing party held in Kumasi is a sequel to a mega premiere that was held in Accra and transmitted live on TV3 and watched nationwide.

This new feature film which showcases inspiring stories of the creators and collectives who are turning the attention of the world to Africa is part of an ongoing global roll-out of the next chapter in their iconic Keep Walking campaign and a follow-up to the release of The Man Who Walked Around the World in November 2020.

Additionally, it sets out to explore what the next 200 years of Keep Walking can look like and explores what happens when people can liberate themselves creatively and the rich vibrant world it creates when there are those freedoms.

The film features more than 20 defiantly optimistic voices from across Africa including Ghanaian legendary photographer James Barnor, and self-taught artist Nana Danso Awuah-Asante.

Through never heard stories, and in-depth conversations the film reveals how fresh creative energy, sheer determination, and a pioneering spirit is bringing authentic African expression to the world.

Directed by the renowned Amarachi Nwosu, the film uses different cultures, passions, and challenges to showcase a continent united in striving for collective progress.

Produced by Something™ Originals and a team of 200+ creatives and talent from across Africa, The Ones Who Keep Walking shines a light on those who embody the spirit of Keep Walking and who, on their terms, are forging a bold new direction for their countries, cultures and the World.

You can watch the trailer for The Ones Who Keep Walking here: www.the ones who.film

‘The Ones Who’ film aired from December 2 to give viewing opportunities to everyone and drive the conversation on a national scope.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra, Dec.10, GNA- Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) in collaboration with Care International Ghana has organised a Town Hall Meeting with school clubs on how to end Sexual and Gender – Based Violence (SGBV).

The purpose of the meeting was also to engage boys and stakeholders on how

to access justice and deliberate on the best practices to deal with rape culture.

The theme for the Town Hall meeting is, “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence Campaign: End Sexual Violence and Rape in Private and Public Space in Ghana Now”.

Ms Mercy Sika Krowo, a representative, Care International Ghana, speaking at the meeting, said the organisation had outlined four key strategies on how to involve men and boys to end rape culture and other SGBV.

She asked key stakeholders to address the root causes of SGBV in order to solve such cases.

Ms Sika Krowo said, individual voices could be strengthen or empowered so that victims of SGBV could fight for their freedoms and rights without fear.

She added that the creation of healthy relationships would be needed to support Gender Base acts .

The existence of accountable institutions could be built to generate free and fair conversations between stakeholders and victims on the cases of SGBV and other assaults, she added.

Dr Nicholas Addae Mensah, an Official of the Ghana Health Service(GHS), said harming women was tantomount to harming the society because they formed the majority of human societies therefore men and boys should be encouraged to desist from rape culture and other sexual violence.

He added that, every year about 200 million women globally became victims of SGBV, entrapping most women in both psychological and emotional trauma. Reports show that three out of ten women in Ghana have suffered SGBV, including emotional pains and depression.

Dr Addae Mensah urged the media to highlight more insightful stories on rape culture and empower victims to seek help and justice.

He encouraged health workers, churches and community leaders to play an effective role on the fight against rape and other sexual violence by making follow ups on such cases.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rosemary Vortia, Divisional Commander Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit(DOVVSU)Weija , said men and boys could be engaged to end rape culture if they are well sensitized on issues of consent and that victims should also report perpetrators to authorities without fear.

She advised that the young ones must share their experiences and challenges with their parents, teachers and guardians for support whenever they faced economic violence, psychological violence and sexual abuse.

ASP Vortia encouraged both young boys and girls to use the social media for educational purposes and research and not for watching immoral activities.

Madam Melody Darkey, National Programme Coordinator WiLDAF, said there would be the need for state stakeholders, including DOVVSU , Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) to engage boys and men in the fight against rape culture.

She said, violence against women and young girls was very primitive hence the need to end it.

Madam Vivian Susu Dzikunu, Senior Principal Officer, Public Education Department for Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), said the Commission would be always support victims of SGBV and protect them before handing over such cases to DOVVSU.

The Town Hall meeting with Schools and Clubs brought together 35 School Club members(GEP and ENOUGH) and four key stakeholders DOVVSU, GHS, CHRAJ and Domestic violence secretariat of the MoGCSP.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Government has received 756,000 more doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot Covid-19 vaccine under the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT).

The delivery brings the total doses received by Ghana so far to 4,060,080 under the AVAT initiative.

The vaccine deliveries are part of the historic COVID-19 vaccine advance procurement agreement signed on 28 March 2021 by AVAT for the purchase of 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180 million doses.

In total, the 400 million vaccines acquired by AVAT are sufficient to immunise a third of the African population.

Ama Amoah, Senior Specialist Digital & Internal Communications, Communications and Events Afreximbank, said the last batch of the consignment for the year is slated for Monday, December 13, 2021.

She emphasized that the vaccines were acquired by the Ghana government and not a donation.

AVAT was established by the African COVID-19 Vaccine Acquisition Task Team, set up in November 2020 under the African Union chairmanship of President Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa.

It is part of the African Union’s COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access Strategy, and its goal of vaccinating at least 60 per cent of the African population with safe and efficacious vaccines against COVID-19.

The agreement with Johnson & Johnson was made possible through a US$2 billion facility provided by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), who are also the Financial and Transaction Advisers, Guarantors, Instalment Payment Advisers and Payment Agents, and the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) who coordinated the alignment of the AU Ministers of Finance on the financing arrangements.

Source: Modern Ghana