Day: June 15, 2024

As part of Zoomlion Foundation’s initiatives to equip schoolchildren, teachers and parents with skills on emergency response preparedness and road safety, the Foundation is collaborating with Korle Bu Teaching Hospital Emergency Unit, National Ambulance Service and Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSML) with support from Ghana Police Service MMTD and Ghana Education Service to organize series of trainings and sensitization targeting some 10000 beneficiaries in the Adentan Municipality of Accra.

The first training was held for over 3000 schoolchildren, teachers and parents on Friday, 14th June 2024, at the assembly grounds of Nii Sowa Din Memorial Cluster of Schools in Nmai Dzorn, near Zoomlion Headoffice.

The attendees were drawn from all the five schools on the cluster (Sowa Din Kindergarten, Sowa Din Primary 1, Sowa Din Primary 2, Sowa Din JHS 1 and Sowa Din JHS 2 Schools) as well as reps of key stakeholders in Nmai Dzorn community including the zonal city guards, zonal environmental officers, cli
nics, PTA chairman, trotro drivers, okada riders, clergy, assembly member and sellers in Nmai Dzorn.

Dr. Henry Bulley, Clinical Coordinator for Emergency Service Department – Korle Bu Hospital, lead an eight member medical team from Korle Bu Hospital to conduct the training. He explained to the trainees that emergency response plays a crucial role in saving lives during accidents and disasters, hence the importance of education and training in emergency response procedures to ensure timely and effective saving of lives.

Dr. Bulley cited critical issues affecting emergency response in Ghana including Delayed Assistance, Incorrect Actions Taken, Lack of Basic First Aid Skills, Inadequate Communication and Unfamiliarity with Emergency Response Resources.

Dr. Serwaa Quao of the medical team used dummy human body parts, charts and role plays to demonstrate cardioplunery resuscitation (CPR), first aid procedure , convulsion handling, burns handling and other important skills needed for emergency response at scho
ol and home. Students and teachers took turns to practice the skills.

The Deputy Director of National Ambulance Services, Dr. Felicia Freeman,

and her team of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) facilitated the training on Emergency Communication and Response. They brought along one national ambulance vehicle with which they demonstrated their services. Teachers and schoolchildren were permitted to enter the ambulance to witness the demonstration on how care is given inside the vehicle. The EMT also used role play to teach trainees on how to call for emergency assistance with the National Ambulance short code 193.

On his part, the Business Development Manager of Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSML), Mr. Theodore Aplerku, noted that there was the need for teachers to constantly sensitize school children on basic road regulations and it’s usage.

Because of the newly constructed dual road in front of this school, it has become imperative to educate the children in its usage to avoid the loss of liv
es, he stressed.

The Adentan Municipal School Health Education Program Coordinator, Mrs. Patience Basintale, cited her key take home lesson that “sometimes patients apply all sorts of chemicals and liquids on burns but we have been advised to just use running water to clean burns and cuts and then report to the hospital”.

She added that with this training, we have equipped teachers and schoolchildren them with the basics in emergency response to enable them save lives.

The Zoomlion Foundation Coordinator, Mr. Thomas Narh Korley, remarked that Zoomlion is happy with the over 3000 attendance to the first training.

“This life-saving skills training will reach all schools in Nmai Dzorn so that lives of students and parents will be protected”, he stated.

He said that key stakeholders of the school have been calling for this training after the dual carriageway linking School Junction to Boteiman was opened to traffic and some parents and schoolchildren were knocked down by vehicles.

He added that the Zoomlion
Foundation is liaising with other key stakeholders like the Municipal Assembly representative Hon. David Animah and Ghana Highway Authority to provide other solutions to curb overspeeding.

Source: Ghana Web

Mr Kwadwo Obeng, the Deputy Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says the company cannot provide a planned load shedding schedule to customers because of uncertainties in power supply.

He said it would be difficult to adhere strictly to the timetable especially when not all outages were a result of fuel supply challenges.

Mr Obeng explained that outages could be a result of planned maintenance, network fault, as well as theft and vandalism.

‘We said that because information of about how much to be shared was erratic, we couldn’t really provide a timetable, because in the morning we could say that we need to shed just 40 (megawatts) at 8 o’ clock. And imagine we prepared a table to shed 40 and by 12 pm that situation changes.

‘We realise that even if we prepare a timetable, there would be lot of inconsistencies. And the worst we want to have as a nation would be for the utility provider to say you would go off and then you don’t go off, or your outage exceeds the stipulated period,’
he said.

He was speaking at a public forum organised by Civil Society Organisations (CSO’S) on how to address the current power challenges facing the country.

Mr Albert Ayirebi-Acquah, a representative of the Independent Power Producers (IPP) who generate about 2339 megawatts said the IPPs have in the past three years generated about 40 per cent of the country’s power needs.

‘Although we don’t have the 2024 power plan, we expect to contribute over 50 per cent of power generated in the country,’ he said

He cited the unavailability of fuel, and failure of government to meet its financial obligations to the IPPs as factors to the ongoing power crisis.

Mr Ayirebi-Acquah said the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM), a system established to collect and pay revenue to power generators, was not a panacea to the constraints in the power sector.

He noted that the IPPs accept that the CWM in its current form as an interim measure that provides some level of certainty and predictability of payment from ECG.

Mr Ayirebi-
Acquah said that it was important for current commitment under CWM be honoured in a timely manner to enable IPPs meet financial obligations.

He also called for a representation of IPPs on the CWM implementation committee to improve transparency, efficiency and ensure due consideration are given to their concerns.

Other stakeholders present at the forum were the Public Utility Regulatory Commission, Volta River Authority and the Ghana Grid Company Limited.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Over the last few weeks, there has been a report about some locked-up drugs donated by Global Fund to the government, this is disheartening and unfortunate, and it shows how insensitive the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government is to the plight of Ghanaians.

The reports indicate that out of the 182 containers of medical supplies sent to Ghana, only 14 have been cleared by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), leaving the rest detained at Tema port due to unpaid third-party fees. The amount involved is part of the $234 million the Global Fund allocated to the country to enhance the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria from 2023 to 2025.

Shockingly, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government is demanding exorbitant taxes and port charges for clearing the donated commodities, contrary to the Framework Agreement exempting such charges.

The Coalition of CSO Networks in HIV, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria have made numerous appeals to President Akufo-Addo to assist in the clearing of the locked-up items at Tema Port, va
lued at over US$40 million, all have fell on deaf ears.

These items are needed to save lives of fellow Ghanaians and they include, Antiretrovirals (ARVs), TB medications and Malaria treatments, yet they have been locked up at the port since May, 2023, causing critical shortages at health facilities nationwide, whiles the government looks on.

In one of his desperate plea for help, convenor of the Ghana HIV and AIDS Network, Mr Ernest Amoabeng Ortsin, described the situation as dire as it had resulted in unnecessary loss of lives, prompting urgent action to avert a looming public health emergency.

This is the first time such insensitivity has been displayed by any government since the Global Fund has started supporting Ghana’s health initiatives, contributing over US$1.2 billion as far back as 2002.

The intransigence attitude of the government leads to some level of suspicion, because the whole issue doesn’t add up. How could a country in badly need of drugs and items for its citizens behave in such a despi
cable manner after it has been donated those drugs, the fund added additional $2 million to the government to clear the goods for its own citizens, yet the government is demanding extra millions of dollars from the donor before the goods could be cleared.

As we speak, HIV/Aids patients in this country are suffering and are compelled to accept rationing of the locked up drugs donated to their government. This is despite the public outcry from affected victims, Civil Service Organisations, NGO’s and even HIV/Aids Patients.

After the tenacious complaints from the donors and all stakeholders, the government in an effort to purge itself from the embarrassment has now stated that it was clearing the goods, this is the zenith of heartlessness and wickedness on the part of the former Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang Manu, the President and the current minister of the sector.

President Akufo-Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and all members of the cabinet should be ashamed of themselves, this is the perfect description of i
rresponsible and heartless leadership.

There are more questions than answers in all this embarrassing incident that is synonymous to a soap opera, are the drugs even at the port as of now? It is dangerous to trust the government’s latest knee jerk reaction after more than a year, this could be a ploy to deceive the general public.

There have been instances of goods imported by private individuals such as rice being diverted from the ports by government officials for illegal sale and donation under this Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government.

In view of our past experiences, how sure are we that, without independent verification and validation, the Government wasn’t listening to all those appeals because some party lords or other people have hijacked or diverted the donated drugs from the ports long ago?

It will therefore be useful for the media and all relevant stakeholders to be present to witness that what were donated are what we clear when the time is due, because this government cannot be trusted.

Source: G
hana Web

Dr. Bernard Okoe-Boye, the Minister of Health, has commended the Ghana Health Service (GHS) for setting up an investigative committee to look into the case of a patient allegedly abandoned in a bush at Gomoa Ojobi by the Trauma and Specialist Hospital, Winneba.

‘I appreciate the prompt action taken by the Ghana Health Service to constitute a committee to conduct an independent inquiry into the matter, the Minister said in a response letter to the Ghana Health Service.

An earlier letter from the Service addressed to the Health Minister said it had constituted a five-member committee to investigate the incident.

The Medical Director of the Trauma and Specialist Hospital at Winneba in the Central Region has also been temporarily relieved of his post pending outcome of investigations.

An accident victim who died on Monday, was allegedly dumped in the bush by an ambulance from the trauma hospital because her relatives never showed up at hospital.

Dr Okoe-Boye said he was confident that the committee would unc
over the facts surrounding the unfortunate incident and make recommendations to prevent such occurrences in the future.

‘I have taken notice of the decision to direct the Medical Director of the hospital to step aside from his post pending the outcome of the investigation,’ he added.

He directed that the committee should conclude its work and submit a report to the Ministry within 30 days from the date the committee was constituted.

‘Thank you for your efforts to ensure the integrity of the health care system in Ghana,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Political Communications analyst, Prof. Etse Sikanku believes that Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has lived up to what a modern Afroctric Vice President should be.

He premises his position on the fact that the Vice President took up his position which had been routine in the past and made it an influential position in the almost eight years his political party has been in power.

Prof. Etse Sikanku was speaking on Accra-based Metro Television addressing various thematic discussions in his book ‘Dr Bawumia and The Modern Vice Presidency In Ghana’ when he made this known.

‘He took a position which had been quite routine, which had not been as prominent. Took it, made it his own, and looked for problems in areas that he thought the country needed solutions to and ran with it.

So he has transformed that position and made it much more visible and more prominent and that is what we Vice Presidential scholars have come up with, the treaties of the Vice Presidency, how to make it very very effective.

This is
an office that can be the single most transformative executive framework for the transformation of the country in terms of it being an instrument for social justice, social progress and social cohesion and if you look at all these three indicators, this is a Vice President who has fulfilled these three indicators of what a modern Afrocentric Vice President should be,’ he said on Accra-based Metro Television.

On the book, Prof Etse Sikanku indicated that the content goes beyond politics and provides lessons from Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s leadership which can be adopted by Corporate leaders among others.

He said ‘The book does focus on the Vice President and the unique qualities and attributes he brings to the office. I tease out a number of them, that is his empathy, humility, hard work, excellence, loyalty and dependability, progressiveness and forward-thinking nature especially when it comes to digitization and the kind of dedication and commitment that he brings to his work’.

Additionally, he added’I can say
also that the book goes beyond the politics and I tease out lessons that we can learn from his leadership. I remember when Obama became President Forbes and some other scholars looked into his Presidency and found what kind of lessons or how useful can it be to Corporate leadership and Communication.

So beyond the politics, there are lessons that we tease from the book that will be useful even if you don’t support the Vice President or even if you’re not interested in politics. There are lessons there for the Youth in terms of leadership, and there are lessons there for Corporate Leadership in terms of what Deputies and Assistants can learn from him and his loyalty to the President, his hard work and his dependability.

Source: Ghana Web

Mrs Kathleen Quartey Ayensu, council member, National African Peer Review Mechanism- Governing Council (NAPRM-GC), said the Council will collaborate with the AfCFTA National Coordinating Office in empowering Ghana businesses to leverage the enormous prospects offered by the continental market.

She said though the National Coordinating Office of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was located in Accra, the country had to nurture it domestically so that people would be aware of it and take advantage of it to grow their businesses.

Mrs Ayensu was speaking at a knowledge empowerment workshop for District Oversight Committees (DOCs) of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Ho, in the Volta Region on the Targeted Review of Ghana and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In 2023, NAPRM- GC in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration together with the continental APRM secretariat facilitated the Country Review Mission for the conduct of the Targeted R
eview of Ghana on the theme, ‘Corporate Governance as a Catalyst for the Implementation of AfCFTA in Ghana.’

This targeted review was a focused governance assessment which examined key corporate governance and intra-African trade challenges that must be addressed to facilitate the implementation of the AfCFTA in the country.

The review offers the opportunity to strengthen good governance practices for Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the most dominant private sector in Ghana to also access the enormous AfCFTA markets.

This is important because, the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) indicates that the MSMEs sector which is the backbone of the Ghanaian economy is made up of 1.7 million of the estimated 2.1 million businesses in Ghana and employs 2.5 million people with a cumulative contribution of 75 per cent of national GDP.

Therefore, their ability to harness the AfCFTA opportunities will result in increased foreign exchange earnings and national income as well as the creation of vast employmen
t opportunities in Ghana.

Mrs Ayensu said the workshop formed part of NAPRM-GC’s agenda to empower the DOCs with knowledge on the Targeted Review of Ghana on the AfCFTA and corporate governance and their role in facilitating intra-African trade under the AfCFTA initiative.

It aimed to revitalise the DOCs at the districts to enable them to play their role in the dissemination of the targeted review outcomes and in the promotion of citizens ownership and participation in the monitoring and evaluation of the programme of action of the Targeted Review of Ghana report.

Mrs Ayensu, said at the heart of APRM’s success lay the principle of local ownership and participation and the DOCs exemplified this ethos, serving as grassroots advocates for good governance and community development.

The Chairman emphasised the importance of the workshop in enhancing the awareness of the DOCs on the significant role of the APRM in facilitating the implementation of the AfCFTA through the recent targeted review of Ghana.

Sour
ce: Ghana News Agency

A beautiful development on Ghanaian and Nigerian social media space this week has been conversations around historical moments and persons whose achievements and accomplishments, in the view of those who partook in the conversation, have not been highlighted enough.

The conversation was triggered by a user with the name @joewacklegh who asked, “Tell me an interesting piece of Ghanaian history no one talks about.”

Though the interaction started on Ghanaian X, it eventually reached Nigerian X, with citizens of Ghana’s perceived ‘rival’ country sharing their knowledge of history and key moments in the country’s history.

One name that came up for mention and overwhelmingly received the endorsement of Nigerians on social media is Dr. Stella Adadevoh.

Who is Dr. Stella Adadevoh?

Born in Lagos on October 27, 1956, Dr. Adadevoh was the first of four children.

She was a physician at one of Lagos’ private hospitals. Her father, Babatunde Kwaku Adadevoh, was a scientist, lecturer, author, and former Vice-Chancello
r of the University of Lagos. Her mother, Deborah Regina McIntosh, is a niece of Nigeria’s first President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.

In 1980, Stella Adadevoh was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree by the University of Lagos. By 1993, she had completed a fellowship course in Endocrinology at the Hammersmith Hospital of the Imperial College in London, UK.

Dr. Stella Adadevoh practised as a physician for over thirty years in Nigeria, 21 of which she served as the lead consultant physician and endocrinologist at the First Consultants Medical Centre in Obalende, Lagos.

How did she save Nigeria from the Ebola epidemic?

At the peak of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, Dr. Stella Adadevoh discovered and prevented an outbreak of the virus in Nigeria.

Patrick Sawyer, an official from Liberia, had left his country to attend a conference of the Economic Community of West African States in Nigeria. Upon arrival in Nigeria, Patrick Sawyer collapsed and was rushed to the First Consultants Medical Centre
where Dr. Adadevoh served. This incident happened on July 20, 2014.

The first doctor at the facility diagnosed Patrick Sawyer as someone suffering from malaria, but Dr. Adadevoh, who attended to him the following day, was not convinced as she suspected the signs to be that of Ebola.

She followed her conviction and asked Mr. Patrick Sawyer further questions about his health status. As reported by drasatrust.org, Dr. Adadevoh, who was still not convinced by the responses from Patrick Sawyer, contacted the Lagos State and Federal Ministries of Health and got him tested for Ebola.

Amid pressure from the Liberian government and at the risk of a diplomatic row between Nigeria and Liberia, Dr. Adadevoh warned against the release of Patrick Sawyer, cautioning Nigeria of the possible consequences should the patient be released and allowed to travel to Liberia while coming into contact with several persons.

The test conducted confirmed that Patrick Sawyer was suffering from Ebola. That case marked the first Ebola c
ase in Nigeria.

With Nigeria not best-placed to cater for Ebola patients, Dr. Adadevoh dedicated herself to caring for Patrick Sawyer at her private facility and did her best until Sawyer died at the facility.

While caring for Patrick Sawyer, Dr. Adadevoh became exposed to the Ebola virus and died from it on August 19, 2014.

Dr. Adadevoh is credited for being the first doctor in Nigeria to discover the Ebola virus in the country and ensuring that the country did not experience an outbreak of devastating impact.

In all, Nigeria had 20 Ebola cases, with 11 being health workers.

Ghanaian connection

According to a Daily Graphic report in September 2014, Dr. Adadevoh’s paternal grandfather was an Anlo from Anyako in the Volta Region.

He worked with the United Africa Company (UAC) and was transferred from the Gold Coast to Lagos in the early 1940s. Her grandfather married the daughter of Herbert Macaulay, who is one of Nigeria’s national figures.

When she died, her family held a requiem mass for her at the
Christ the King Church in Accra on September 14, 2014.

Source: Ghana Web

Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, Minister for Roads and Highways has inspected some ongoing road projects in the Northern Region to assess progress of work on them.

They included the 168-kilometre Tamale to Tatali Road, 140-km stretch of roads in the Gushegu Municipality, the 5km Pong Tamale to Kpalung to Larigu Road, and the 13km Savelugu by-pass, which were all at various stages of completion.

Mr Asenso-Boakye, in an interaction with the press at the construction site at Yendi, said the roads, when completed, would boost socio-economic activities, ease traffic congestion and long traveling distances for motorists in the areas.

He said: ‘All these trunk roads are going to enhance agricultural activities, promote trade, tourism and generally promote economic development. These are major projects that are going to change the dynamics of Dagbon and the Northern Region.’

He added that ‘We are doing this because we believe that it is going to take us to the next level of development, and so far, throughout my inspec
tion tour, I am so impressed about the progress of work in the region.’

He was optimistic that the Yendi to Tatale Road would be completed by November, this year.

Mr Asenso-Boakye, as part of his inspection tour, also paid courtesy calls on Paramount Chiefs of Karaga, and Gushegu as well as the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari (II) to brief them about his visit to the region.

Ya-Na Abukari (II) commended the government for initiating the projects in the area.

He appealed to the Minister to take keen interest in the construction of the Kumbungu to Savelugu Road, Jemli to Tidjo to Tampion Road and other strategic roads in some farming communities in the area.

He said, ‘The people of Dagbon are yearning to see these roads constructed to reduce the daily accidents on the roads and increase the socio-economic activities in those areas.’

Source: Ghana News Agency