Wednesday, October 27, 2010

OUTH REMINDED OF VALUE OF EDUCATION (PAGE 35, OCT 28, 2010)

THE Omanhene of the Breman Traditional Area in the Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa District, Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu VIII, has reminded the youth of the value of education and advised them to study hard and become useful citizens.
He urged them not to see material wealth as the standard for success.
Speaking at a durbar to climax this year’s Afahye festival of the chiefs and people of Breman Asikuma at the weekend, Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu VIII said happiness lay not in the mere possession of money, but on one committing himself to honesty.
He used the occasion to launch a five-year strategic plan which places premium on education, health and agriculture, among others.
Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu called on the government to improve the existing educational infrastructure, provision of accommodation for teachers and education in the area.
He further called for the rehabilitation of the Asikuma-Anyinabrim road to open up the area.
Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu commended the government for the various interventions in the educational sector such as the introduction of the free school uniforms, exercise books and the School Feeding Programme to enhance enrolment.
The Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alexander Asum Ahensan, said the government had increased the Capitation Grant by 15 per cent.
He also commended the Omanhene for his foresight and efforts to develop the area, giving the assurance that the district would receive its fair share of development.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

$52,445,091 SPENT ON HIV/AIDS IN 2007 (PAGE 22, OCT 26, 2010)

MORE than $52,445,091 was spent on HIV AIDS related activities in Ghana for the year 2007.
The Dean of the School of Medical Sciences of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Professor Amonoo-Koufi, announced this at an HIV AIDS stigmatisation reduction conference in Cape Coast.
The conference was organised by the UCC, University of Ghana, University of Education, Winneba and Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada, with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Professor Amonoo-Koufi said altogether, 40 per cent was spent on treatment and care with 35 per cent being spent on programme management and 12 per cent on prevention programmes.
He stated that spending on prevention decreased from 39 per cent in 2005 to 23 per cent in 2006 and 12 per cent in 2007, whilst spending on treatment increased from 17 per cent in 2005 to 22 per cent in 2006 and 40 per cent in 2007.
Prof. Amonoo-Koufi said that was against the background that prevention remained the cornerstone of the national strategy to overcome the epidemic.
He said stigmatisation, socio-cultural practices and attitudes of people had made persons living with HIV AIDS to hide their status thus hindering their chances of obtaining proper treatment.
Prof. Amonoo-Koufi said while educating people to avoid stigmatisation, it was important to increase the understanding of the general population on how the disease was contracted.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe in a speech read on her behalf, called for concerted efforts to reduce stigmatisation and discrimination.
She commended the collaborative institutions and the agencies for their role of increasing awareness on the disease.

Monday, October 25, 2010

WE'VE NEGLECTED MENTAL HEALTH — CHIEF BANDANA (PAGE 19, OCT 23, 2010)

THE President of the Ghana Medical Assistants Association (GMAA), Chief Imoro Bandana, has described mental health as the most neglected area of the health care system.
Chief Bandana said entities in the health delivery system had not shown any enthusiasm in mental health and that professionals in the system had the propensity to shun that speciality for various reasons including unattractive service conditions as well as stigma.
Speaking at the opening session of the 8th annual general meeting of the GMAA, Chief Bandana said as health professionals were calling on the public to desist from stigmatising mental illness, health assistants should themselves preach the concept of destigmatisation of mental health in terms of policy directives, interest, practice and political will.
The meeting is on the theme: “Mental health in the primary healthcare setting — The role of the medical assistant”.
He stressed the need to make the speciality more attractive to health professionals while policy directives should be made more friendly to the development of psychiatry.
He said while there were plans to turn most post-basic programmes in allied health fields into degree programmes, not much was heard about the intended degree programme for the medical assistant.
According to Chief Bandana, even the psychiatry programme for medical assistants which was initially intended as a degree programme had also not materialised.
He called for a regulatory body to prescribe standard of practice, training and professional development criteria for the group.
He further called for a downward review of the all-inclusive tariffs to ensure effective health care delivery in the rural areas.
The Deputy Director of the Central Regional Ghana Health Service, Nana Owusu Boampong, said without medical assistants, most rural communities would have been denied health services and that the mental health bill when passed would address the problem of mental health and issues affecting medical assistants.
The Human Resource Manager of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Appiah-Denkyira, said the Ghana Health Service was working out plans to assist medical assistants to offer quality health services to the people.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, in a speech read on her behalf by Mr Patrick Aniagyei, an Aide at the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council, called for concerted efforts to curb mental health challenges in the system.
The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, said psychiatry should be integrated into the general hospitals to enable medical assistants to handle simple mental cases.

Friday, October 22, 2010

13 SEERVICE PERSONS WITH FAKE DOCUMENTS ARRESTED (BACK PAGE, OCT 22, 2010)

THIRTEEN persons who allegedly used fake documents to enrol on the National Service Scheme in the Central Region have been handed over to the police.
Briefing the press in Cape Coast, the Central Regional Director of the National Service Secretariat, Nana Odiasempa Antwi, said the impersonators were arrested in Cape Coast, Agona Swedru and Breman Kuntanase between October 8 and October 20, this year.
Nana Antwi said one Ebenezer Eyiah Mensah, a teacher whose documents were found to have been falsified, had already appeared before a court and granted bail in the sum of GH¢1,000.00 to re-appear on October 29, 2010.
He said the mastermind behind the deals, who operates from the University of Education, Winneba, Kumasi Campus, entered into an agreement with clients to pay GH¢70.00 out of the GH¢202.00 allowance paid to service personnel.
He advised service personnel to desist from seeking assistance from other persons and rather approach personnel at the Secretariat for assistance.
He also called on the Ghana Education Service to furnish the secretariat with data on teachers on study leave to enable the secretariat to monitor them.
He said 2,953 personnel out of 4,230 allocated to the region had so far been posted to various institutions and organisations in the region.

BREMAN ASIKUMA GETS NURSES TRAINING SCHOOL (PAGE 22, OCT 22, 2010)

A PRIVATE Nurses’ Training School to train nurses in community health, health assistants and diploma in general nursing, has been established at Breman Asikuma in the Central Region.
The first batch of 250 students is expected to be enrolled in November, this year, to begin a two-year certificate programme in community health nursing, health assistants, clinical and a three-year diploma in general nursing.
At a ceremony to launch the school, the Christian School of Nursing, Mr Noah Kwesi Mends, the founder of the school said the National Accreditation Board had given accreditation for the establishment of the school.
Mr Mends said the school was being established in collaboration with a group from the European Union, and Aid N Action, a non-governmental organisation.
A member of the Nurses and Midwifery Council of Ghana, Ms Yvonne Hayfron said since public health training institutions were not adequate to train sufficient health personnel to meet the country’s demand, the private sector had a role to play to complement the government’s efforts.
Ms Hayfron called on the management of the school to ensure that students who would be trained at the school would be re-orientated with constant research and professional ethics to render quality health service to the populace.
The Nurse Manager of the Our Lady of Grace Hospital, Breman Asikuma, Ms Paulina Essuman, said the mission of the school was to educate professional nurses within a Christian environment with the requisite academic ability, professional competencies dedicated to the provision of high quality care to individuals, families and communities.
The Omanhene of the Breman Asikuma Traditional Area, Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu VIII, who chaired the function, pledged his support for the school and said education and health were key to his development agenda.
Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu said he had initiated a stakeholders forum to plan and strategise for the development of the area which cumulated in a five-year development plan, adding that the school would enhance the plan.
He commended the Church of Christ for its vision and said since chiefs were now striving to develop their areas, he would support the school to achieve its mission and vision.

AKYIANU DONATES TO NDC (PAGE 13, OCT 22, 2010)

A LEADING member of the National Democratic Congress and Ghana’s Ambassador to Serbia, Mr Sam Vallis Akyianu, has provided free accommodation for the Cape Coast Constituency.
The facility used to be the dwelling place of Mr Akyianu’s late mother.
Speaking at a ceremony at the presentation of the premises to the party on Wednesday, Mr Akyianu said the gesture was in fulfilment of her late mother’s commitment and loyalty to the President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills.
Mr Akyianu recalled her late mother’s desire to vote for and see Professor Mills becoming President before her death.
He said her mother dedicated herself to the party to the extent that she would never go to bed until he, Akyianu, had returned home each time he went on party assignment when he was the Central Regional Chairman of the NDC.
He said the party could use the facility as long it desired and until the time that it acquired a piece of land to build its own constituency offices.
He urged the party to make good use of the facility to enable the party to retain the seat and win the 2012 elections.
Mr Kwame Tabi Akyianu a member of the Akyianu family of Cape Coast pledged the support of the family for Professor Mills and the NDC and called on the supporters of the party to unite for victory in the 2012 elections.
The Chairman of the Cape Coast Constituency of the NDC, Mr Christian Elvis Amoasah, commended Mr Akyianu and his family for the gesture and promised to make good use of the facility to enable the party to retain power.
Mr Ricket Hagan, who donated four pick-ups for Professor Mills’ 2008 campaign, promised to provide furniture for the office to enhance operations of the party.
Mr Justice Boison, an NDC activist in the Central Region, also promised to provide furniture for the office.