GRi Newsreel 25 - 09 -
2003
NDC supports National Health Insurance Scheme - Arthur
Central Region Districts to be hooked onto internet
More female students to get admission into SSS
Thirty-year old dispute between Asafo companies settled
Health minister advocate Vat waiver on selected drugs
NDC expresses indignation about the treatment of Peprah
Journalists sensitised on reportage of HIV/AIDS
NDC supports National Health Insurance Scheme - Arthur
Saltpond (Central Region) 25 September 2003 - The Member of Parliament for
Mfantseman West, Jacob Arthur, has called on Ghanaians to discard the
misconception that the NDC was against the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He said the scheme, initiated by the previous government was the best means of ensuring efficient health delivery and urged Ghanaians to support it. The MP, however, said: "the bone of contention is the funding and the speed by which the bill was pushed through without giving the people enough time to make contributions".
Mr Arthur made the call at the inauguration of the seven-member Saltpond Government Hospital Advisory Committee to help the administration improve facilities and services at Saltpond, on Wednesday.
He urged the people not to rely on the media alone for information about NHIS because "some of them are as ignorant as the people they want to educate".
Mr Arthur cited an instance of a media house, which claimed that one was qualified to have his or her bill settled by the NHIS after receiving treatment from a traditional healer.
"Buy a copy of the Act, it is no more a Bill since it has received Presidential Assent and study it to enable you educate members of your family," he advised.
The MP explained that membership of the NHIS was voluntary and cautioned against using force and threat to get people to embrace it. Mrs Comfort Owusu, MP for Mfantseman East, charged the Committee to cooperate with the District Health Committee, management and staff of the hospital.
Dr Aaron Offei, Central Regional Director of Health Services, said the Scheme placed responsibility on health personnel to provide good quality services to meet the expectations of the public.
He said: "We need to improve on the quality of services that we provide including the provision of a healthy and homely environment".
Dr Offei announced that Ghana Health Services and Ministry of Health, had developed an accreditation criteria to determine facilities to assess the gap in the health care delivery.
Dr Simpson Anim Boateng, Mfantseman District Director of Health Services, gave a catalogue of problems facing the hospital and the district and called for efforts to improve facilities.
He expressed concern about frequent power outage at Saltpond and appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana to improve their service. Dr. Frederick Vormawor, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, appealed to people to take interest in the work of the committee.
He said the success of programmes could be ensured when those charged with their implementation showed dedication. Mr Abraham Ato Ahinful, Chairman of the Committee assured the management of the hospital that the Committee would not interfere in its administration but would not hesitate to point out shortfalls.
Mr Frank Neequaye, Presiding Member of the District Assembly, said the Assembly has voted, 136 million cedis for the provision of toilet facilities while the road leading to the area had been awarded on contract for tarring.
An appeal for funds yielded 11.8m cedis with the two MPs donating five
million cedis each from their share of the common fund. Mr Arthur also donated
11 chargeable solar lamps, five for the Saltpond Hospital and two each for
health facilities at Dominase, Biriwa and Anomabo valued at 8.6 million cedis.
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Central Region Districts to be hooked onto internet
Apam (Central Region) 25 September 2003 - Eleven districts in the Central
Region are to be hooked on to the Internet facility enjoyed by the
Twifu-Heman-Lower Denkyira District. At least five of the eleven would be
connected by the end of 2003, Mr E. K. Dufu, Co-ordinator of Central Regional
Network, has announced.
Speaking at a workshop on Internet connectivity for stakeholders from the Gomoa District at Apam, he said the five districts are Upper Denkyira, Gomoa, Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa and Agona.
He said the decision to connect the districts to the information super highway was in the furtherance of the President's Special Initiative to improve Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the country.
Mr Francis Kojo Achemdey, Chief Executive Officer of Net Plux ICT Consultancy and internet service provider, advised the districts not to think about the cost involved since the service would open them up to the outside world.
"Advertisements on investment potentials in the districts can attract a lot of investment," he said. Mr Yaw Adu Asamoah, District Co-ordinating Director, said the Assembly had made 180 million cedis part payment to the service provider.
He said the facility would be put at the disposal of the communities,
schools, departments and businesses in the district and appealed to the people
to take advantage to communicate with the outside world.
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More female students to get admission into SSS
Gomoa-Potsin (Central Region) 25 September 2003 - The Authorities of
Gomoa-Potsin TI Ahamadiyya Secondary School in the Central Region have decided
to enrol more female students annually in support of the government's girl-child
education programme.
Mohammed K. Ackonu, Headmaster of the School, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Gomoa-Potsin on Wednesday.
He said the new policy has been in operation for about three years now and appealed to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, to provide financial and logistics support to enable the school to introduce more academic programmes.
Ackonu commended the government for connecting the school to the national electricity grid, and appealed to the authorities to provide the area with a separate transformer to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
He expressed his appreciation to the Akyempim Rural Bank for assisting the school and appealed to other financial institutions to contribute to the development of education in the area.
Ackonu commended the students for establishing a committee to maintain discipline, law and order towards enhancing teaching and learning.
He, however, said cases considered to be highly criminal were often referred
to the school authorities.
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Thirty-year old dispute between Asafo companies settled
Gomoa Nyanyano (Central Region) 25 September 2003 - A thirty-year old
dispute between the Tuafo and Dentsifo Asafo companies at Gomoa Nyanyano in the
Central Region, has been amicably resolved.
A ram was at the weekend slaughtered to signify the end of the disagreement, paving way for the celebration of the annual Akwambo Festival by the two groups next month.
During the dispute, the Tuafo celebrated the festival on Tuesday while the Dentsifo marked the same event on Wednesday.
Apart from this, the town was virtually divided with members of each group avoiding areas presumed to be the territory of the other during the celebration of the festival.
In an interview with the GNA after the reconciliation rites, Mr Yaw Adu Asamoah, Gomoa District Co-ordinating Director, commended Nana Obeng Wiabo V, Chief of the town, Nana Brebo IV, Tufuhene and Nana Essilfie Mensah Ababio IV, Apofohene (Chief Fisherman) for initiating the peace process.
Mr Adu Asamoah said unity was "the axis on which development revolves" adding that the reconciliation was needed for the development of the town.
He advised the people not to allow petty squabbles to divide their ranks but to rally behind their leaders for the progress. Mr Asamoah appealed to the people to pool their resources to improve their living conditions.
The Chiefs who took turns to address the gathering called for cooperation and
unity among the people. Nana Wiabo said the settlement of the dispute marked
another milestone in the history of the people.
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Health minister advocate Vat waiver on selected drugs
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 September 2003 - Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of
Health (MOH), on Wednesday said the ministry would advocate a waiver of the 12.5
per cent VAT on Ophthalmic, Asthma, Diabetes and Hypertension drugs.
This he said was to enable patients suffering from such diseases to afford the drugs, comply with their treatment schedules and thereby prevent the more expensive and difficult complications, which resulted from non-compliance to treatment schedules.
The minister gave the assurance in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the 10th Glaucoma Week celebration, organized by the Glaucoma Association of Ghana (GAG) under the theme; ''Glaucoma and Blindness.''
The promise comes after nine years of campaign by GAG for VAT waiver on the said drugs to make them affordable, with the view to preventing the more expensive consequence of the diseases.
Dr. Afriyie said the Ministry was fully sponsoring this year's Glaucoma Awareness Week celebration, which would be marked with free eye screening exercise at the St. Kizito Caotholic Church at Nima on Saturday 27 September 2003.
He said the ministry would sponsor the GAG to conduct extensive research on the prevalence of glaucoma in the country and urged the GAG to present a proposal to that effect.
"We would also expect the association to extend its free public screening to towns outside Accra," he said.
Dr Afriyie said the ministry would offer the necessary support to ensure that glaucoma awareness weeks were celebrated nationwide where free public screening would be undertaken at government hospitals.
He stated that the MOH was working around the clock to improve the working environment and provide incentives in the form of vehicles and housing for all categories of health workers.
This, he said, was to stem the brain drain, saying, "all we need is a little more patience from the health workers."
Mr. Harrison Kofi Abutiate, President of GAG said available statistics indicated that 45 m people in the world were blind and 135 million were visually impaired.
He said 90 per cent of the world's blind and visually impaired lived in the poorest countries, which were faced with significant economic problems due to the magnitude of the blindness, most of which could be prevented.
"Indeed 63.9 per cent of the 159 new glaucoma patients at Korle-bu Teaching Hospital were found to be already blind due to late reporting of eye problems at the hospitals as a result of patients inability to bear the high cost of health care and unfriendly hospital conditions," Mr Abutiate said.
He said, there was enough evidence that early detection of through screening and treatment, could reverse eye damage caused by glaucoma.
Mr Abutiate, therefore, appealed to the government to establish eye care facilities befitting the status of Korle-bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals, with the view to retaining eye care specialists in the country to help reduce the incidence of blindness.
Dr. Patrick Kwaw, an Ophthalmologist from the Ridge Hospital in a lecture said the age at which one could easily develop glaucoma had reduced from 40 years in the 1960s to 35 years now, adding that the problem was prevalent in among Africans.
He said glaucoma induced blindness, unlike blindness caused by other factors such as cataract, was incurable, adding the glaucoma had no clear symptoms other than poor peripheral sight.
Dr. Kwaw urged Ghanaians to report to the hospital for screening, when they saw signs of poor peripheral sight, adding that it was important that in treating glaucoma, a patient stuck to one hospital and one doctor to allow effective monitoring.
The GAG presented one million cedis to the Ghana Society for the Blind to
sponsor the education of blind children under its care.
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NDC expresses indignation about the treatment of Peprah
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 September 2003 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC)
has expressed indignation at the way and manner the Former Minister of Finance,
Kwame Peprah, who has been incarcerated for causing financial loss to the State,
was being treated.
A press statement issued on Wednesday by the NDC and signed by Mr Bede A. Ziedeng, Deputy General Secretary, said: "The NDC has learnt with shock and regret, information that Kwame Peprah, Former NDC Minister of Finance, was yesterday transferred from Ho Prisons to the Sekondi Prisons
The statement said: "Even though, the NDC acknowledges the right of the authorities to determine where prisoners are kept, these multiple transfers suggest sinister political motives."
The Party said it viewed the latest transfer as a further harassment and gross abuse of the human rights of Peprah, who they now considered as a political prisoner. They accused the government of toying with his life.
The statement said: "This is the second time in about two months that Peprah has been transferred, having been first transferred from Nsawam Prisons to the Ho Prisons."
The NDC said it believed that the recent visit of the Party's Flagbearer Professor John Evans Atta Mills; National Chairman, Dr Obed Asamoah and the General Secretary, Dr Nii Josiah Aryeh to the Ho Prisons had infuriated the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government to harass Peprah by transferring him yet again without notice to any of his family or relations.
The Party said it had arrived at this conclusion because Peprah was denied the services of his personal physician from the Trust Hospital while he was at the Nsawam Prisons with the excuse that the Hospital was not a public one.
It said Peprah was transferred without notice from Nsawam Prison to Ho Prisons after he was tagged with a concocted and fabricated charge that he had met a convicted murderer, Charles Quansah with a view to getting him to incriminate members of the NPP Government.
He was also kept in the same cell with 14 other prisoners at the Ho Prisons, without any form of privacy and was later admitted at the Ho Regional Hospital for almost two weeks.
The NDC stated: "Enough is enough. The unholy collaboration between the NPP Government and the Judiciary and the manipulation of the latter that resulted the conviction and sentence of Peprah and his two colleagues in the "Quality Grain 3" do not appear to have satisfied those bent on vengeance and who are determined to break Preprah's spirit and wreck his life and the life of his family".
The Party said it would "hold the Government of the NPP entirely responsible for whatever may happen to Peprah whilst in prison".
It called "on all men and women of conscience to decry the treatment
being meted out to Peprah, and for them to raise their voices in protest against
what basically is man's inhumanity to man and an abuse of Peprah's human rights
of the basest order"
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Journalists sensitised on reportage of HIV/AIDS
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 September 2003 - The Ghana AIDS Commission on
Wednesday called on Journalists to ensure that their reportage on the HIV/AIDS
pandemic did not bring about stigmatisation and discrimination against people
living with the disease.
At a day's workshop to sensitise Journalists and to build capacities for effective reportage on issues relating to HIV/AIDS, Dr. Sylvia J. Anie, Acting Director General of the Commission said media reports could go a long way to either increase stigmatisation or to create an enabling environment for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
The workshop, under the theme: "Reporting on HIV/AIDS: The Human Rights Issue" brought together about 50 Journalists from the print and electronic media in and outside Accra to equip them with knowledge about the disease to enable them to report effectively.
It was also to discuss ways of creating awareness on the celebration of this year's World's AIDS Day to be held on December 1 this year under the theme: " Live and Lets Live-HIV/AIDS The Human Rights Issue".
Dr. Anie said the prevalence rate of HIV/ADIS as at 2002 stood at 3.4 per cent, a 50 per cent increase between 2000 and 2002.
She said the disease, of which the first case was reported in the country in 1986, had infected an adult population of 600,000, aged between 15 and 49 years, adding that if measures were not taken to curb the pandemic, come 10 years, each family would have a member living with the disease.
"Ghana must avoid the Botswana situation where one out of three persons is infected with HIV/AIDS," she said, adding that the Commission would collaborate with Journalists to carry out a review of the national response and upscale interventions where necessary to curb the pandemic.
Dr. Anie said though the Commission had achieved a 90 to 99 per cent awareness of the pandemic among the population, it had created little influence on behavioural change that was most important to reduce the spread of the disease.
She called on media personnel to help the public to make informed decisions to prevent the spread of the disease, protect themselves, and ensure proper care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS adding, "what you write may hurt a right, check before you write".
Mr. Emmanuel Fiabge, Country Director of John Hopkins University Centre for Communication Programmes noted that HIV/AIDS was a human and societal problem and there was the need to be careful about how Journalists seek information about the disease and its presentation to others.
He said the consequence of poor reporting, without ethical and social
concerns, could create unnecessary fear and panic leading to the adoption of
desperate and dangerous lifestyles, thus placing more people at risk.
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