Category: General

Mr John Kuuku Dsane, a retired Forensic Psychiatry Specialist, who worked in the United Kingdom, said Ghana can rake in more revenue, annually, by instituting the 24-hour-economy for growth advancement.

He said the country could take advantage of that economic policy to position herself as an attractive destination for investment, fostering economic growth, creating job opportunities, and contributing to the development of the retail sector.

Mr Dsane, now based in Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Friday that due to evolving the global economic landscape, it was imperative to consider the adoption of the proposal as a policy to enhance job creation and employment opportunities for the youth.

‘Embracing the 24-hour- economy is a strategic move for Ghana to catalyze economic growth, reduce unemployment, and enhance global competitiveness,’ he said.

‘By adopting a holistic approach and implementing supportive policies and infrastructure, Ghana could unlock its full economic potential and i
mprove the well-being of the citizenry.’

He outlined the key reasons and benefits of transitioning to a 24-hour system of work and suggested strategies for its successful implementation to encourage businesses to operate ’24-seven’.

These include tax incentives, regulatory reforms, and financial support for businesses making the transition, investment in reliable and efficient infrastructures like transportation, energy and communication systems to support uninterrupted operations.

Others are to provide training to equip the workforce with the skills required to make a 24-hour working system thrive, ensuring a seamless transition and maximizing the benefits of extended working hours.

Mr Dsane stressed on public awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the benefits while addressing concerns or misconceptions about the policy.

Seeking collaboration with international organisations and countries that had been successful in the implementation of a 24-hour-economy must also be prioritised, he said.

‘A c
ontinuous economy accommodates the diverse lifestyles and preferences of individuals. It also allows for flexible work schedules, enabling employees to choose hours that best suit their needs.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

Commodore Bright Emmanuel Kojo Atiayao, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) of the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) at Nutekpor near Sogakope in the Volta Region, has handed over the Command to Commodore Asiedu Larbi.

Commodore Atiayao, who took over the Command of NAVTRAC as FOC in June 2023, has since been reassigned to the Navy Headquarters as the Chief Staff Officer.

The brief handing-over ceremony was held at the NAVTRAC Headquarters, Nutepkor on Friday, March 22.

Commodore Atiayao inspected a quarter guard and interacted with staff officers before proceeding to hand over the symbol of Office to Commodore Asiedu Larbi at his office.

Earlier, on Thursday, March 21, a durbar to introduce the New FOC to personnel of the Command, was held, where Cdre Atiayao thanked the Commanding Officers of the various schools under his command, staff officers, and personnel of the Command for their cooperation and support.

He said the Command had achieved so much during the short time he served as FOC.

Cdre Atiayao st
ated that he would not have achieved that without their support.

He further urged everyone to extend the same support, cooperation, and hard work to the new FOC.

A farewell reception was later organised in his honor at the Officers Mess of the Command.

In attendance were the District Coordinating Director, South Tongu District, Commanding Officers of the Schools, staff officers, and some friends of the Command.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Institutional maternal, neonatal mortality increases in Northern Region

March 23, 2024 GNA

By Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, March 23, GNA – The era of more women dying through child birth has resurfaced in the Northern Region as the region recorded 100 institutional maternal deaths in 2023 compared to 69 deaths in 2022.

This brought the region’s institutional maternal mortality ratio to 136.7 per 100,000 live births in 2023 compared to 94.5 per 100,000 live births for the year 2022, with the national target being 125 per 100,000 live births.

Dr Abdulai Abukari, Northern Regional Director of Health, announced the figures during the 2023 annual health performance review meeting in Tamale.

The annual health performance review examines health service delivery, the gaps and measures to address the identified gaps and or challenges.

Dr Abukari described the situation as a serious challenge in the fight against maternal mortality in the region, saying ‘the Regional Health Directorate had taken some serious mea
sures towards addressing this worrisome trend of maternal deaths in the region’ adding ‘We now have regional as well as districts and facilities’ task force on maternal mortality.’

He said the region’s institutional neonatal mortality rate also witnessed a slight increase from 4.6 per 1,000 in 2022 to 4.7 per 1,000 in 2023.

He said the slight increase in neonatal mortality was largely due to service delivery challenges of occasional absence of medical doctors in some of the major referral centres in the region leading to suboptimal functioning of those hospitals.

He touched on the doctor-patient-ratio of the region, saying the region, as at the end of 2023, had 335 medical doctors with 275 (82%) at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Dr Abukari added that ‘We currently have 50 medical doctors within the Ghana Health Service facilities, which is an improvement from 30 medical doctors as at the beginning of the last quarter of 2023. With a population of 2,409,018, this therefore, brings the doctor-to-population r
atio to about one doctor to 2,277.’

He indicated that malaria, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrheal diseases, anaemia and urinary tract infection were still the five top causes of out-patient department (OPD) attendance in the region, saying ‘We, therefore, need to intensify our health education to reduce the incidence of these diseases.’

Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General, Ghana Health Service said while progress was being made in some areas, ‘OPD per capita, institutional infant mortality, institutional under five mortality, percentage of skilled delivery, institutional maternal mortality ratio, and all immunization coverage have been quite stagnant but we shall do more intentionally this year to see a shift in the right direction.’

He urged health staff to be focused on delivering good quality work as always, saying ‘Let us forge good relationships and partnerships wherever we are, for alone we can do little but together with others, we can do so much more.’

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu,
Northern Regional Minister, whose speech was read on his behalf by the Northern Regional Coordinating Director, said, ‘There is no doubt that central government alone cannot meet the health needs of all the citizenry, hence the need for effective partnership and collaboration for continual effective health service delivery across all levels.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The SOS Children’s Villages has embarked on a float through the principal streets of Tema as part of its 50th anniversary celebration.

Participants in the float used the occasion to educate?the public about the villages and the theme for the anniversary, which is?’50 Years of Transforming Life in Ghana.’

The first SOS children’s village was established in Tema in 1974, and three additional ones were built over the years in Asiakwa, Kumasi, and Tamale.

Madam Elizabeth Godwyll Ocloo, the Programmes Director for SOS Children’s Villages Tema Location, stated in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that apart from the villages, the institution also had other programmes to support families in the communities to care for their children.

Madam Ocloo disclosed that SOS’ family strengthening programme aims at supporting local communities in need and also ensuring that less privileged children had access to education, nutrition, and health services.

She added that through the collaboration of stakeholders
in the communities, SOS Children’s Villages could point out families that were vulnerable in the community and provide them with grants to expand their businesses to make them economically stable to care for their families.

She mentioned that SOS’ family-life care programme also provided home and parental care for children who were orphaned or did not have any parental care by taking full responsibility for their needs and well-being to ignite hope and joy in them for a brighter future.

‘We groom the children through our services with interventions that will help shape their future as they grow and contribute to the development of their communities and the country as a whole,’ she said.

Madam Ocloo also stated that SOS was committed to transforming lives in Ghana, explaining that under its Protecting the Future Project (PFP), the institution partners with other organisations to protect children against child labour.

She said that SOS at 50 was looking forward to helping solve the problem of unemployment a
mong the youth by providing the youth with employable and entrepreneurial skills.

She added that the institution had, over the years, transformed over 130,000 lives through its family strengthening programme, built 240,000 families, supported 100,0000 young people, and still has 61,240 children in other projects, with the help of Ghanaians and many international sponsors.

She said, however, that there was a need for them to raise funds locally to support their activities and urged organisations, the Government, and individuals to support them in all forms for them to achieve their goal of ‘safeguarding and protecting all children.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Albert Kofi Owusu, has said the credibility in the presentation of news is the hallmark of the Agency, which deepens its performance on the media landscape in the country.

He said the credibility harnessed in news presentation at the Agency was prime and consistent with the quality associated with it, indicating that the Agency would not compromise on this yield, as long as editorial policies of the Agency were concerned.

Mr Owusu said these when he addressed staff of the Agency in Tamale, while on duty tour to some offices of the Agency in Northern Ghana.

He underscored high level credibility associated with the GNA, emphasising that the Agency’s news was critical, and a reliable referral point for national and international institutions.

The CEO was emphatic on the readiness of the Agency to excel even in difficult times to maintain its unique posture in the media circles.

Mr Owusu who was accompanied by his Director of
Administration, Mr Joseph Baffoe, praised the staff in the Tamale office for holding a strong newsroom and producing quality stories to enhance the general output of the Agency’s news.

He advised them to be opened to more exclusives to ensure that their news shaped public opinion positively.

The CEO outlined various innovative strategies management had initiated on the progress of the Agency and said it was determined to flag the 2024 general election to let it be a referral point for credible, accurate and reliable elections news in the country.

Members of staff in the Tamale office took turns to contribute to the discussions and commended management for repeatedly seeking the welfare of staff and appealed to the CEO to use his connections to increase improvement in staff welfare to enhance productivity.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Fire officers drawn from the Maintenance Department at the Headquarters, Greater Accra, and Tema Regions have been trained on the use of the latest On-Board Diagnostic II (OBD II) machine that detects faults on vehicles and proffer solutions to the specific fault.

The OBD II is the latest of its kind in Ghana and it would help identify and replace specific faulty parts of the vehicles belonging to the Service.

A statement issued by the Ghana National Fire Service and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the training targeted 11 maintenance officers who were equipped with the capabilities of the machine to detect faults in the service appliances.

‘With this tool, technicians can swiftly identify and address issues before they escalate, ensuring that our fleet of vehicles remain in peak condition and ready to respond to emergencies at a moment’s notice.

‘We are the first Security Agency to acquire it for our light and heavy-duty vehicles,’ it stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency