Category: General

The Tropical Biology Association (TBA), together with the Institute of Nature and Environmental Conservation (INEC) Ghana, is running a practical restoration training programme on Ghana’s threatened tree species, for conservation practitioners and managers.

The 10-day training programme, funded by the Fondation Franklinia, aims to build the capacity of the participants to commit to conserve threatened tree species and restore their habitats.

About 20 participants who are undertaking mangrove restoration, natural regeneration, and other forms of forest reestablishments in the country, are taking part in the training programme.

It would cover topics such as Planning Impacts of Restoration Projects, Understanding the Links between Restoration and Ecology of Forests to achieve Long-term Conservation Outcomes, Different Restoration Approaches, and When to Apply them.

Again, participants would be exposed to Monitoring Impacts, as well as Communicating the Importance of Conserving Ghana’s threatened tree species
.

Dr. Rosie Trevelyan, Director, TBA, at the opening of the training programme in Kumasi, emphasized the need to take forest life seriously.

She said forests contributed to providing stable climate, clean water, protecting plants living in them, and fighting atmospheric greenhouse effect among others, adding that the TBA believed that education was an important tool for conservation.

‘We rely on and benefit from forests and if they are gone, we will suffer. We really have to conserve the forests that are left for the benefit of the people as well as our life, but because we have lost so many forests, we can do some action to restore them,’ she observed.

Dr. Trevelyan was optimistic that as the conservationists received knowledge on restoration, they could help in Ghana’s quest in addressing challenges of conserving threatened tree species.

Mr. David Kwarteng, Director, INEC-Ghana, said over 10 percent of Ghana’s native tree species were threatened and that formulating effective strategies to conserve, an
d restore these species in their natural environments were both critical and urgent.

Explaining the genesis of the training, he said Fondation Franklinia funded a workshop that gave birth to the threatened tree conservation action plan.

One of the key gaps that was identified by the action plan was the lack of capacity to undertake restoration using threatened trees (trees that need urgent conservation attention and are at the verge of extinction).

He said in response to that, the training workshop was put together to train Ghanaian conservation practitioners and managers who were directly undertaking restoration on the field.

Mr. Kwarteng mentioned that participants as part of the programme would visit the Bobiri Forest, INEC’s restoration sites, and KNUST Botanical Gardens to learn the different restoration approaches and silvicultural practices being used.

Source: Ghana News Agency

By Charity Nginyu

HRM Dr. Molive Molungu Otto of Batoke has assumed presidency of the Fako Chief’s Conference following a handover ceremony, held at Wovia Community Hall.

The event marked the beginning of his two-year mandate as the Limbe royal fathers had nominated him as president and Chief Woka Daniel as vice president.

During the handover ceremony, Chief Ekum Samuel Epupa emphasized the rotational nature of the presidency among Fako’s seven Sub Divisions.

HRM Dr. Otto, upon assuming office, expressed gratitude and a commitment to improving Fako. In Batoke, his chiefdom, jubilant crowds welcomed him, despite a brief encounter with Gendarmes attempting to halt the procession.

Chief Ilondo, the outgoing president, highlighted challenges during his tenure but expressed optimism for the future.

Chief Otto reassured unity and cooperation within Cameroon, promising to make Fako a better place for its population and future generations. His mandate extends to April 2026.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

A 26-year-old contractor has been arraigned for allegedly assaulting a man with a pinch bar.

Prince Ayivor has denied assaulting his victim, Tanko Seidu and was admitted to GHC10,000.00 bail with two sureties.

The Pakyi District Court presided over by Madam Dora Nsiah Jackson ordered that Ayivor deposited his Ghana card with the Court’s registry.

He is to make his next appearance on May 2, 2024.

Police Chief Inspector Christian Amartey told the Court that Seidu, the victim and complainant, was a straighter resident at Trede whilst Ayivor, the accused person, was a contractor resident at Nkoransah.

On March 1, 2023, at about 1200 hours, the complainant was returning from a site on motor bicycle and on reaching Trede Four Junction, he had a phone call and parked his motor bicycle by the roadside to receive the call, the Court heard.

The prosecution said whilst receiving the call, the accused person who was putting up a structure opposite the road, who had some issues with the complainant months ago, start
ed questioning him why he was looking at him.

Chief Inspector Amartey said the complainant asked the accused person how he also managed to know he was staring at him.

That did not go down well with the accused person, who went in for a pinch bar to assault the victim.

Chief Inspector Amartey said the complainant reported the incident to Trede Police and was issued with police medical form to attend hospital for examination, treatment, and report.

The Court heard that the accused person was arrested and handed over to the police.

Investigation cautioned statement was obtained from accused and after investigation, he was charged with the offence to appear before court.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Abdul-Salam Salamatu (not her real name) is a 16-year-old adolescent girl at Garizegu Roman Catholic Junior High School in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region.

At the age of 13 when she first experienced her monthly flow, she was told any form of unprotected sex could result in an unintended pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections, which could hinder her dream of becoming the first female neurosurgeon in her community.

Even though, there was no available sensitisation platforms to educate her on how to protect herself against such occurrence, her curiosity and resolve to finding a remedy for her fears and worries, got a better side of her when she was introduced to a project in her school, which sought to empower Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) on their Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

In 2022, she expressed interest in the project, which ushered her into a limitless world of exposure and knowledge acquisition on the various misconceptions of SRHR and the need to
speak up on her rights as an adolescent girl.

She told the Ghana News Agency in Tamale that what immediately caught her attention during her engagements in the project was the advocacy on the abuse of emergency contraceptive pills adding it was a common phenomenon among some of her peers in the neighborhood.

As part of the empowerment processes under the project, she was equipped with the needed information on SRHR, and began sharing her newly found knowledge, first with her two kid sisters at home including some of her peers, who were hitherto involved in the abuse of the pills.

She said in mid 2023, she volunteered to educate some of her community friends, who were not beneficiaries of the project on family issues to enhance their knowledge on SRHR.

She said even though she was initially tagged as a ‘naughty girl’, it had been impactful, triggering other young girls in the vicinity to ask probing questions on SRHR.

Another adolescent girl, Alhassan Pumaya (not also her real name), a 20-year-old student
at the Tamale Technical Institute (TTI) also recounted how she was lured into abusing family planning methods including the emergency contraceptive pills until it began affecting her health and academic performance in school.

She said at one point she began experiencing irregular and painful flow of her menses because of the regular use of the pills.

Prior to the introduction of the project in her school, Pumaya narrated that she could not have mustered the courage to go to a health facility to seek SRHR information for fear of intimidation.

‘But now, I can confidently say that I have been equipped with the necessary information to seek answers on SRHR without being timid’, she noted.

The project’s advocacy, awareness creation on SRHR, especially on the abuse of the emergency contraceptive pills is not only limited to the above scenarios but a total of 1,026 other AGYW in three communities and six schools in the Municipality are also receiving various forms of empowerment to be confident and vocal in defe
nding themselves and others against any form of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).

The Power to Choose (P2C) Project

In the Sagnarigu Municipality, there have been widespread cases of SRHR with deep seated traditional and social norms in the use of contraceptive pills, child marriages, teenage pregnancies among others.

Statistics from the Ghana Demographic Health Survey Report in 2022 showed that family planning among sexually active unmarried women stood at 63 per cent with 46% using modern methods and 17% using traditional methods.

Those, who use emergency contraceptive pills, stood at 12%, implants stood at 10% and injectables 10% were the most used modern family planning methods among sexually active unmarried women in the country.

The report suggested that many adolescent girls and young women were involved in the use of various family planning methods to protect themselves against teenage and unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, among others.

It is in this light that it be
comes imperative for all stakeholders to demonstrate enough interest in SRHR issues to help minimise its abuse and offer AGYW the voice to express themselves on SRHR issues.

Why the P2C Project?

It is against this backdrop that the P2C Project, which began in 2021 and will end in 2028, is being implemented by Norsaac, a local implementing partner of the Oxfam in Ghana’s project on SRHR. It is a seven-year Global Affairs Canada funded project being implemented in seven countries across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. In Ghana, the project is being implemented in seven Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and in five administrative regions. In the Northern Region, for instance, Savelugu and Sagnarigu Municipalities are the beneficiaries of the project.

The project’s overall objective is to increase access to reproductive health information and services for AGYW between 10-24 years by 2028.

The P2C Project so far in Sagnarigu Municipality

So far, the project has benefited some
1,026 AGYW through capacity building and mentorship to enhance their advocacy skills to demand the necessary interventions that best guaranteed their SRHR. Some of the beneficiary communities and schools in the Sagnarigu Municipality include Sanga, Garizegu, Shigu, Northern Business Senior High School, Tamale Senior High School, Tamale Technical Institute, Garizegu Junior High School, Kasalgu Junior High School, and Nangbagu Yapala Junior High School.

The project has also trained some 24 mentors and 22 patrons in the Sagnarigu and Savelugu Municipalities to ensure that AGYW in the communities and schools are properly guided to achieve the intended purpose of the project.

Testimonies from patrons and mentors

Patrons and mentors at a recent training workshop to enhance their engagement skills with the beneficiary schools and communities, shared their observations and expectations for the project going forward.

The workshop brought together patrons, mentors, and School Health Education Coordinators from the
Sagnarigu and Savelugu Municipalities.

Madam Ruka Alhassan, School Health Education Coordinator (SHEP) for the Sagnarigu Municipality said the rate at which AGYW were exhibiting courage and confidence in finding answers to some of the most critical issues on SRHR was impressive and mind-blowing.

She said all efforts must be put in place by all stakeholders to ensure that the project was maintained.

Mr Stephen Ayabaa, School Patron for Garizegu Junior High School, said the project was unveiling some of the myths and misconceptions on SRHR whilst at the same time giving them the opportunity to know the consequences of their decisions regarding their growth and development.

Mrs Benedicta Aovare, Savelugu Municipal SHEP Coordinator, also lauded the significance of the project saying it should be linked with other ongoing AGYW projects in the region to help build constructive collaboration and enhance sustainability.

Challenges facing the project/ beneficiaries

For every good intervention, there is bound to
be a challenge and the P2C project is not an exception. Most of the AGYW are still being influenced by some deep-seated social norms and orientations. The project needs to strategise and widen its scope of operations to help address the challenges confronting AGYW in the Municipality.

The current Domestic Violence Act 2007(Act 732) does not fully serve its intended purpose and must be reviewed to capture the very needs of AGYW.

Conflicting policies and programmes on SRHR continue to weaken the efforts of NGOs and other organisations’ commitments to advocate for the rights of AGYW, hence the need to address such infringements to promote inclusivity.

Recommendations

Government must demonstrate enough willingness towards the realisation of the Family Planning 2030 Commitments, which aim at ensuring equitable and timely access to quality family planning information, commodities, and services to all persons of reproductive age in Ghana by the end of 2030.

Government must also intensify the implementation of i
ts policies to ensure it meets goal three and five of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which aim at ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages and achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030.

Traditional and religious authorities must ensure they comply with the laws of the country, especially those on SRHR to guarantee the safety of AGYW in the country.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Gorgisberg Fiagbenu, the Assembly member of Adidome Central electoral area has advanced moves to fight against drug abuse among the youth in the enclave. 

Mr Fiagbenu raised the concerns about the alarming trend of young individuals, aged 14 to 25, dropping out of school and succumbing to the lure of substance abuse, particularly marijuana and other hard drugs in Adidome.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Assembly Member noted the Adidome market as a hotspot for such activities and pledged to collaborate with local security agencies to crack down on the menace.

Recognising the crucial role of parental guidance in shaping the trajectory of young lives, he emphasised the urgent need for enhanced parental control, and involvement in their children’s lives.

Mr Fiagbenu disclosed to the GNA that plans were underway to launch comprehensive sensitisation programs targeting both youth and parents.

‘These initiatives aim to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of drug abuse, while also high
lighting the proactive measures being implemented by security agencies to address the issue,’ he explained.

Mr Fiagbenu urged parents to support and guard their wards away from destructive behaviours and foster a culture of responsibility and accountability within the Adidome community.

Source: Ghana News Agency

SInce Sunday April 21, 2024, thousands of Nigerians took to their social media accounts to call on the Federal Government to shut down a Chinese Super market accsued of not allowing Nigerians to shop inside.

This allegations was sparked by one man who said he was barred from entering the supermarket withe the security telling him that, no Nigerian is allowed to shop inside.

The security guard on duty simply told him to make a u-turn because Nigerian were not accepted into the building.

‘My dearies, it is not all about shopping. It is the audacious segregation and discrimination right on Nigerian soil! Why must anybody of Nigerian origin be excluded from entering a public building on Nigeria’s soil simply because it is run by another national?’ one person said on Facebook.

Anothe rperson blamed the government for what she describes as audacity of the Chinese, ‘Imagine the audacity of these Ch!nese people, in our country again they are still discriminating against us. I don’t blame them, it’s our government
that fa!led us and gave this people too much power. This is really embarrassing and sad.’

The Punch Newspaper reported that an investigations carried out confirmed that the Royal Choice supermarket was not welcoming any Nigerian or anyone of black color.

Nigeria’s price control agency, has been pressured to act fast.

Source: Cameroon News Agency