Leadership of the Muslim community in the Ashanti Region has expressed worry over the incessant water shortage especially in the Kumasi metropolis during Eid al-Adha festivities.
The regional Chief Imam, Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruna, speaking on Akoma FM’s current affairs and political show GhanAkoma Monday, July 11, sounded worried.
“We have observed the trend for some time now [that] whenever we are celebrating the Eid festivals, we experience water shortage and this really affects us. Same time last year during the Eid festivities, there was water shortage and this year the trend is repeating itself so I hope it is not deliberate on the part of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to mar our holy festival.”
Sheikh Abdul Mumin Haruna further lamented to the sit-in host of the show JB that “the water shortage has really affected us but for the heavy rains over the weekend most of we the Muslims wouldn’t have gotten water for our routine chores during the Eid holidays.
That during such time we kill lot of cattle and other livestock animals so without frequent water supply we end up creating more waste in the system. We need water to wash ourselves and pray, we need water to cook so if water shorts during the Eid it really affect us”.
The Management of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Ashanti Region on Saturday, July 9 in a press release informed its customers and the public about the inability to the supply water to the Kumasi Metropolis since the afternoon of Wednesday, July 6.
The GWCL explained that the water shortage is as a result of ECG’s inability to supply power to the Barekese Water Treatment Plant and Achiase Booster station.
Explaining the water shortage further on Akoma FM’s GhanAkoma, Public Relations Manager for the GWCL Ebenezer Paddy Narh assured that the fault has been rectified and water is gradually flowing in some households.
“By the end of day, there will be full supply of water to people of Kumasi, we regret the water shortage but the assurance is that by close of business Monday July 11, the situation will be fully rectified.”
Muslims celebrate Eid al-Adha with prayers and large gatherings of family and friends.
The festival is joyful and a chance to share a meal with loved ones.
The prime characteristics of the Eid is feasting and killing of animals in joyful mood with family, friends and the less privileged.
This year, the holiday falls between July 9 and 13. Muslims and non-Muslims mark the occasion by greeting one another with “Eid Mubarak”.Source:
The Cape Coast Teaching hospital says it has recorded a decline in maternal and infant mortality cases since the handing over of a blood bankto the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Unit of the Hospital by the MTN Ghana Foundation in 2021.
Speaking to a delegation from MTN who visited the facility recently to access its impact, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Dr Stephen Laryeh said “We are grateful to the Foundation for coming to our aid with this blood bank. Since the provision of this facility in 2021, maternal mortality,resulting from blood issues has reduced by about twenty percent (20%). Hemorrhage which was the highest cause of maternal mortality has reduced”.
Fridges in the Fridge Room of the Blood Bank
On his part, the Senior Manager for South West Business District of MTN Ghana, Mr. Prince Owusu-Nyarko said “We are happy the facility is helping to improve health care delivery at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. The establishment of this facility for the hospital and the people of Cape Coast is a proof of the Foundation’s commitment to brighten lives and to mobilize blood to save lives”.
Blood donors donating blood inside the Bleeding Room of the newly constructed Blood Bank
He encouraged the hospital authority to continue to take good care of the facility for posterity.
The facility has a reception area, an office for staff, a donor lounge, a bleeding room, a laboratory and a fridge room. It has a storeroom, a washroom, and locally fabricated donation couches. The project was constructed at total cost of Ghc 300,000 and handed over to the management of the hospital in June 2021.
The MTN Ghana Foundation has over the years remained committed to mobilizing blood to restock National Blood Services and blood banks in major hospitals across the country through its “Save a Life” blood donation exercise. To date, over 20,000units of blood have been collected since the inception of the initiative in 2011.
Exterior of the newly constructed Blood Bank
The blood donation exercise has been put temporarily on hold as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and is yet to resume.
In recognition of its efforts, the MTN Ghana Foundation was adjudged the highest Corporate blood donor in 2013, second highest corporate donor in 2014 and one of the highest corporate donors in 2015 by the National Blood Services.
The MTN Ghana Foundation has initiated and completed over 53 health projects since its inception.
More public sector workers are piling pressure on the Akufo-Addo administration to pay them a 20% cost of living allowance (COLA).
It comes after teacher unions in state-run pre-tertiary schools declared a nationwide strike on Tuesday to demand similar allowances.
In a press statement issued on Tuesday, the Union of Professional Nurse and Midwives (UPNM) said they associate themselves with the ongoing strike jointly declared by the Tertiary Education Workers’ Union (TEWU), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union over the COLA.
According to the health workers, the allowance is to help cushion them from the harsh economic situation in the country.
The union argued that the government appears to be dragging its feet with regard to ensuring their welfare.
“In 2014, a cost of living allowances (COLA) of 10% of Public Sector Workers Basic salary was paid to workers to cushion us when things got tough due to high cost of living. In 2022, we find ourselves in a similar economic situation, and we expected nothing short of a similar stop-gap measure to cushion the many nurses and midwives in the country,” the statement said.
While appealing to the government to immediately turn attention to health workers and pay them the 20% COLA, UPNMG said it wants the government to urgently take a look at the working conditions of nurses and midwives.
But the group is not alone. The leadership of the Senior Staff Association- Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) has also threatened to direct its members to lay down their tools over similar concerns.
“Therefore, the National Leadership is joining forces with other Sister Unions to demand the 20% Cost-of-Living Allowance also known as CoLA to help cushion the living standards of our members who are wallowing in abject poverty”, the leadership noted in a joint statement copied to dailymailgh.com.
The SSA-UoG further wants other concerns addressed including the failure of the government to pay all Tier-2 outstanding interests from 2010 to 2016 to its members according to the expressed dictate of the National Pensions Act, 2008 (Act
766).
“As I said in Marburg, the Pan-African Vaccine Manufacturing Project fits perfectly with Ghana’s roadmap for domestic vaccine development and manufacturing. Ghana is ready to play her role, and I reaffirm, once again, her determination to make the Project work successfully.”
These were the words of the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the commencement of construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant in Kigali, Rwanda, on Thursday, 23rd June 2022.
Expressing his gratitude to President Paul Kagame for the invitation to participate in the event, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the commencement of construction “signals to the rest of the world the commencement of this end-to-end vaccine manufacturing facility, involving Rwanda, Senegal and my own country of Ghana.”
In his remarks, the President indicated that the import of the Pan-African Project means that Ghana, Senegal and Rwanda must work together, the reason why the relationship between the Food and Drugs Authorities (FDA) of Ghana and Rwanda is being deepened with the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, 24th June.
“Through this, FDA Ghana, which achieved WHO Global Benchmarking Maturity Level Three (3) in 2020, and is working hard to achieve Maturity Level Four (4) by the end of this year, will assist FDA Rwanda to attain WHO Maturity Level Three (3) as soon as possible. Both agencies will collaborate further in vaccine drug product manufacturing, fill, finish and lot release in their respective countries,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo continued, “Again, collaboration between our two countries resulted recently in a team from Rwanda visiting research institutions in Ghana, with the aim of strengthening institutional development and partnership towards vaccine discovery and advancement”.
In addition, the President revealed that Ghana’s research institutions are undergoing capacity-building to be ready for the discovery and development of vaccines and other biologicals, stating that “a consortium of Ghanaian pharmaceutical companies, led by DEKS Vaccines Ltd., is working closely with BioNTech Rwanda, BioNTech Germany and kENUP to fill, finish and package the drug product in Ghana from the plant here in Rwanda.”
He thanked BioNTech of Germany, kENUP Foundation, IFC, EIB and the other financial institutions for working closely together with African countries to enable the continent achieve vaccine self-sufficiency.
“I assure all and sundry that Ghana is delighted to be part of this Pan-African Project to manufacture mRNA COVID, Malaria and TB vaccines from drug substance through drug product to fill, finish and package,” the President added.
The Media Coalition Against Open Defecation has launched its central region branch. The regional arm of the coalition is to strengthen activities geared towards ending open defecation by 2030.
Speaking at the launch, the Regional Director, Environmental Health Officer (REHO), Mr Emmanuel Freeman Goku said Only 482 of the 3,630 communities in the Central Region are open defecation free.
He stressed the need for the government to intensify efforts in ending the trend while lauding the coalition for its initiative.
“A greater percentage of people in the Region practised open defecation and it needed the collaboration of all stakeholders as well as a right attitudinal change to reduce the menace to the barest minimum,” he said.
M-CODE is collaborating with World Vision and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to make SGD goal 6 which advocates the end of open defecation and provision of sanitation and hygiene for all by 2030 a reality in Ghana.
The leadership of Women Environmental Defender’s Association (WVDA), a non-governmental Organization (NGO), has embarked on aggressive campaign to rally support of all stakeholders to help reduce stigmatisation against adolescent school girls during their menstruation period. According to them, girls need to be encouraged, empowered and to be bold to speak about their menstruation period and get the needed education on menstrual hygiene.
Mrs.Comfort Nyamekye stated that the need for all stakeholders to join forces for menstrual hygiene education drive to stop stigmatisasation against adolescent girls especially those in the rural areas cannot be overemphasized.
This year’s celebration was under the themed “BREAKING THE SILENCE”. The NGO therefore appealed to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as well as Ministry of Education to team up and support the adolescent girls in schools with free sanitary napkins and prepare information, education and communication materials on Menstrual cycle period.
They also advised the adolescent girls to ensure good personal hygiene and clean environment in all their endeavours.The well attended campaign were held separately at various schools and churches in the Amanchia,Awherewa among other communities all in the Atwima Nwabiagya Municipality of Ashanti region.
The Mayor of Kumasi,Hon.Samuel Pyne has stated that the vision of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly(KMA) for waste management is to promote sustainable, environmentally sound and cost-effective waste management practices for the citizenry through innovative technologies, customer service and education. According to him, effective waste management is one of the primary drivers of public health which leads to healthier citizens who can contribute better to the local economy.
The mayor admitted that Solid Waste Management has remained one of their biggest challenges; the dumping of solid waste into open areas, storm drains and indiscriminate littering, particularly in the CBD, has exacerbated KMA’s sanitation-related challenges which come in its wake with attendant health issues. “Indeed, improved sanitation in the metropolis is a shared responsibility involving residents, businesses, commuters and other stakeholders.
Though a daunting task, it is my desire to pursue a “Clean Kumasi Agenda”aimed at improving sanitation and waste management towards restoring Kumasi to its past glory. I have, therefore, instituted a monthly cleanup exercise to be undertaken throughout the city to help rid the city of filth. This venture is capital intensive and as such requires a lot of resources to make it sustainable.
To help us raise funds to meet this expenditure, letters soliciting for assistance have been sent out to corporate bodies and institutions for support either in cash or kind as part of their corporate social responsibility. Our hope is to provide a clean, litter-free and healthy environment for citizens”, he added.
The above was contained in a SESSIONAL ADDRESS DELIVERED BY THE METROPOLITAN CHIEF EXECUTIVE, HON. SAMUEL PYNE DURING THE 1ST ORDINARY MEETING OF THE 3RD SESSION OF THE 8TH KUMASI METROPOLITAN ASSEMBLY (KMA) HELD AT THE PREMPEH ASSEMBLY HALL ON TUESDAY 14TH JUNE, 2022 AT 10:00AM
The Mayor said to ensure that the aforementioned vision materializes; various private actors are deeply involved at different stages of the waste management service chain. He said some private service providers carry out the collection and transportation of solid waste within the metropolis on the Assembly’s behalf.
In this connection, proper integration of these services and collaboration with service providers will be pursued to drive the “Clean Kumasi Agenda”.
This, he said will require the provision of facilities like transfer stations, waste separation containers, composting hubs and waste to energy plants. “We are seriously exploring avenues and leaving no stone unturned in our search for lasting solutions and the provision of these facilities to enhance waste management in the metropolis”..
On Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development Project (HORESD),Hon Sam Pyne said fortunately, “on our part, the HORESD project has come to our aid.
The concept of this project ties in beautifully with my vision under waste management to keep the city clean by making solid waste a resource for sustainable job creation and income generation for 500 unemployed youth and people at risk of social exclusion by 2024”.
He disclosed that the KMA in partnership with Mancomunitat de la Ribera Alta (MANRA) of Spain and the City-County of Praia of Cape Verde has secured 2.5 million euros from the European Union to implement a project dubbed “Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development” (HORESD).
This project,he said will help the Assembly to develop a Strategic Urban Solid Waste Management Plan, form a Territorial Management Group and a Technical Working Group that will govern and operationalize a coherent waste collection system in the city.
He said Pilot projects that will improve waste management services in the city through the creation of green jobs will be carried out. Thus four (4) Composting Stations and two (2) Eco-Recycling Stations will be created to promote the concept of a circular economy. Adding that,the project will also establish a School for Sustainable Entrepreneurship, that will help a wide range of entrepreneurs in Kumasi to develop green jobs. Capacity building, investment and provision of seed capital will be facilitated to make it a reality, giving priority to the people at risk of social exclusion and the unemployed youth.
“Through this project, over 100 people at risk of social exclusion and unemployed youth as well as 10 professionals will be directly employed and earn a sustainable income and improve livelihood.
A permanent information center, called “Green Point”, to assist with citizen awareness creation and capacity building has been set up, as we speak, at Asokwa, near the Asokwa Presbyterian Basic School. The following activities are expected to be carried out under the project:Implementation of an integrated waste management and collection system,Construction of 4No. small community composting stations,Construction of 2No. small recycling “eco-stations”,Implementation of an intelligent cloud/GPS/app system for managing garbage collection routes,Creating a circular economy by training and setting up people who work informally in the waste sector and especially people at risk of social exclusion such as women, disadvantaged youth, those with special needs and entrepreneurs.This project, we believe, will go a long way to address some of our waste management challenges.To complement this project, the Assembly intends to renovate the liquid waste treatment facilities to ensure the value chain is complete”.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, has admonished the public to maintain proper hygiene in the wake of Ghana recording cases of the new zoonotic disease, monkeypox.
Contributing to a discussion on the subject matter on Metro TV’s ‘Good Morning Ghana’ on June 9, Dr. Okoe Boye indicated that maintaining good hygiene was one sure means of avoiding the contraction of the disease.
He, however, added that, unlike Covid-19, the monkeypox was not highly contagious.
Detailing the transmission mode, the former MP for Ledzokuku said the disease was transmitted through close contact such as sex, hugging and kissing.
“All I can tell the public is that you got to keep your hygiene very good. Usually, the general rule is that if your hygiene is good, you are less likely to come across such diseases.
“It’s a zoonotic disease. It means it normally harbors in animals, so when your condition is very filthy, you are likely to come into contact [with it].
“The second thing is that, unlike Covid, which is highly contagious, this one, the good news is that it is not too contagious. Honestly, there’s no need for panic.
“It is gotten through close contact. Close meaning that body to body either through hugging, kissing, coming to contact fluid from the other person or exhaled air…when you are in a closed space like this…air condition.
“So it’s not strictly respiratory like Covid. This one can be spread through sex, body contact and other things,” Dr. Okoe Boye said.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS), through its Director-General Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, on Wednesday, June 8, confirmed that the country had recorded five cases of the monkeypox.
The recorded cases were in the Eastern, Western and Greater Accra regions.
GHS said t detected 12 suspected cases that were investigated in the country.
Dr. Kuma-Aboagye noted that “one of the cases was recorded in a Ghanaian who travelled from the United States of America to Ghana, so he might have picked it up from there.”source :Ghanaweb
The General Overseer of Calvary Charismatic Center (CCC), Reverend Ransford Obeng says the giving of blood to help save lives is BIBLICAL.
According to the Gospel preacher, the Bible admonishes that Christians help those who ate in need.
This means that if people needed blood to live and Christians are in a position to give same they should help out.
“The giving of blood is BIBLICAL since it helps to save lives and so we as Christians are enjoined by God’s word to give blood when someone needs same to live”, Rev. OBENG stressed.
YEARLY EXERCISE BY CCC:
Reverend Obeng said CCC has for the past six years given blood annually to help stock the Blood Transfusion Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.
He revealed that the idea came to mind when he celebrated his 60th birthday and as a token of his love to humanity he decided to enjoin the church to organise themselves to also donate as a corporate body.
So far, Reverend Obeng said CCC had donated over 2000 pints of blood to the Komfo Anokye Blood Bank to help them use same to attend to emergencies.
“Leaders make choices and as influential as God has made me to become I decided to donate blood six years ago when I turned 60 and today I am 66 and happy that we could still do this today too”, Rev Obeng passionately stated.
BLOOD TRANSFUSION UNIT:
Head of Recruitment at the Komfo Anokye Medicine and Transfusion Unit, Kwame Asenso Mensah Esq commended CCC for deciding to consistently donate blood to the unit.
He noted that voluntary donations has not been too encouraging since many in the adult ages are not giving blood.
The officer revealed that the blood Unit records best outcomes when Senior High Schools are in session.
“The track system introduced in SHS has given us the opportunity to take donations all year round since students who voluntarily donate are always in school”, Mr Mensah stated.STORY BY MICHAEL OFOSU-AFRIYIE, KUMASI
