Day: December 17, 2023

Stakeholders have met to discuss strategies for coordination to enhance emergency and social protection service delivery to asylum seekers currently hosted at Tarikom in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.

The coordination is to keep stakeholders informed of developments within the camps and among asylum seekers, improve activities and services provided, avoid duplication of interventions, and ensure proper targeting.

Organised by the Upper East Regional Department of Children with funding support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the discussion brought together varied humanitarian and social protection organisations.

Some of the stakeholders included the Departments of Children, Gender, and Social Welfare, UNHCR, Ghana Refugee Board, World Vision, Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation, National Commission for Civic Education, Regional Coordinating Council, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, and security agencies.

It would be recalled tha
t in the early parts of 2023, multiple suspected terrorist attacks on Bugri, Zoago and Zabre and other border communities in Burkina Faso compelled more than 4,000 people at the time to flee to Ghana and spread across several communities in Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, Binduri, Garu, and Tempane Districts.

Led by UNHCR, a UN Refugee Agency, the Ghana Refugee Board and other partners, a comprehensive humanitarian response was implemented leading to the relocation of some of the asylum seekers to Tarikom where various stakeholders and organisations are providing various services for them.

According to the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, about 7,000 asylum seekers had been registered at various parts of the region while over 900 of them had been relocated to reception and resettlement centres at Tarikom.

Mrs Georgina Aberese-Ako, the Upper East Acting Regional Director of the Department of Children, noted that various organisations had been proactive in providing key services to the asylum seekers a
nd the meeting was meant to share the experiences in their line of service provision to the asylum seekers.

‘We bring these stakeholders together for us to know the current situation with regards to the asylum seekers, the services they are rendering, the number they have reached out to and the impact and to know the way forward, what we can do as a group to improve upon the services that they are rendering,’ she said.

‘We also want to know the actual numbers of asylum seekers that they are helping in terms of children, how many boys, girls, men and women in that regard and the different services that they are rendering,’ she added.

The Acting Regional Director explained that the coordination among the various stakeholders was key to ensuring that the host communities also benefitted from the services rendered to the asylum seekers without creating conflicts.

She said the coordination would further help to avoid duplication of services by different organisations and added that it would help ensure effecti
veness, efficiency, and greater impact.

The asylum seekers at Tarikom have been provided with shelter, electricity, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities among other humanitarian services by various stakeholders and organisations.
Source: Ghana News Agency

The ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA), with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a two-million-dollar project to improve Electricity Regulation in ECOWAS Member States.

The principal objective of the initiative is to facilitate the efficient utilization of regional energy infrastructure to further enhance regional electricity trade.

Through the support of the AfDB, ERERA will assist national regulatory bodies in acquiring adequate knowledge that would enable them to carry out the necessary regulatory work in developing the regional market at the national level.

Specifically, the grant will fund technical assistance to promote the development and adoption of regional electricity regulatory principles, enhance capacity to monitor utility performance across the ECOWAS region, conduct a cross-border analysis of electricity tariffs, and develop a centralized database management system.

Entitled the ‘Regional Harmonization of Regulatory Frameworks and Tools for
improved Electricity Regulation in ECOWAS’, the project consists of five components: Elaboration of Regulatory and Utility Key Performance Indicators for ECOWAS, Harmonized Comparison of Electricity Tariffs (HCET) in ECOWAS and Cost Reflectivity Assessment and Development of an Energy Information and Database Management System (EIDBMS).

Others are Assessment of investment bottlenecks and risks in ECOWAS Member States Electricity Sector, as well as Programme management.

ERERA will be responsible for the project’s implementation, coordination, and monitoring.

In his address at the launch, ERERA Chairman, Engr. Laurent Tossou, thanked the African Development Bank for its ‘unwavering support and commitment’ to the project, adding that the Bank’s ‘partnership is a strong example to the spirit of collaboration that is vital for overcoming the complex challenges facing our region’.

‘Together, we are not only building a more interconnected energy grid but also strengthening the foundations for sustainable develop
ment and shared prosperity,’ Engr. Tossou said.

He assured that through the project, ERERA was committed to fostering the regional harmonization of regulatory frameworks and tools as the initiative ‘aims to create an environment that encourages cross-border collaboration, investment, and innovation, ultimately paving the way for a more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy supply.’

He noted that the harmonization of regulations was a proactive step toward creating a unified energy market within the ECOWAS space.

In his address, the AfDB’s Manager for Energy Policy, Regulation and Statistics, Mr. Callixte Kambanda, described the launch of the project as timely, considering the ‘elevated calls for pooling of the diverse energy resources of Africa at regional and continental levels.’

He said that the African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) initiative being championed by the African Union Commission (AUC) aimed to integrate various regional markets into a continental power market to further boost ele
ctricity exchange.

According to him, ‘a consistent and coordinated approach to addressing key regional energy infrastructure deficits, particularly regional interconnections, supported by relevant institutional, policy and regulatory reforms at the regional level will be required to achieve a fully integrated, competitive, and harmonized electricity market in Africa as envisaged under the AfSEM.’

Mr. Kambanda explained that the Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa (ERI), which is the Bank’s flagship report, recommended intensified efforts at the regional level for regulatory harmonization.

This, he explained, was why the Bank has embarked on ‘this programmatic technical assistance to support regional entities to develop appropriate tools and frameworks and build capacities for harmonization of regulatory frameworks.’
Source: Ghana News Agency

Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, the Chairman of the Health Committee of Parliament, Saturday expressed concern over the low budgetary allocation to the health sector for staff salaries and other compensations.

That, he explained, was a worry to the sector as it impeded the training and retention of the health workforce to deliver on their mandate.

Dr Afriyie said this on the floor of Parliament while contributing to a debate in line with the approval of the Ministry of Health’s 2024 budget allocation.

The House approved GHS15.2 billion for the Ministry to cater for its services in the ensuing year.

‘Mr Speaker, the Ministry has been allocatedGHS15.2 billion. Out of this amount, GHS8.7 billion was allocated for compensation. Almost 70 per cent goes to human resources and compensation,’ he said.

‘ If the health sector continues to spend more than 70 per cent of its budget on human resources, then we are going nowhere.’

‘Also, it is interesting to note that there is an interesting revelation as far as attrition is
concerned because health professionals are leaving and so the Ministry should be up and doing with its clearance to recruit new staff’.

Dr Afriyie, also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore, therefore, called for prioritising the sector’s budgetary allocation, as well as measures to reduce the high attrition rate.

In 2024, the Ministry of Health would, among other goals, enhance the training, deployment, and retention of the health workforce through labour market analysis.

It would also focus on the local production of anti-snake venom and other vaccines, with the newly created National Vaccine Institute as its first step towards local vaccine production.

Per the Health Committee’s report presented to Parliament, the Ministry aims to complete and commission ongoing capital projects in 2024.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Samuel Dodoo, Executive Director, Media Response, a Non-Governmental Organisation has urged all Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to establish desk offices on Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

These offices, according to the Executive Director, would promote interaction and free flow of information on activities of ECOWAS between the ordinary citizens and ECOWAS at the national and subregional levels.

It will also help to address the bottlenecks in the implementation of the subregional protocols and agreements particularly those on free movement of persons, goods, and services to enhance people’s benefits to the opportunities of such protocols, he added.

‘On a very regular basis, there is always an interaction between the ECOWAS office in Accra and the ECOWAS office in Abuja on all issues across all sectors and if this information does not come to the district level it is very worrying.

‘But, if we don’t also have the fo
cal person in the district and regional levels, it also becomes difficult for the national office to relay important information to that level,’ he added.

Mr Dodoo was addressing participants in Bolgatanga during a regional sensitisation workshop on ECOWAS protocols for state and non-state actors in the Upper East Region on the theme ‘ECOWAS of the people: peace and prosperity for all.’

The day’s initiative was organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in partnership with the Media Response and brought together representatives from RCC, Assemblies, heads of departments, security agencies, religious and traditional authorities, market women, youth, teachers, students, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, business community.

The workshop was to sensitise various stakeholders on the ECOWAS protocols and conventions, operations, and activities on the free movement of persons and goods and how people could harness opportunities created by such activities for e
conomic development.

It was also to deepen understanding and knowledge of actors to appreciate the significant contributions of ECOWAS in promoting regional peace and security, economic growth, and sustainable development in the sub-region.

Mr Dodoo explained that Ghana was the second highest contributor to the operations of ECOWAS and, added apart from the protocols on free movement of persons and goods, there were lots of potentials that the business community and other agencies could be harnessed for development.

He said Ghana had five seats in ECOWAS Parliament and many other Ghanaians were holding significant positions in the subregional body and urged the stakeholders particularly the media and CSOs to hold them accountable to help address challenges to facilitate trade.

Mr Michael Kweku Owusu, Head of Technical/Claims at the Ghana National Bureau/ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme, said due to the increased movement of vehicles across member states, there had been several accidents and therefore it
was imperative to acquire the ECOWAS brown card to ensure free movement and compensations in case of an accident.

He revealed that from January to September 2023, a total of 111 Ghanaian vehicles were involved in accidents in member states while 73 vehicles from member states were also involved in accidents in Ghana

‘This means that we are recording lot more injuries, damages to properties, and even death cases, and for Ghana alone, a total compensation of GH?1.7 million have been paid to these foreign victims,’ he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency

A small itchy toenail robbed his peace in October 2014.

Abrantie could only sub a few stories for the day and went home, with so much discomfort.

As usual, the former Sub-Editor at the New Times Corporation dashed to a pharmacy for medication, but the boil turned into an unhealing sore and started swelling.

Before long, the sore developed into a wound, with so much pain as the toe rots away slowly though he visited the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for medical assistance.

On Abrantie’s second visit to the Hospital, he was diagnosed with two conditions – a gangrene – and an untreated bacterial infection.

The other condition was type two diabetes – a chronic disorder in which one’s body is unable to properly use insulin, resulting in high blood glucose levels, which can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.

‘This was ten days after my first visit.

My condition was classified as an emergency, which necessitated an amputation of my leg in 30 minutes. Further dela
ys could have made me paralysed,’ he told the Ghana News Agency in clutches.

‘Everything happened so fast,’ he added, forcing a dry smile.

Despite his resilience, the retired journalist says the sudden change in his health affected him psychologically, emotionally and physically.

‘It was a big blow to me because I have always been a healthy person, I hardly fell ill and I hardly go to the hospital, I never imagined myself losing my leg.’

Until February 2014, Abrantie says he had a lifelong ‘love affair’ with physical inactivity, and poor eating habits due to his work as a journalist.

He sits in one place editing stories for long hours and hardly eats or sleeps well.

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‘I was married to a mixture of drinks [cocktails] and a high intake of alcoholic beverages daily, with late night and poor eating habits, but I never thought I could have diabetes, I did not see the signs,’ he says.

The story of Abrantie mirrors the lifestyle of many journalists, including you.

Many are consumed by the desire to meet de
adlines and the citizens’ need for information to the detriment of their health.

Dr Betty Bankah, a Family Physician and Head of the Adolescent Care Clinic at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (RIDGE), says one can be with symptoms of diabetes for years yet feel healthy.

Once the complications of diabetes start to take hold, it can affect every area of your health because excessive sugar in your blood damages blood vessels and nerves throughout your body.

She describes diabetes as a condition, which occurs when one’s pancreas does not function as it should.

‘Whenever we eat carbohydrates, it turns into sugar in our blood, the pancreas which is next to the stomach releases insulin which works to allow the sugar in the blood to move into the cells as energy,’ she explains.

For those who have diabetes, she says the insulin is either ineffective or not enough, so the sugar from the carbohydrate stays in the blood instead of the cells and causes high sugar levels.

The 2021 Diabetes Atlas of the Internation
al Diabetes Federation (IDF) shows that globally, about 537 million adults aged 20-79 years are living with diabetes.

The IDF projects that the total number of people living with diabetes will surge to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.

Globally, although there is an agreed target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025, the number of cases and the prevalence of diabetes have steadily increased over the past few decades causing financial stress to individuals and families.

Dr Bankah, the family Physician with over 20 years of experience in providing healthcare,? says high intake of sugar or salt is not the main cause of diabetes.

‘Diabetes is not how much sugar or salt one consumes. It is triggered by obesity due to sedentary lifestyles and increased inactivity,’ she says.

She urges the public especially journalists to eat lighter in the evening.

‘People should be done eating their evening meals latest by 7 pm, or three hours before bed, it is important that we move around after eatin
g in the evening.

‘Eating a big meal at 6 pm and sitting in front of a television until 10 pm to sleep is not the best.’

She says sugar in the blood poisons everywhere it goes, it can damage the veins, eyes, liver, kidney, brain, skin and nerves, it can make parts of the body numb and you can’t feel pain when you are hurt.

‘We need to make sure that communities have places for exercise, we need to increase physical activity and ensure that all schools have Physical Education (PE) as part of their curriculum, it’s important that we are all physically active to prevent diabetes and other NCDs because we cannot afford cure,’ the Family Physician says.

Dr Bankah says type two diabetes can be reversed with healthy eating habits and regular exercise, a positive attitude to care and family support.??

Fortunately, Abrantie appears to be ‘righting the wrong’ with better eating habits, exercising and receiving good family support.

Though in clutches, he looks the best of himself, occasionally, infecting this repo
rter with his ‘toothpaste smile’.

To reduce the high incidence of Non-Communicable Diseases, like diabetes, everyone, especially journalists need to have a routine health checkup at least once a year, exercise regularly and eat healthy meals on time.

‘My people should watch what they are eating. I am just lucky to survive with one leg. Tell them to eat more vegetables, and fiber-rich foods, get enough sleep and reduce stress,’ Abrantie advises as he sips some natural fruit juice.
Source: Ghana News Agency

Ms Georgina Padi, Executive Director of GAP Health Aid Foundation, has admonished communities to lead the fight against HIV and AIDS by being responsible for one another’s wellbeing.

She said according to an estimation made by the Ghana AIDS Commission, about 935,000 Ghanaians have been infected with HIV and 580,000 of them have died of AIDS.

Ms Padi told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the devastating effect of HIV and AIDS was that over 230,000 children have been orphaned.

She called on all to support the initiative to eradicate HIV and AIDS by 2030 through a responsible sexual lifestyle.

‘As a nation, we’ve come a long way not to have a deeper idea of the damage HIV and AIDs have caused us,’ she said.

Ms Padi noted that stigmatization and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS had been a barrier in the fight against the disease and said it was also critical in eliminating mother-to-child transmission during pregnancies.

According to the Ghana AIDS Commission, about 354,927
people were living with HIV consisting of 115,235 males and 239,692 females in Ghana.
Source: Ghana News Agency