New executives of Old Vandals Association take office

Story: Fauziatu Adam
The national alumni of the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana, the Old Vandals Association (OVA),  has sworn in its third executive committee in Accra on Monday.
Inaugurating the committee, His Lordship, Justice Anim Yeboah of the Supreme Court, advised the new executives not to intercede on behalf of the students anytime they were being criticised for going wrong.
He added that his expectation for the new executive was very high and urged members of the association to give their maximum support to the new executives.
He urged the executives to keep a good rapport with the Junior Common Room (JCR) to be able to update themselves with what happens in the hall.
The incoming national president of the Old Vandals Association, Alhaji Razak El-Alawa, appealed to all Vandals who are still students in the hall to exercise maximum restraint whenever they felt aggrieved.
"You must try as much as possible not to take the laws into your own hands but rather seek redress through various channels available to you" he said.
He assured them of his commitment and support during his reign, adding that, "we shall co-operate with each other to build a better image for our hall".
Commonwealth Hall is one of five halls of residence of the University of Ghana.
The first batch of students were admitted into residence in Commonwealth Hall at the beginning of 1956-1957 academic year.
In the Lent Term of that academic year, Ghana attained its independence from Great Britain and the hall, hitherto known as the Third Hall (because it was nameless), was officially christened Commonwealth Hall to commemorate Ghana's admission into the Commonwealth of Nations.
 The official opening of the Hall was performed in March, 1957. It is so far, the only all-male hall of residence in the university.

ADB to switch to e-banking in July

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) is to migrate onto a higher-grade Information Technology software to complete the process of achieving the e-banking application by the bank in July this year.
The Board Chairman of the ADB, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam, disclosed this at the inauguration of three new branches of the bank at the Danquah Circle and Nima in Accra and Kasoa in the Central Region yesterday.
He said the 2010 financial performance of the bank attested to the success of its new strategic direction.
"We reported a significantly improved performance in profits, returns on assets and equity and key balance sheet indicators. On the strength of the strong profit out-turn, the directors declared a dividend payment of 30 per cent or almost GH¢10 million to shareholders," he added.
Alhaji Adam further stated that the net worth of the bank improved by 17.8 per cent, as shareholders' fund increased to GH¢143.2 million.
He said the opening of the new branches was a continuation of the bank’s strategic nation-wide branch network expansion to increase the spread, reach, accessibility and visibility of the bank and also enhance service delivery and customer responsiveness throughout the ADB network.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Ashietey Armah, who also spoke at the ceremony, noted that the government had pursued prudent financial policies that had resulted in the attainment of macro-economic stability in the country.
"It is now up to the private and investor community to take advantage of the good foundation that we have laid over the past two years," he said.
"I have encouraged the assemblies in the region to go into joint business ventures with financial institutions to generate more revenue and employment opportunities," he added.
He appealed to ADB to consider increasing the level of support in the areas of education, health and the provision of social amenities, especially in deprived communities.
He advised the management and staff of  the bank to give customers first-class services.
The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Stephen Kpordzih, said the bank was on the way to developing end-to-end customer service delivery with new electronic, one-stop solutions, service quality monitoring and a commitment to service standards.
 

Man blows head with pump action gun

Story: Fauziatu Adam
A 65-year-old man, Daniel Kojo Boadu, yesterday committed suicide by blowing his head with a pump action gun in his room at Odorkor, a suburb of Accra.
Boadu, who had been threatening to kill himself for some time, according to his second son, quarrelled with his second wife in the morning yesterday, after which she left the house.
Later in the afternoon, he threatened to shoot himself and even gave a warning shot, but his children managed to take the gun from him and took the bullets out before giving the gun back to him.
Unknown to them, he had two bullets left in his pocket which he used to kill himself.
When the Daily Graphic got to the house of the deceased, the body had been removed to the morgue, with the family members left in a state of mourning.
Daniel Owusu, the second of Boadu’s 11 children, told the Daily Graphic that his father had been threatening to shoot himself for some months now.
He added that as a result of the threat, they took Boadu’s gun and sent it to his (Boadu’s) elder brother’s place and, therefore, wondered how the deceased got the gun again.
 The Crime Officer of the Kaneshie/Odorkor Divisional Police, Supt Baffuor Apenteng, confirmed the story.
He said the police were still investigating the incident.

Media asked to Fight for Freedoms- NMC chairman, Kabral Blay-Amihere

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, has called on the media to protect the freedoms guaranteed  them by the constitution so that they do not suffer a relapse into the dark days of the press in Ghana.
“Those acts of harassment, of oppression of the media belong to antiquity because we have multiple provision in the national constitution, in chapters 5 and 12 of our sacred document, which guarantees the freedom and independence of the media  and the right of Ghanaians to free speech,” he added.
Mr  Blay-Amihere made this call at the inauguration of the Board of Directors of the New Times Corporation (NTC) at the corporation’s head office in Accra last Thursday.
Inducting the new board, Mr Blay-Amihere charged the media to give equal coverage and equal opportunities to all political parties and their candidates, adding that the NMC enjoined the public media to give access to the president.
However, he added that the same act and ethics of journalism required that they give other presidential candidates their due.
The NTC board is chaired by Mr Clement Vanderpuije with Dr Dzisah Wilberforce, Ms Helena Asamoah-Hassan, Mr Gerald Ankrah, Mr Ebo Hawkson, Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusa, Major Albert Don Chebe (Retd), Mr J.E. Allotey-Pappoe and Mr Kofi Asuman, the Managing Director of NTC, as members.
He charged the state-owned media to lift themselves above the political divide and politicisation of news as the country approached the 2012 elections.
Mr Blay-Amihere noted that the once lucrative packaging department of the NTC had collapsed, leaving the corporation to depend on its three publications, namely Ghanaian Times, The Spectator and Sporting Times.
“The new board will find out very soon that these three publications are not generating that much revenue that can take care of staff welfare and sustain the very survival of the corporation,” he said.
He expressed the hope that the collective effort of the Board, Management and staff of the corporation would help it revive its fortunes.
“ The board must be sensitive to the concerns of workers as it embarks on this journey of the renewal of NTC to achieve its goals of maintaining industrial harmony,” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Managing Director of NTC, Mr Kofi Asuman, thanked the old board of directors and pledged his support and cooperation for the new board of directors.

Ecobank Inaugurates China Desk

Story: Fauziatu Adam
The Ecobank Group and the Bank of China have jointly opened the first China Desk at Ecobank Ghana to provide banking services to Chinese companies doing business in Ghana and to Ghanaian businessmen who have or want to do business in China.
The desk will be manned by two Chinese staff of the Bank of China and some Ecobank Ghana staff and will facilitate trade and investment between Ghanaian and Chinese businesses.
The China Desk is designed as an operational unit within Ecobank Ghana to offer on-hand business support and trade facilitation located  within African countries where Ecobank is in existence.
The desk is a manifestation of an agreement between Ecobank and the Bank of China in 2009 and the subsequent signing of a pact in July, 2010.
The Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Samuel Adjei, notes that the significance of the desk is based on records available at the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), which indicate that trade and investment between Ghana and China reached $2.05 billion last year, jumping from $1.3 billion in 2009.
“This is the first time trade between Ghana and any country has crossed the two-billion-dollar mark and that is very significant for both countries.”
“Records at the GIPC also show that Chinese companies top the list of registered companies in Ghana in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI),” he said.
Mr Adjei also noted that China’s foreign direct investment (FDI) has also grown by 80 per cent in recent years, with the scope of investment spanning mining ICT/telecommunication, manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.
He said the China Desk would, therefore, provide an opportunity for the Bank of China to provide more focused solutions for its clients in Ghana and also allow Ecobank to expand its business in China.
The Executive Director of Corporate Banking at the Ecobank Group, Mr Albert Essien, told Adom News that the volume of trade and investment between China and Ghana now is one of the highest so there was a need for more proactive measures like the China Desk that Ecobank had opened.
He said the desk would provide a bouquet of banking services such as loans, project funding and other support services to both Chinese and Ghanaian business persons whose activities have mutual benefits for Ghana and China.
“In the coming months, we will open similar desks in all 32 African countries that Ecobank operates in,” he said.
Trade Minister, Hannah Tetteh, urged Chinese investors in Ghana not to focus only on trade but also on investing in the processing of raw materials in Ghana.
She reminded them that Ghana was now focusing on processing more of its raw materials and adding value to them before exporting, so the government was willing to support investors who would focus more on the government’s vision than on those who are only interested in buying and selling.
Ms Tetteh stated that even though trade between Ghana and China had reached record high, in terms of the financial value, there was a huge disparity in terms of benefits, and that “Chinese businesses are benefiting more than Ghanaians are.”
“I hope Ghanaian businesses will take advantage of the platform provided by Ecobank to close the gap as much as possible,” she said.
The minister lauded Ecobank for the initiative and expressed the hope that other banks in the country would emulate them.
The Economic Counsellor of the Bank of China, Mr Gao Wenzhi, said the collaboration between the two banks was of great importance to their businesses, both in and outside Africa.
The Head of Banking Supervision at the Bank of Ghana, Mr Nicholas Sai, also lauded Ecobank but urged the bank to manage the risks involved more effectively to prevent unforeseen challenges. He also pledged the BOG’s support for such initiatives.
The Ecobank Group Chief Executive, Mr Arnold Ekpe, said the initiative was significant for Chinese-Africa co-operation, adding that the desk was open to Chinese companies in the rest of Africa and also to Ghanaian businesses with interests in China.

Public asked to adhere to prescriptions

Story: Fauziatu Adam
GHANA yesterday joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Heath Day, with a call on the public to strictly adhere to guidelines concerning the prescription, dispensing and use of drugs.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, who made the call, advised various health professionals to help in educating the public on the use and misuse of drugs.
The theme for this year’s event was: “Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow”. 
Launching the celebration, Mr Mettle-Nunoo said a study in the country had shown that there was, indeed, antimicrobial resistance and that a significant extent of resistance existed among the most common and affordable antibiotics such as ampicillin, co-trimoxazole and chloramphenicol.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is resistance of a micro-organism to an antimicrobial medicine to which it was previously sensitive.
 Resistant organisms include bacteria, viruses and some parasites which are able to withstand attack by antimicrobial medicines such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials, so that standard treatment becomes ineffective and infections persist and may spread to others.
About 440,000 new cases of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) emerged annually, causing at least 150,000 deaths in the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Inappropriate and irrational use of medicines provides favourable conditions for resistant micro-organisms to emerge and spread
In a message to mark the occasion, the WHO called for concerted action to halt the spread of antimicrobial resistance and recommended a six-point policy package for governments.
The package underscores the need for all key stakeholders, including policy makers and planners, the public and patients, practitioners and prescribers, pharmacists and dispensers and the pharmaceutical industry, to act and take responsibility for combating antimicrobial resistance.

Ghana is in danger zone of thunderstorms

Story: Fauziatu Adam & Jack Morphet
GHANA is more prone to thunder strikes than other West African countries, according to a Spanish lightning protection company, Aplicaciones Technologicas (AT).
The country is reported to have 10 lightning strikes per square kilometre in a year due to its closeness to the Equator, thereby placing it in the danger zone of thunderstorms.
At the launch of a new lightning protection product in Accra yesterday, the Marketing and Distribution Development Manager of AT, Mr Pablo Gracia, said the new technology could protect larger areas and predict lightning strikes better than traditional methods.
“This new technology monitors the electricity in the air to prevent death and equipment damage, as well as provide protection for large areas around a structure, not just the structure itself,” he added.
He said in other parts of the world where the technology was already in operation, it protected airports, places of worship, financial institutions, military compounds, high-rise buildings, football fields and houses.
The Chairman of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Council, Alhaji Ahmadu Sorogho, said the first issue that must be addressed was obtaining certification from the Ghana Standards Board and the GNFS.
“We will do our best to give AT all the legal backing we can, provided that it meets certification standards, because I know for sure that this technology will benefit our country,” he said.
“It is easier to destroy buildings than to build them, so if we can protect destruction, that is a good thing, especially as we are challenged by an energy crisis where there are power surges affecting and damaging people’s equipment,” he added.
The company, which was established in 1986, offers increased external protection using lightning rods and earthing lines to protect structures and people from direct lightning strikes.
It also offers internal protection against lightning electromagnetic impulses for electronic equipment, welding and preventative protection that detect lightning and alerts people conducting dangerous activities such as fuelling aeroplanes or playing golf.

AIDS menace on the rise

FRONT PAGE STORY, DAILY GRAPHIC
Story: Fauziatu Adam
Current estimates indicate that 267,000 Ghanaians, including 25,000, children are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the International Health Care Centre (IHCC).
What is even frightening is that 2,500 Ghanaians are infected with the virus and 2,000 deaths are recorded annually.
Dr Naa Ashiley Vanderpuije, a health expert at the IHCC which manages AIDS cases, made this known at a workshop organised on HIV/AIDS for opinion leaders in Muslim communities in Accra.
The workshop was funded by the African Women's Fund and initiated by Yada da Allah, a Muslim women’s outreach organisation, and the Muslim Women and AIDS Association of Ghana.
The estimates are consistent with projections by the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) from 2009 to 2015.
In its National HIV Prevalence and AIDS Estimates 2009-2015 Report, the NACP projected that the country's HIV prevalence was expected to rise gradually from 267,069 in 2009 to 280,219 in 2011.
That is due to the combined effects of population growth and an increasing number of HIV-infected persons who are living on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
According to the report, 22,177 new infections were registered in 2009, while 20,313 AIDS deaths were recorded, with 26,150 new infections and 17,046 deaths being projected for 2011.
Addressing the workshop, Dr  Vanderpuije said people living with the virus could also play an important role in limiting its spread and, therefore, stigmatising them would not help them progress in society.
"They can help prevent further infections and improve the quality of their own lives through positive behavioural change. People who have HIV but who are not yet ill can live full and productive lives. People living with HIV/AIDs should not be stigmatised or discriminated against. Rather, they deserve our compassion, care and support," she added.
She called on leaders in all sectors to do their part to limit the spread of HIV.
"If our leaders — political, religious, business, non-governmental, community, district and all others — individually and collectively do their part, I am convinced that we can change the course of this epidemic and limit its impact on the development effort in Ghana," she noted.
The President of Yada da Allah, Mrs Mariam Yussif, said the main aim of the workshop for opinion leaders in the Muslim community was to sensitise them to the virus and what they could do to prevent it.
She added that stigmatisation of HIV/AIDs patients was very rampant in communities, hence the need to reach out to the leaders of the communities to enable them to disseminate the message to the people.

First private home for aged inaugurated

Story: Fauziatu Adam, Adelakpo
The first-ever privately owned residential home for the aged has been inaugurated at Adelakpo, near Akuse Junction in the Eastern Region.
Funded by Facta International of Holland and Altinmarka of Turkey, the home, christened “Darlings Villa”, will also provide support for childless widows and care for the elderly who have been abandoned by their families.
Currently the home has seven rooms with four beds each to provide accommodation for 28 old people at a time.
Altinmarka is the biggest cocoa processing and chocolate manufacturing company in Turkey while Facta International is a Dutch Commodities Trading Company.
The Chief Executive Officer of Darlings, Miss Comfort  Ayisibea Tettey, said  this was just the first phase of a project by Darlings Villa, which would begin operations officially in June, this year.
To identify and mobilise widows in the catchment area of the home, Miss Tettey said four widows clubs had been established by the Darlings Human Development Foundation (DHDF), a non-governmental and non-profit organisation, in the Agona East, Bunkpurugu Yunyoo, Akuapim North and the Yilo Krobo districts.
For his part, Mr Paul Koopmans, the Managing Director of Facta International, expressed his appreciation to Darlings Foundation for its commitment towards the execution of the project and expressed the hope that the joint effort by the two sponsoring companies would go a long way to help the Ghanaian society.
The Chief of Staff, Mr John Henry Martey Newman, unveiled the plaque to inaugurate the home.
DHDF was established in 1998 with the main objective of integrating the disadvantaged in society into the mainstream of national socio-economic framework.
Darlings over the years has engaged in caring for the aged especially widows, children, and the youth in the rural communities around the country.

Four NGOs dispute NHIS figures

 FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE number of Ghanaians who have been registered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) is generating controversy between the NHIS and four non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
While the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) claims that about 65 per cent of Ghanaians are registered under the scheme, the four NGOs say only 18 per cent of Ghanaians are registered under it.
According to them, what was even more alarming was that 64 per cent of the rich in the country had been registered under the scheme, compared to just 29 per cent of the poor.
The NGOs are the International Social Development Centre (ISODEC), the Alliance for Reproductive Health (ARH), Essential Platform and the international aid agency, Oxfam.
The NGOs challenged the registration figures of the NHIS and made a scathing overview of the scheme at the launch of the universal access to quality health care advocacy paper in Accra on Wednesday.
The executive summary of the report stated that although every Ghanaian paid for the NHIS through VAT, as many as 82 per cent remained excluded from the scheme.
The report said those excluded from the NHIS still paid user fees in the cash-and-carry system and indicated that 25 years after fees for health was introduced by the World Bank, millions of citizens were being excluded from health care.
It estimated that 36 per cent of health spending was wasted due to inefficiencies and poor investments.
"Moving away from health insurance administration alone could save US$83 million each year, enough to pay 23,000 nurses," it further stated.
The report suggested that the government could afford to increase spending on health by 200 per cent to US$54 per capita by 2015 through savings, good quality aid but primarily through improved progressive taxation of Ghana's own resources, especially oil.    
Contesting the report, the Deputy Corporate Affairs Manager of the NHIA, Mr Ametor Quarme, told the Daily Graphic that the claim by the NGOs that only 18 per cent of Ghanaians had registered under the NHIS could not be accurate.
From the records of the NHIA, he said, as many as 15.5 million people, representing 65 per cent of the population, had registered under scheme.
He said it was unfortunate that the NGOs did not contact the NHIA for any information, nor did their report disclose the source of the information which formed the basis for their conclusions.
Mr Quarme said the NHIA registered children under 18 in the name of their mothers and gave them one card, noting that the NGOs might have failed to take into account that arrangement.
On the issue of the registration of more rich people than the poor, Mr Quarme said the NHIA did not register policy holders on the basis of their economic and financial situation.

ADB holds thanksgiving service

Story: Fauziatu Adam
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has organised its first end-of-year thanksgiving service to thank God for the lives of the staff and customers of the bank and pray for God's guidance and protection.
The Presiding Priest in charge of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Abelenkpe, Rev Father Richard Aziati, who delivered the sermon, urged workers of the bank to create a positive image among their colleagues, so that "when you leave one day you will be remembered positively".
"Immediately you are given your appointment letter, the clock begins to tick and your countdown begins. Be conscious of the fact that the clock begins to tick and create a positive image among your colleagues," he said.
He advised the workers to love everybody and not discriminate against anybody.
He also asked them to forgive those who offended them and ask for forgiveness from those whom they offended.
Rev Father Aziati encouraged the staff to work and make profit, citing the Bible quotation, "Multiply, be fruitful and subdue the earth".
"As members of ADB, you should follow the rules and regulations of the company and not to go anywhere the company forbids you to go," he added.
He reminded them that money was the root of all evil and tasked them to pray for God's guidance to fight the temptation of embezzling the funds of the company.
He asked them to take care of their souls and not to sell them for the love of money, since their souls would move on even if they died.
"The body will rot, but the soul continues to move on and it will be judged on the day of reckoning," Rev Father Aziati noted.
The thanksgiving service ended with prayers for the lives of Ghanaians and the world at large.

Let’s contribute to minimise mental illness

Article: Fauziatu Adam
IT is widely believed that mental illnesses are caused by supernatural or evil forces that could be best cured by traditional medicine or spiritual prayers. It is common for a patient to be removed from a hospital by a relative and taken to a traditional or spiritual healer.
This psychiatric practice has existed for more than a century in Ghana. In some situations it is not known if the patient’s recovery could be attributed to medication or the intervention of the traditional healer or both.
In the ninetieth century, patients suffering form mental illness in the then Gold Coast were kept in prisons. Before this period, mental patients were left to fend for themselves or sent to traditional healers to be cured.
The colonial government in 1888 under Sir Edward Griffiths passed a legislative instrument (The Lunatic Asylum Ordinance), to establish an asylum in a vacated High Court building in Accra.
 It was not until 1904 that the Accra Psychiatric Hospital was built and officially commissioned in 1906, which was to accommodate 200 patients. During that period psychiatric treatment was primarily in the form of custodial care.
 The Accra Psychiatric Hospital has undergone major expansion in the past 105 years and currently houses about 1200 inmates; Half of them are cured but still living in the hospital because their relatives have abandoned them, and some others have no home to go to.
There were extensive changes to the hospital buildings, and staff training and recruitment were expanded. Other reforms introduced were the removal of chains from the legs of patients, refraining from punishing patients and discouraging isolation.
Currently, the hospital lacks resources in terms of staff, finances, drugs, among others, making it difficult for the few medical team there to attend to patients promptly.
Accessibility to psychiatric care
With a population of 24 million, and three psychiatric hospitals with 1200 beds, the ratio of one bed to 20,000 persons is glaringly insufficient. There is the uneven accessibilty of mental hospitals in the country since all three mental hospitals are located in the southern part of the country. It is no wonder then that some patients or their relatives would rather seek help from traditional sources, not only because of their cultural or religious beliefs in the cause of psychiatric illness, but because of easy or inexpensive access to traditional healers who live in their community.
When I visited the Accra Psychiatric hospital, Dr Osei took me to three wards. Two special wards -one for male patients and the other one for the female patients and the normal ward for only male patients. Before we went to the wards, the doctor asked me if I could stand what I was about to see.
Sincerely, that question alone got me frightened. We went to the special ward for the male which was also called the forensic ward, there were four staff attending to the needs of 232 male patients. There were two male nurses and two health assistants. The other male ward called the acute ward had 126 patients with only 49 beds and four nurses attending to them at the time of the visit. The largest female ward also had 112 patients taken care of by five nurses.
The food alone could send signals that the patients were treated like criminals. Most of them were fighting over the food I would not give to my pet. Moreover, the place was congested and I was told that most of them slept outside and when it rains the situation really gets worse.
According to Dr Osei, the World Health Organisation (WHO), requires that mental healthcare should start from self care through informal community care, primary healthcare, community health service, regional and finally to long stay facilities. He, however, noted that the reversed situation prevailed in Ghana.
"This situation if not corrected would spell doom for the country," he cautioned.
The pending Mental Health Bill, which he said had been hailed by the WHO as one of the best legislation worldwide, seeks to ensure that adequate provision of resources has nine parts, consisting of a mental health board, a Service, a Review Tribunal (to review mental cases), Visiting Committee, Voluntary Treatment and involuntary treatment.
The other parts of the Bill are the Rights of a Person (to take a look at human right abuses and discrimination associated with mental health), Protection of the Vulnerable Group and miscellaneous provisions. The Bill would also de-emphasise institutional care and help place mental care on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He charged the media to put the government through the Ministry of Health on it toes to ensure the passage of the Bill, adding that the poor state of mental rights, protection of mental patients were justification for its passage.

Solutions:
With the pending bill which is likely to be passed soon, government should make sure that the contents of the bill are implemented. It is not only the passage of the bill that can enforce the implementation.
There is the need for the provision of adequate infrastructure and logistics for the training of community psychiatric nurses to encourage community healthcare with the view of bringing patients closer to their families for them to feel a part of society.
It is only through such realistic steps that the nation can avoid the danger we would all be exposed to if cured mental patients make the psychiatric hospitals their eternal home.
The government should help in the decentralisation of treatment of mental patients, and also establish mental health departments in all the general and community hospitals across the country to help provide easy access for mental health treatment in the country.
Furthermore, families tend to neglect their relatives who happen to find themselves in such situations because of the stigmatisation of mental patients.
Indeed, stigmatisation, as well as the lack of understanding of mental illness in the country, is one major problem that worsens the mental illnesses. There is, therefore, the need for more education on mental health to enhance the public’s understanding of the issue to erase the perception of the public on mental illness.
Stigmatisation is natural in every human being but it can be controlled.
According to Dr Osei, "if we are able to embark on a massive public education against stigmatisation, then it would be reduced”.
Community care is critical in mental treatment, since, according to health experts, it makes patients feel a part of the community, instead of being chained in hospitals. But this demands the training of more staff to perform the enormous task.
The media goes a long way in influencing the lives of people. The media is there to basically educate, inform and entertain the public. It should also liaise with mental institutions in the country to inform people and the various institutions about mental illnesses and what it comes with.

CANCER SCARE. 1200 Children get it every year

 FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
Story: Fauziatu Adam
IT is estimated that 1,200 children aged between 0-15 years are infected with cancer in Ghana every year.
According to the President of the Robert Mitchell Memorial Cancer Foundation, Mrs Emma Mitchell, the situation was aggravated by the ignorance of some parents to take their children to the nearest hospital when symptoms of the illness were detected in their children.
What was even alarming, she said, was the fact that the survival rate in the country was 20 per cent, compared to 70-80 per cent in developed countries.
According to her, health experts had maintained that childhood cancers could be cured, provided prompt and essential treatment was accessible.
Mrs Mitchell, a former minister of state and now a Member of the Council of State, therefore, advised parents to immediately report to health specialists for early detection and cure when they detected signs such as prolonged fever, loss of weight and appetite, fatigue, easy bruising or bleeding in their children.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic after a float had been organised by the foundation along selected streets of Accra to create awareness of childhood cancer, Mrs Mitchell explained that lack of knowledge and inadequate medical facilities were some of the contributory factors responsible for the alarming rate of the disease in the country.
Cancer is a class of diseases characterised by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer and each is classified by the type of cell that is initially affected.
Cancer harms the body when damaged cells divide uncontrollably to form lumps or masses of tissue called tumours (except in the case of leukaemia in which cancer prohibits normal blood function by abnormal cell division in the blood stream).
Tumours can grow and interfere with the digestive, nervous and circulatory systems and they can release hormones that alter body function.
Tumours that stay in one spot and demonstrate limited growth are generally considered to be benign.
Dr Juliana Mitchell of the Child Health Department at the  Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital advised against the use of pesticides at close range to children because pesticides were associated with acute myeloid leukaemia.
Dr Mitchell, a daughter of Mrs Mitchell, said pollution of the environment, continuous infection of malaria, hepatitis and other diseases such as HIV/AIDS could precipitate cancer diseases.

Accra Psychiatry Hospital repatriates more cured inmates

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE Accra Psychiatric Hospital has so far repatriated 112 cured inmates as part of the ongoing decongesting exercise by the hospital authorities.
The third batch of cured mental patients, comprising 10 patients from the Greater Accra Region and 15 from the Eastern Region, would be sent to their homes.
Two of the cured patients who were sent home under the decongesting exercise have been returned to the hospital. One of the two was said to have resorted to the use of cannabis (wee) after he had been released to his relatives.
In interviews with some of the cured patients, Abraham Borketey said he had been on admission at the hospital for six weeks now.
“I was fighting with my relatives over a piece of land and they brought me here, thinking I was mad because I became very violent over that land. The sad thing is that they never visited me. I am happy I am going home today and promise never to fight again,” he said.
Another patient, Noel Tetteh, has been at the hospital for one month.
“I do not know why I was even brought here. I come from Kpone around Tema. My family members brought me because of something I could not even explain. But I am happy I am going home. Unfortunately, my family members do not know that I am coming home,” he said.
For Aku, a cured patient, she was reluctant to go home. She refused to enter the bus and but for a little persuasion and promises from the authorities that they would come for her some time later, she would not have entered the bus.
So far, 70 patients have been transported by the hospital to their respective homes, while relatives of 42 patients have come for them.
The Chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr Akwasi Osei, said the exercise would continue for the next two weeks, noting that it would help the patients reintegrate into society.
  “The longer they remain in the hospital, the more difficult it becomes for them to reunite with society,”  he said.

Mental Institution to collaborate with sister instiution

The Accra Psychiatric Hospital is to collaborate with the Kaduna Neuro Psychiatric Hospital in Nigeria to expose the staff of the former hospital to new techniques of providing proper mental health care.
The relationship, which is to start by June this year, will kick-start with five staff of the hospital.
The Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, told the Daily Graphic that the relationship would enable the beneficiaries to share knowledge and experience to enrich their expertise in the administration of mental health at the hospital.
He added that the second batch of cured inmates of the hospital were sent home on Wednesday as part of the exercise to decongest the hospital.
Dr Osei said the second batch, numbering 30, was made up of 25 males and five females.
 He said the Kaduna Neuro Psychiatric Hospital had a doctor-patient ratio of 20:80 and described the state of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital as “an apology of a mental health institution” because of its low staff strength and serious congestion.
When the Daily Graphic visited the Male Special Ward which treats forensic cases, it realised that there were 232 patients and only four members of staff attending to them.
Their living conditions could be compared to those of slaves at the Elmina or the Cape Coast Castle before their shipment abroad.
Dr Osei, however, said the last operation had been a success, adding that 21 patients had been sent back to their families, two inmates could not recognise their houses as a result of the vast development in their areas, while seven others were taken by their family members at the hospital.
The two patients who could not recognise their houses would be taken to the Department of Social Welfare to locate their family members, he noted.
He said community nurses in the respective communities had been tasked to regularly check on the patients.
Dr Osei said the exercise would help the patients to reintegrate into society, saying, “The longer they remain in the hospital, the more difficult it becomes for them to reintegrate into society.”
He said similar exercises the hospital had embarked on in the past involving 90 cured inmates had been successful except for three patients, one of whom could not trace his family.
“Not all patients will be accepted by their relatives because of stigmatisation but at least a chunk of them will be sent home to their relatives and this will decongest the hospital,” he stated.

Nima to get clean water

Story: Fauziatu Adam
THE sod has been cut for work to begin on a community water supply system for Nima.
The project, which is being financed by the Co-operative Housing Foundation (CHF) International and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), forms part of a three-year programme to provide five communities with potable water.
The project is expected to be completed by next year.
The $4.5-million project consists of the construction and mechanisation of a borehole, the construction of a pump house, the installation of two overhead storage tanks with two standpipes and multi taps and the construction of one Aqualite treatment plant.
The project is expected to be constructed by Olivatus Company Limited, a private construction company, and it is to provide potable water for the people of Nima, Avenor and Newtown in Accra.
 A similar project is to be undertaken in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis to supply water to Kojokrom and New Takoradi.
The Member of Parliament for East Ayawaso, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, who did the sod-cutting, underscored the importance of water to economic growth, development and, indeed, life.
He said the project could be seen as a very major step in fulfilling the dream of providing the beneficiary communities with adequate water.
He noted that in view of the reliance on streams, rivers and other unsafe sources of water, with the attendant adverse effects on health, the government increased support for the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to ensure safer water in rural areas and efficiency in urban water supply.
He said as a demonstration of that commitment, the CWSA received its highest budgetary allocation last year, while the five per cent various communities contributed to the total capital cost was abolished.
However, he said the regularity and quality of water supply was not guaranteed, especially in urban areas, due to frequent shortage and storage in unhygienic containers.
He, therefore, emphasised the need to set up a system to collect adequate data on water supply on a regular basis.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Alfred  Vanderpuije, urged residents of Nima to seek assistance from CHF International for their toilet facilities, since the CHF was willing to assist to construct toilets for the community.
The Country Director of the CHF International, Mr Sandrine Capelle-Manuel, said the foundation initiated the WASH-UP programme to improve water supply and sanitation infrastructure and governance through innovative and sustainable development.
“USAID recognises that although urbanisation increasingly concentrates poverty, it also provides possibilities for escaping it,” he noted.
He added that urban communities continued to grow in Ghana and that had brought about the challenge of providing adequate water supply and basic sanitation services.

5,000 To benefit from maths, science scholarship scheme

FIVE thousand students from various second-cycle institutions will this academic year benefit from the Mathematics, Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme (MSTSS) initiated by the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.
The scheme is aimed at increasing the enrolment of students studying Mathematics, Science and Technology in various institutions across the country.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, announced this at the official launch of a website for the Ghana Mathematics Society (GMS) in Accra yesterday.
She added that the ministry had established the Ghana Space Science and Technology Centre and the Implementation of African Square Kilometre Array Programme to encourage universities in the country to introduce Bachelor of Science programmes in Astronomy and Astrophysics.
She attributed the lack of interest in Mathematics among the youth to the notion that it was a difficult subject and the wrong methodologies that had turned many students away from Mathematics at a very tender age.
She called for a change of attitude towards Mathematics among the youth and urged teachers to adopt methodologies that would encourage and motivate students to like to study the subject.
"The subject can be made attractive to students when greater emphasis is laid on its applications through practical and analytical thinking," she added.
Mrs Ayittey assured the GMS of the ministry's support to promote Mathematics education in the country and Africa as a whole.
"As a ministry responsible for Environment, Science and Technology, we do recognise the importance of Mathematics in contributing towards the achievement of the better Ghana agenda, hence the need to encourage institutions such as the GMS to promote Mathematics in the country," she added.
The President of the GMS, Prof Sitsofe E. Anku, said the reason many students shied away from Mathematics was the way it was taught and not the subject itself.
"Mathematics is doable, can be fun and loveable. That is why we at the GMS are on a mission to revamp Mathematics education in Ghana by rekindling interest in the subject to the extent that students show a natural love for Mathematics," he said.

SAD CASE OF CURED MENTAL PATIENTS.

FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
 Story: Fauziatu Adam
SIX hundred inmates of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital who have been cured of their mental illnesses are to face forced ejection from the hospital next week.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the Chief Psychiatrist, Dr Akwasi Osei, said the 600 inmates had all been declared fully recovered and discharged from the hospital but they had refused to leave and make way for other patients.
Consequently, the hospital has declared a special exercise, dubbed ‘Operation 600 Patients Home’, under which patients who have long recovered but refused to go home will be forcibly sent to their families.
The Accra Psychiatric Hospital was built in 1906. It has capacity for 800 patients but currently houses 1,200 inmates, including the 600 who have been declared cured.
The chief psychiatrist was emphatic that the exercise would be sustained over the next six months to create space for the hundreds of patients, some wandering the streets of the city, who were unable to conveniently access mental health care at the facility as a result of the current congestion there.
“Those patients who have been fully cured of their ailments and are eating and living on our premises will be sent home, wherever they come from,” he stressed.
Dr Osei told the Daily Graphic that the exercise would pave way for an in-house patient system, adding that the hospital would consequently encourage community health care that would enable patients to be closer to their families and feel a part of society.
“The stigmatisation of mental patients is one problem that the public must try to avoid, since it does not help the patients to recover and, as happened in Tema recently, this can cause the death of patients,” he stressed.
On the passage of the Mental Health Bill, Dr Osei said the Ministry of Health would meet the Parliamentary Committee on Health to discuss issues concerning the bill.
He called on the government to put in the needed logistics and resources to enable the staff of psychiatric hospitals in the country to work efficiently, adding that if that was done, the youth in particular would find interest in applying to study at their training schools and subsequently work with them.
On Thursday, April 1, 2010, President John Evans Atta Mills paid a surprise visit to the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and assured the medical staff and the patients there that the government would improve upon the procurement of medicines and other facilities for better care of mental patients.

Minority critcises government on fuel prices

 FRONT PAGE STORY (DAILY GRAPHIC)
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Fauziatu Adam
THE Minority in Parliament has chastised the government for failing to keep its 2008 campaign promise and its manifesto declaration of “drastically” reducing petroleum prices if voted into power.
Reacting to the recent hikes in the prices of petroleum products, the Minority reminded Ghanaians that the NDC had cumulatively increased the prices of petroleum products by 70 per cent since it assumed office, even though the global price of crude oil had not risen more than 50 per cent.
Addressing  a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Minority Spokesperson on Energy, Mr Joseph Kofi Addah, said the NDC had, over the past two years, not demonstrated to Ghanaians that it had ideas to help the growth of the country.
He compared the situation now to the past administration and explained that former President John Agyekum Kufuor had resolved to pass on any further price increases to consumers if the world price of crude oil were to go beyond $120 per barrel.
“Today, with the world price of oil only in the $80 per barrel range, the NDC administration is quick to point to global increases in petroleum prices as one of the reasons for this increase,” he stated.
Touching on hedging, Mr Addah said by October 2010 the NDC government had said it had dealt with the problems concerning crude oil purchases to protect Ghanaians from increases in the global price of crude oil.
“As we speak, however, we do not know how Ghana has fared in the venture. If Ghanaians were, indeed, protected against any further price increases through this hedging, then why are we soon having to pay higher prices because of global price increases when, indeed, such has not been near 30 per cent?” he questioned.
He said into the third year of the NDC administration, Ghanaians could not see any creative policy initiative that sought to add value to what had been left by the NPP administration.
He explained that the NDC, on the one hand, had continued the policies and programmes of the NPP, while, on the other, it had worsened the situation of hardships rooted in high taxes and increased prices of commodities such as petroleum products, as well as vital services such as utilities.
On issues concerning the TOR debt, Mr Addah charged the government to account accurately to Ghanaians.
He said the government gave eight conflicting figures on the TOR debt in 2009 and 2010, explaining that that was inefficiency on the part of the government to get the right figure to justify the TOR debt.
He recalled the open attacks on the NPP administration by the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) when petroleum prices were increased and accused the CJA of siding with the government because of its silence over the recent increase in petroleum prices.
Mr Addah urged Ghanaians not to allow themselves to be deceived again when the time came for them to decide on who they wanted to govern the country.

MY 2010

Well,well! Recollecting what happened in 2010 might be difficult or might not be at all. 2010 started on a very good note.
The year started a little bit dull for me. I travelled to the Eastern Region with my friends on Campus and spent the night there. The second semester in the second year started with hiccups in class and in my love life.
Love really frowned on me in the early months of the year. Still, during those months, I had the worst skin disease I could ever imagine on my body. Crowded with my project work to complete my course on GIJ, I had to take care of the nemesis on my skin which made me shy away from public.
I must confess, that was the worst moments of my life. Early 2010 was hell. Now the first quarter of the year ended with the quest to have my beautiful skin back and the quest to excel in my academic work.
In fact, Love has not been fair to me this year. The second quarter of the year was a sad one for me. My loved one eventually lost his dad at the time I was struggling to complete my  course and my project work on campus.
I agree I was not supportive at all. Moreover I did not even accept any love from anyone. You might think I am not that caring but I really I did not even have time for myself.
With the hope of starting the third and last quarter of the year with bliss and glamour, I was  faced with some other things. National Service!!!!
The ability to serve your nation with little allowance. Some call it national suffering but I have not thought of a name yet  for it. But manybe you might suggest a name for me! Many things really happened that are better left untold.
Remember, they say, curiosity killed the cat and I don’t want to lose any of my favourite and curious readers to the icy hands of death.
Well the last quarter came with work, work, work. Less time to hangout with friends and less time to watch television. This was the trying time for me. With temptations here and there, and the zeal to excel in the field I find myself, I tell you guys, it has not been a piece of sweet cake for me.
 With many marriage proposals knocking on my door, and a kind of serious and a big woman lifestyle, I guess I couldn’t ask for more. I jus tried my possible best to be the best that I can be.
Making of new friends and learning of new  things in the field of journalism has been fun and very very hectic. I must confess, I chased soli small. Ha ha ha. That is just by the way. Only those in journalism would understand what I am talking about.
What do I hope for next year? I think, it takes a good planner to figure out what would happen to moi next year. Do not guy, I will release my new year resolution in January. But for now I am gonna catch some fun for the ending of the year.
And to all those who have made my year fun, I say Ayeekoo. And to the enemies I have made, that is, if I have made some, May Allah bless y’all. To those I have offended, please forgive me. I am human and bound to make mistakes and even bound to offend people. I know I am even offending you right now but please forgive me anyway.
And to those I have rejected their marriage proposals and am about to reject them, please! Allah has already destined your future wives to you who are a thousand and one times better than me and Allah alone knows best for us all.
WELL HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYZ. Till we meet again next time. SALAAM!