Category: General

Ho, May 17, GNA- Mr Peter Kwakye-Ackah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Amenfi Central Constituency of the Western Region, has expressed awe in the natural wealth of the Volta Region.

The MP who was a first-time visitor to the Region, said he had been immersed into what he claimed was unknown to the world.

“Volta Region is very endowed but it is not known. When you come, you will see it for yourself. The scenery is very imposing,” Mr Kwakye-Ackah, who is a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said during a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister in Ho.

Mr James Klutse Avedzi, MP for Ketu North, and Chairman of the Committee, said negative perception kept the captivating scenery, tourism, and industrial potentials from view, and called for special focus on addressing the lapses.

Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, MP for Ho West, commended the efforts of Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Regional Minister, and traced his collaboration with MPs from the area towards the elevation of the Region.

He said the Regional Minster had succeeded in getting the government to, notably, prioritise roads in the Region, as well as other infrastructure including the Ho Airport, and was hopeful the working relations would be sustained towards the ultimate.

Dr. Letsa also extolled MPs from the Region for “doing their best,” and said the people of the Region needed to grasp the concept and help promote the Region.

He said collaborative initiatives including the Volta Fair, and the Visit Volta campaign, all had proven potent in marketing the Region and diverting in tourist traffic, adding, “very impressive numbers were recorded this, Easter.”

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema, May, 17. GNA — The Electoral Commission of Ghana has begun inspection of all registered political party offices across the country to ensure that they operate in accordance with the Political Parties Act.

This forms part of the mandates by the EC as enshrined in the Political Parties Act 2000 (Act 574) to inspect political party offices and monitor their activities, EC stated in a letter addressed to the political parties a copy obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Tema indicated.

The Political Parties Act, 2000 (Act 574) mandates political parties to have offices at the national, and regional levels and at least in two-thirds of the districts in the country.

The EC letter emphasized that it wants to see “if the parties are functioning and if they meet the requirements by Act 574, which include the fact that they should have functioning offices, file their accounts at the EC and whether their offices are owned by them or rented.

“Accordingly, the commission is embarking on the inspection of offices of all the registered Political Parties from Monday, May 16th at the National, Regional, and District/Constituency level”.

It urged all political parties to ensure their availability to ensure the smooth operation of the exercise.

“In view of this, I wish to inform all registered political parties to hold themselves in readiness for the upcoming exercise,” the EC stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Joel Matip was the unlikely hero as Liverpool won 2-1 at Southampton to take the Premier League title race to the wire.

The Cameroon defender headed a second-half winner to clinch a comeback victory that means the Merseysiders move back to within a point of leaders Manchester City with just one game to go.

Jurgen Klopp made nine changes from the side that lifted the FA Cup at the expense of Chelsea at the weekend and they suffered an early blow when Nathan Redmond finished off a fine solo run with a curling shot into the corner on 13 minutes.

The visitors were without the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane but they responded well and deservedly levelled on 27 minutes.

Takumi Minamino, who spent the second part of last season on-loan with the Saints, finished off an excellent move with a rasping near-post strike to snare his 10th goal of the campaign.

Liverpool continued to dominate but did not find the crucial breakthrough until the 67th minute when Matip looped a header into the net from a poorly-defended left-wing corner.

The Reds will now hope for a twist on the final day of the Premier League season when they host Wolves and City take on Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium.

Southampton, who have lost eight of their last 11 league matches, remain in 15th spot and end their campaign at Leicester City.

Source: Modern Ghana

Accra, May 17, GNA- Manipal Hospitals, a multi-specialty healthcare provider in India, has trained Ghanaian medical practitioners under its Master Medics Programme to improve the quality of referral hospitals globally.

The Master Medics Programme, launched as part of activities to commemorate International Nurses Day, is an initiative to improve the quality of standards of referral hospitals along with patient-centred outcomes to enhance medical services through experience and expertise.

A statement issued and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said the need for quality healthcare services had become a major area of concern over the last two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Programme would, however, help the hospital align its commitment to offering equitable, affordable, and quality patient care, it said.

The Master Medics Programme, which was held via zoom saw over 1000 medical practitioners from Ghana and other countries participate in the meeting.

Mr Karthik Rajagopal, Chief Operating Officer, Manipal Health Enterprises, said, it was very important to train the medical team to be well-equipped with the latest technologies coming into the healthcare space.

He said the Programme would not only prepare the experts but also other medical staff members to tackle any situation and cater for the needs of patients in the best possible way as well as empower staff members to improve their domain knowledge and streamline the hospital process, the statement said.

Mrs. Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, President, Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA), who spoke during the session said, the need for proper alignment of healthcare services had become significant due to the adverse effect of the pandemic in different areas of the healthcare sector.

“The Programme focuses not only on improving the clinical outcomes but also work on cost and time reduction, along with waste management,” she said.

Mrs Ofori-Ampofo explained that the programme would help medical experts and staff get a platform to learn the importance of various medical focus areas, which included infection control, basic hospital policies, and procedures.

“At the same time, it covers basic nursing training that includes knowledge of hand hygiene practices, needle stick injuries, BMW training, and safe infusion practices,” she added.

It said these initiatives would not only groom the nurses to deal with any complicated circumstance but also improve their skills in catering for the needs of the patients.

Manipal Hospitals is India’s second-largest multi-specialty healthcare provider, treating over four million patients annually. It provides comprehensive, curative, and preventive care for multitude of patients from around the globe.

Its focus is to develop an affordable, high-quality healthcare framework through its multispecialty and tertiary care delivery spectrum and further extend it to out-of-hospital care.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Oduom (Ash), May 17, GNA – The Breast Care International (BCI), a non-government organization (NGO) leading the treatment of breast cancer in Africa is set to use a new technology to treat cancers in the Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new technology would complement the efforts of BCI and Peace and Love hospitals in the fight against cancers in Ghana, especially breast cancer.

The technology, known as ‘Tiny Drones to Deliver Cancer’, when applied, will eliminate the side effects in cancer treatment like the loss of hair among others.

It was invented by Professor Wilfred Ngwa, an American based Cameroonian lecturer at the John Hopkins University, and it is expected to begin in Ghana in 2023.

Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospital, made this known during a meeting with the Peace and Love Breast Cancer Survivors Association (PALSA) at Oduom in Kumasi.

The meeting was to introduce the survivors to the three Commissioners of Lancet Oncology, comprising Prof. Wilfred Ngwa (USA), David Kerr from the Oxford University (UK) and Dr. Mrs. Beatrice Wiafe Addai, from Ghana.

It was also to interact with survivors to assess their situations after the launch of the Lancet Oncology Commission report in Accra.

The Lancet Oncology Commission report is to support the management, research, reporting, prevention, treatment and palliative care of cancer in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Dr. Mrs. Wiafe Addai said cancer patients would no longer go through the vigorous treatment in cancer, saying that the new technology would complement the efforts of BCI in the fight against breast cancer.

“Cancer patients in the Sub – Saharan Africa, especially Ghana, will no longer go through the vigorous treatment in cancer. The new technology when starts rolling in 2023, will complement the BCI’s efforts in the fight against breast cancer in the Ghana,” Dr. Addai said.

“I am glad that my PALSA was captured in the Lancet Oncology Commission report and we will co-operate with any research in Africa that the report recommended,” the Consultant Surgeon added.

Prof. Ngwa, who also lectures at Harvard University, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), disclosed that the clinical trials were starting at Harvard and John Hopkins Universities this year, with Ghana having its turn in 2023.

Prof. Ngwa said most of the cancers reported in Africa were late, saying that the cancer spreads to the parts of the body before it was reported, and the only option was to do surgery.

“With ‘Tiny Drones to Deliver Cancer’, no matter where the cancer has spread to, it will strengthen the immune system and fight it, without any side effects like the chemo and radio therapies with loss of hair among others,” he assured.

‘Tiny Drones to Deliver Cancer’ is new technology designed to kill cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body, it combines microscopic nanoparticles with medicine, all packed into a tiny drone in the size of a grain of rice.

The rice-size materials are routinely implanted in patients to guide radiotherapy treatment of cancers.

The smart technology, which is employed at no additional inconvenience to patients, once in place, will proficiently release the microscopic particles/medicine to enhance local tumor cell death during radiotherapy and act as a beacon to call in the patient’s white blood cells.

The white blood cells are then trained to kill cancer cells and can patrol the entire body, fighting cancer that has spread with greater effectiveness.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Tema, May 17, GNA – The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) has cautioned companies, especially the foreign ones who have developed ‘union phobia’ that is preventing their workers from forming or joining unions in contravention of the labour laws of the country.

Mr Emmanuel Addo-Kumi, TDCL Vice-Chairman in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Tema on Monday revealed that some companies were guilty of such acts in the Tema Heavy Industrial Area, “we will descend on these illegal acts through the proper legal means”.

Mr Addo-Kumi, who is also the Greater Accra Branch Vice Chairman, of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) explained that some company owners and management terminate the appointments of employees when they attempt to form or join unions.

He said some companies have sacked the leaders and some of the employers because they made up their minds to join unions, stating that even though Ghanaians were happy to have industries, they do not want the ones that would work against the 1992 Constitution of the country.

He explained that Ghana’s 1992 Constitution enshrined the right to form or belong to an association, adding that the Labour Act also affirms the right of workers to belong to as well as their right to form a union, “so both the constitution and the labour act, make it clear that organizations that have workers must allow them to form a union.”

He cited a cement company in the Tema Industrial area which even though has allowed its workers to belong to the mother union, the General Transport for Petrol and Chemical Workers Union (GTPCW) however the management in a smart move sacks any of their workers who becomes a union leader at the least mistake.

The TDCL, therefore, called on authorities to make sure such companies were brought to book, reminding them that as expatriates they were in Ghana to work not to maltreat their employees as the monies that they would get would be transferred to develop their home countries.

“The least you can do is to respect the indigenous people who are working for you, and therefore we are calling on you to be on guard and desist from maltreating the workers,” he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, May 17, GNA - ActionAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation, has appointed Mr John Nkaw as its new Country Director.

A statement by the Board Chair of ActionAid Ghana, Nana Yaw Okyere-Aduachie, said Mr John Nkaw’s appointment took effect on 1st May 2022.

He succeeds Sumaila Abdul-Rahman who resigned from office in August 2021.

Until his recent appointment as Country Director, Mr Nkaw served as Head of Programmes, Campaigns and Innovation and Interim Country Director of the Organisation.

In his new role, he would lead the work of ActionAid Ghana by coordinating the work and strengthening its partnerships to ensure greater positive impact of programme interventions on the lives and livelihoods of people living in poverty.

Mr Nkaw joined ActionAid Ghana in March 2019 as the Head of Programmes and served as Interim Country Director from September 2021 to April 2022.

Prior to joining ActionAid Ghana, he had worked with Oxfam Ghana, SEND Foundation of West Africa (Now SEND Ghana), USAID Partnership for Education: Evaluating Systems, and the Ghana Aid Effectiveness Forum (AEF).

Mr. Nkaw holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with Political Science, Master of Arts in Development Studies from the University of Ghana, and Master of Public Administration in Public Policy from University of Texas at Austin.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Reports indicate that Nollywood actor, Leonard Chimezie Onyemachi has passed on.

The actor has been battling kidney failure over the last four years.

Popularly known as Leo Mezie, the actor passed as a result of complications from kidney surgery that he underwent a week ago.

Reports say he passed on in an Abuja-based hospital on Saturday, May 14, 2022.

Chioma Toplis, a Nollywood actress took to her Instagram page to confirm the unfortunate incident on Monday.

“Actor Leo Mezie is dead. He died on Saturday in Abuja while recovering from a kidney transplant. His corpse has been moved to Umuahia his hometown. RIP Leo,” her post read.

Leo’s illness hit the public when an appeal for funds was made on his behalf to take care of his medical bills.

His condition caught the attention of many when he began to deteriorate in stature.

Source: Modern Ghana