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Stakeholders brainstorm on strategies to tackling hotspots’ threats ahead of elections


Stakeholders in the Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri and Yunyoo-Nasuan districts in the North East Region have discussed strategies to tackle potential threats at places identified as hotspots ahead of the 2024 general election.

The state and non-state actors did not only identify potential hotspots but mapped out strategies to engage targeted communities to be part of policing those areas.

Security heads, Assembly members and religious leaders among others participated in the brainstorming organised by the Good Governance, Justice and Peace Directorate of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), a faith-based organization.

It forms part of conflict sensitive planning and training to develop strategies to promote peace ahead of the general election.

The engagement formed part of the Integrated Peacebuilding for Improved Food and Nutrition Support project, with funding support from the MISEREOR and aimed at contributing to building peace structures within the Diocese.

They ident
ified places that had experienced land and chieftaincy disputes, civilian-security conflicts, emerging political party youth parliaments, and the Nakpanduri escarpment as hotspots that needed attention ahead of the election.

Mr Jacob Konlan, the District Coordinating Director for Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri, called for solutions to the driving factors of conflict so as to achieve the needed peace.

He mentioned chieftaincy and land disputes and natural resource sharing as major drivers of conflicts in the district.

‘This is an election year and some people may want to take advantage of these issues to create problems so we need to target and bring together the youth groups, chiefs, political leaders and CSOs and sensitise them through durbars and meetings, for them to appreciate the need for peace,’ he said.

He explained that the Nakpanduri escarpment was one of the potential hideout areas for criminals and the Assembly was working to establish a police post in the area to increase police presence to help fight
crime.

Reverend Father Yosef Giday, the Catholic Parish Priest for St. Simon Peter Parish, Nakpanduri, said the lack of succession plans and documents had been the major causes of the chieftaincy and land related issues and called on the chiefs to be more engaging.

Ahead of the 2024 general election, he said, there were so many porous borders within the districts and urged the stakeholders to collaborate and support the security agents to properly protect the borders.

‘We need to intensify community policing and the people need to support the security services by reporting strange characters within their communities to them,’ he said.

Dr Joseph Bangu, the Director, NABOCADO, noted that conflict sensitive planning was key to building peace among communities.

The project was aimed at reminding stakeholders of the need to prioritise peaceful coexistence in development planning and implementation , he said.

He admonished the stakeholders, particularly development-oriented ones, to employ community engagemen
t, mobilisation and sensitisation as key strategies to avoid activities that would lead to conflict.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Veteran Highlife musician George Darko dies aged 73


Ghanaian Highlife legend George Darko has died at the age of 73. The news of the ‘Akoo te Brofo’ hitmaker emerged on Wednesday morning, with the cause of death still unknown.

Popular music producer Fred Kyei Mensah announced the death of George Darko and wrote this on Facebook, ‘I just heard of your demise this morning, legendary George Darko of ‘Ako te brofo fame. You blazed the trail in Ghana’s music with the introduction of Burger Highlife.

‘It was nice that I worked with you on a number of projects, especially the provision of a rehearsal place and instruments for your live performances. How are the mighty falling? He was the head of my wife’s family in the Akropong Osaebrom family. Rest well. Still, good beads don’t rattle,’ he wrote.

George Darko, who is often regarded as the ‘King of Highlife,’ was an amazing guitarist who brought a contemporary feel to Ghanaian Highlife music in the early 1980s.

The composer and songwriter helped form the popular Bus Stop Band but went solo in 1988, having release
d numerous albums. The Highlife circles have been dealt a huge blow with the recent passing away of another legend, KK Kabobo, last week.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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NHIA working to curtail illegal payments in health facilities ?


The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) is working to stop illegal payments, popularly known as ‘copayment’, charged to clients with the Insurance Scheme (NHIS) at some health facilities.?

The conduct by some health service providers, as alleged by clients, in charging for services covered by the NHIS deemed as co-payment was illegal, and the scheme has issued warning letters to some of them while working closely with stakeholders to abort the practice.

‘Some of our members have expressed concern that they still pay for some services covered by the NHIS,’ says Mr Mohammed Awudu, the District Director of the NHIA in charge of Talensi and Nabdam, Upper East Region.

‘…And we are working to stop those illegal payments that are happening at some of the hospitals because it is affecting our members.’

‘The agreement we have with the service providers is that under the benefit package, they should give us 100 per cent of the services that we have agreed with them, and under no circumstances should they cha
rge for any services we have contracted with them’.

Mr Awudu revealed this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a data validation forum of research conducted by the Rural Initiative for Self-Empowerment Ghana in the Nabdam and Talensi districts.?

The research was to assess the utilisation of NHIS by pregnant women for Antenatal Care (ANC) services in the two districts.

Among the findings were that 17.3 per cent of pregnant women at Nabdam and 38.0 per cent at Talensi expressed concern over co-payments.

Also, 18.7 per cent in Nabdam and 5.3 per cent in Talensi were said to have limited knowledge of the NHIS policy coverage.

It revealed that 51.3 per cent of pregnant women in Nabdam and 33.3 per cent in Talensi were faced with the challenge of limited medicines using NHIS for antenatal care services.

More than half of the respondents (68.80%) were generally satisfied with services under the Scheme at Nabdam while 50 per cent at Talensi expressed satisfaction with accessing ANC se
rvices under the Scheme.

Mr Awudu said: ‘With regards to the limited knowledge on the NHIS policy coverage, what actually happens is that when we go to the community we carry out a holistic sensitisation and we don’t target only the pregnant women.’

‘What we do is that we sensitise the service providers, the midwives and the nurses who then educate the pregnant women during their ANC.’

He reiterated the Authority’s efforts at addressing the concerns and called on Ghanaians whose NHIS were inactive to renew while urging those yet to register to do so in order to enjoy the benefits.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Ho-Dome Queen Mother donates to HTH Emergency Unit


Mama Attrato II, Queen Mother of Ho-Dome in the Volta Region, has donated some items to the Accident and Emergency Ward of the Ho Teaching Hospital.

The donation, which included packs of soft drinks and bottled water, was a way to thank the doctors and nurses at the ward for their dedication to saving lives.

Mama Attrato told Ghana News Agency during the donation, that, the ward’s doctors and nurses played a crucial role in saving the lives of accident victims and other emergency patients.

She Noted that showing gratitude for their work was essential to inspiring them to keep giving their all in providing the public with high-quality healthcare services.

The medical professionals expressed their gratitude to the Queen Mother for acknowledging their efforts and providing support.

They promised to keep discharging their duties as effectively as possible to save lives.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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We remain committed to ensuring access to safe water for children- World Vision


Ahead of the 2024 World Water Day celebration, World Vision Ghana has renewed its commitment to ensuring that every child has access to safe water.

Mr Joshua Baidoo, Director for Integrated Programmes of World Vision, Ghana, said Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) played an essential role in ensuring children enjoyed life to the fullest, hence the commitment.

Mr Baidoo was speaking at a press soiree organised by World Vision Ghana in Accra on Tuesday.

The event was for World Vision Ghana and media organisations to bond well and pool resources and expertise together to drive and accelerate community and national development.

He said World Vision Ghana understood the issues of WASH and had prioritised the provision of safe drinking water in its programming for decades.

‘ The communities we work in now have access to clean and safe drinking water, reducing the incidence of water-borne illnesses such as diarrhoea and cholera, which can sometimes lead to child mortality,’ he said.

Mr Baidoo commended the m
edia as a great partner in raising the voices of the most vulnerable children, their families and communities that were desperately in need of clean and safe drinking water.

The Director said two years ago, World Vision Ghana launched a five-year strategic plan designed to expand its outreach to 3.3 million most vulnerable children with life-saving development interventions.

They are WASH services, quality education, health, food and nutrition, livelihood and income generations, child protection as well as environmental restoration concepts for Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration principles.

He said the strategy named: ‘Accelerating our Commitment to the Most Vulnerable Children’ also entailed systems strengthening at the national and sub-national level to facilitate the effective delivery of essential services for children and their families.

He said the strategy outlined three technical programmes as pillars for achieving the strategic objectives.

These are Healthy, Environment and Wellness (HEAL); Rea
ding, Improvement and Skills Enhancement (RISE) and Livelihood Improvement and Family Empowerment (LIFE).

He expressed the hope that the meeting would strengthen the collaborative efforts with the media and showcase World Vision’s technical competence in the various sectors.

Mr Robe L. Wamisho, Technical Programme Manager, WASH, said 85,200 people in communities were provided with access to safe drinking water while providing 19 health facilities with improved water facilities on-site.

He said 56,492 people gained access to improved household sanitation facilities with 77 communities certified as Open Defecation Free.

‘…38 schools with a total population of 11, 981 pupils were provided with clean water on their school premises and 27 schools also received waste bins for effective waste management,’ he added.

He said 298 water and sanitation management teams and 44 WASH school clubs were formed with 631 faith leaders involved in WASH programme activities.

Mr Samuel Gmalu, Programme Manager, Humanitarian
and Emergency Affairs, said 8,000 Asylum Seekers and host community members were reached with humanitarian assistance through the Burkina Faso Asylum Seekers Emergency Response.

He said 85 partners were trained in peace-building and conflict sensitivity programmes in the Gushiegu and Karaga Areas.

Mr Maxwell Amedi, Programme Manager, Food Security and Livelihoods said 290 new Saving for Transformation (S4T) Groups comprising 6,133 members caring for 15,394 children were formed and trained.

He said 4,792 Saving Group members were trained in financial literacy skills while training 1,072 individuals in additional livelihoods, including beekeeping, Shea, and groundnut processing was ongoing.

He said the LIFE technical programme sought to build and maintain peaceful, inclusive, and cohesive families and communities to promote love and justice for one million vulnerable children by 2025.

Mr Sasu Brako, Acting Programme Manager, RISE, said 4,2652 children were participating in unlock literacy interventions acr
oss World Vision Ghana’s programming areas.

He said 32,450 learners from kindergarten to primary three were reached with improved literacy instruction in 264 schools with 360 early childhood teachers and early grade teachers receiving in-service training in unlock literacy and learning roots methodology.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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‘Women at PATH Ghana’ Launched to invest in women and inspire progress


PATH Ghana, an international non-governmental organization has launched a group called ‘Women at PATH Ghana’ for its women staff to invest in them and inspire progress.

The group launched as part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day comprised of all women who work in the PATH Ghana office.

‘Women at PATH Ghana’ formed part of PATH’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategy, recognizing the needs of special groups of workers.

This signifies a noteworthy achievement in the organization’s unwavering dedication to empowering women and advancing progress.

It was on the theme ‘Invest in Women, Inspire Progress.’

Dr. Patience Cofie, the Country Director of PATH Ghana, expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the leadership and staff of PATH for the tremendous support shown towards the launch of ‘Women at PATH.’

‘Women at PATH’ seeks to advance gender equality and empowerment of women and create an inclusive environment where women could thrive and contribute meaningfully to building a soci
ety where health is available and accessible to all.’

Speaking on inclusivity as a fundamental value, the Country Director emphasized the significance of both men and women in advocating for gender equality and advancing women’s rights within the organization.

Mrs. Aline Adamou Barry, the DEI Program Assistant, said the objectives of ‘Women at PATH,’ include having a comprehensive plan to deal with gender issues, find a balance between work and personal life, and help women progress in their careers.

Mrs Barry emphasized the importance of creating a welcoming and supportive environment where women could learn from mentors, develop new skills, and connect with others.

Mrs Vera Karikari Bediako, the Principal Programme Officer, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, speaking on behalf of the Chief Director, congratulated PATH for the initiative and encouraged other organizations to emulate them.

While appreciating the Country Director of PATH for her leadership qualities called for the need to
establish a gender policy and a mentorship programme for young ladies.

Dr. Kwadwo Asante Afari, representing the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative asked PATH to establish a special space for women to refresh themselves and breastfeed their babies. ‘Continue to be a good partner in health research and interventions,’ he added.

Mrs. Sophia Ampofo, representing the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PPME), Ghana Health Service, presenting a poem titled, ‘leave her alone,’ urged women to embrace their individual journeys and fulfill their purpose in their generation.

PATH is an international non-governmental organization with a presence in 70 countries. PATH Ghana has been active for 15 years with several interventions in maternal, newborn and child health as well as non-communicable diseases, vaccines, and health policy advocacy.

Source: Ghana News Agency