Day: November 18, 2023

The Healthcare Federation of Ghana has urged private health service providers to take advantage of the current technological advancements to improve services to their clients.

The Federation noted that the wave of digital transformation globally was revolutionising various industries, hence it was imperative for the private health sector to adapt it in earnest. The private health service providers have no option than to adopt the digital health practices, involving the digitalisation of business processes thus allowing patients to exchange personal health data to foster data-driven decision-making.

Dr Maxwell Antwi, the Country Director of PharmAccess Group Ghana and Board Member of the Healthcare Federation of Ghana, made the call at a cocktail in Accra on Friday.

Unity in diversity should be a guiding principle for the growth of every Association, he stated.

‘Digital transformation, data connectivity and personal data exchange are transforming many industries globally, but health is left behind,’ Dr An
twi said.

He cited various technological advancements in the telecommunication industry mentioning P and T, the town postmaster, mobitel sim card, CDs and DVDs, which were currently out of the system.

He said adopting digital health and digitalisation of business processes would create an enabling environment for patients to exchange their personal health data and position their businesses on the right track.

‘If you cannot stop the storm, adjust your sails. Come under one umbrella and ride on one elephant,’ Dr Antwi advised.

Sharing his thoughts on policy-making and implementation processes in the country, he said the health sector alone contributed about five per cent to Ghana’s GDP and 20 per cent to GDP growth, hence it deserved a seat at the political table.

‘It is said that if you are not around the table then you are on the menu to be eaten. Therefore, it is better to be around the table to be heard and listened to. The best option is to be the chef in the kitchen who prepares the menu,’ Dr Antwi
added.

He charged private health providers to be at the centre of influencing health agenda for politicians, especially as the 2024 Election approaches, adding; ‘It’s crucial to be part of Manifesto discussions’.

Dr Lynda Ajoa, the First Vice President of the West African Private Healthcare Federation, expressed concerns about the existing state of healthcare delivery in Ghana.

She noted that the absence of affordable financing for private health providers hindered the quality of healthcare delivery, thus impeding the realisation of the Universal Health Coverage.

She, therefore, appealed to the Government to consider lowering the interest rates to enable companies access affordable loans to ensure quality healthcare delivery.

Dr Samuel Donkor, the President, Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana, expressed the Association’s readiness to partner with the private health service providers to improve the quality of care to patients.

The Healthcare Federation of Ghana is the country chapter of the Africa Healthcar
e Federation affiliated to the African Union.

It comprised regional federations; West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, North Africa and Southern Africa federations.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ghana has exceeded the United Nations’ (UN) target in the deployment of female military personnel for peacekeeping missions, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

The country currently is involved in 15 peacekeeping missions globally, with a deployed strength of 2, 500 military personnel.

In respect of foreign troops, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) had deployed 19 per cent females, exceeding the UN’s target of nine per cent, the President emphasised.

He was addressing the 2023 graduation parade of the Ghana Military Academy, in Accra.

The West African nation’s commitment to global peace and security dates back to 1960, when Ghana, for the first time, participated in a UN peacekeeping force deployed in the then Republic of Congo, now DR Congo.

Since then, the GAF has remained dedicated and committed to the cause of peace, and currently ranked ninth as the largest troop contributing country by the UN in peace support operations.

The country was admitted to the United Nations on March 8, 1957, two
days after it attained independence from Britain.

At the 2023 graduation parade of the Ghana Military Academy, a total of 292 officer cadets passed out – comprising 217 males and 75 females.

‘Today’s parade is a special one. The number of officers being commissioned into service is the highest in the history of the GAF,’ President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is also the Commander-in-Chief, stated.

Coincidentally, the parade witnessed a joint commissioning of both regular career course cadets and short service special duty cadets, following the disruption of the Academy’s calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President said the commissioning of such a large number of officers into the Armed Forces, ‘at this time when resources are limited, is to put ourselves in readiness for the emerging security threats the country is facing today’.

‘The security situation in West Africa, particularly in the Sahel, requires that we improve the entire security architecture of the country.

‘Government is resolute on the ne
ed to institute measures that will safeguard territorial integrity and security of our nation, so as to guarantee the peace Ghana continuously enjoys in the region,’ he noted.

In readiness to respond effectively to any threat from anywhere to the country’s security, the President said the Armed Forces was proportionally spread across the country.

This is to ensure the personnel maintain continuous surveillance and capability to safeguard Ghana’s territorial integrity.

In furtherance of its peacekeeping missions, the country will in December, this year, partner the UN to host a joint Peacekeeping Ministerial meeting.

The gathering of Defence Ministers and others committed to peacekeeping efforts, will focus on civilian protection, addressing misinformation and disinformation, promoting safety and security, protecting mental health, and boosting the pivotal role of women in the UN.

It will be the first to take place in Africa, and the fifth ministerial summit overall.

The flagship biennial meeting is expe
cted to secure political support and generate pledges to strengthen UN peacekeeping in line with Action for Peacekeeping and A4P+.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Sayibu Suhini, says the removal of tax on locally produced sanitary pads does not come with the urgency with which Ghanaian women want the increasing cost of sanitary pads to be addressed.

Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister, presenting the 2024 budget, announced a number of interventions including a zero Value Added Tax (VAT) rate on locally manufactured sanitary pads, and removal of import duty on raw materials for the local manufacture of sanitary pads.

However, Mr Suhini, speaking on Citi Fm’s Big Issues, said the policy did not address the current issues of women who lamented over the high cost of the sanitary product.

‘We are talking about the urgency of now. The fact that young ladies are unable to afford these products because they are priced out of their reach…If you are announcing a policy, the question is how is it going to address the current problem? It is going to take a while for people to import these raw materials and produce.

‘The
second thing is that how many young ladies already use the locally produced ones and how long is it going to take for them to change to these locally produced ones? So it is not addressing the urgency of now,’ he stated.

Touching on other aspects of the 2024 Budget, Mr Suhini said the extension of tax exemptions in the budget was not the most appropriate means of helping companies, which were still struggling in spite of existing tax exemptions.

‘If I am already enjoying an exemption today and I tell you that despite the exemption I am enjoying, my business is going down, and you come and announce an extension of that exemption and you say that is the relief I need, are you being sincere? Clearly, that is not how these companies can be helped,’ he said.

Dr. Kabiru Mahama, Technical Adviser to the Vice President, on the contrary, said the Budget sought to provide respite to Ghanaians.

He said the Budget had made adequate provisions for various sectors of the economy and contained reliefs that were meant to
support economic growth and the vulnerable in society.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Robert Sogbadji, a Member of the Energy Transition Committee, says Ghana’s Energy Transition Framework is estimated at $562 billion.

He said, the long-term framework guaranteed the best fuel supply security due to a diversified fuel mix including natural gas and nuclear energy.

The framework sought to achieve a just and equitable transition both in universal access to electricity and the exploitation of Ghana’s natural resource to support economic development.

Dr. Sogbadji said these at a capacity building workshop on Ghana’s energy transition organized by Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) for oil producing communities in Takoradi in the Western Region.

The workshop was aimed at enhancing understanding of participants on the trends and contents of Ghana’s energy transition framework, create awareness on the priorities, targets and opportunities and enhance dialogue and exchanges at the sub national level for actors to hold government accountable.

Dr. Sogbadji told participants that, the f
ramework guaranteed access to and commercialization of the green trade market, with 21 Gigawatt (GW) installed capacity, adding ‘it seeks to achieve a universal access to electricity of about 98 percent by 2030.’

‘It focuses on long -term cost of electricity below 4.5 cents per kilowatts. It expects to meet future electricity demand of 380,000 GW due to fuel switch,’ he added.

He indicated that the minimised energy related to indoor air pollution and its related illnesses, explained that about 48,218 premature deaths would be avoided.

Again, Dr Sogbadji said, the emission of about 200 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide would be avoided.

About 30.05 million productive be gained due to upscaled adoption of clean cooking fuels which would have a significant impact on women and children, the main gatherers of firewood.

On new opportunities, he told participants that Ghana’s discovery of some critical green minerals like lithium and graphite would replace hydrocarbons in the future and could be used in the produ
ction of the Lithium -Ion Batteries (LIBs), which had growing demand for electricity storage facilities and for power generation in electric vehicles and electronics.

‘The Government must therefore establish investor friendly mechanisms for commercial exploitation of the critical minerals and the management of revenues accruing from these minerals,’ Dr Sogbadji suggested.

He listed adverse impacts to include potential threats to energy security, reduces funding for fossil related projects, potential of stranded assets, job losses for fossil fuel industry and revenue loss.

The Committee member noted there was also the difficulty in accessing cheap funding by developing countries to build essential energy infrastructure aside technological challenges.

Source: Ghana News Agency