Category: General

The Bongo and Kassena-Nankana West District Directorates of the Ghana Health Service have received sanitation and hygiene materials and Personal Protective Equipment to boost their efforts at preventing infection at health facilities. The items valued at about GH?170,000.00 included carbolic soap, hand drying materials, surgical gloves, medical masks, sanitary pads, laboratory coats, hand sanitizers, safety box, chlorine solutions, leak proof bags, disposable long sleeves gowns, long brushes, water proof aprons, tissue paper, mops, brooms, bleach, dustbins among others. The gesture was by WaterAid Ghana, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) focused organisation under the five-year project dubbed 'Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) funded by Global Affairs Canada. The implementation of the project is by a consortium led by Right to Play, Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), WaterAid Ghana and FHI360 with the aim of creating enabling environment for adolescents to access sexual and reproductive health services. The project is being rolled out in four districts in the Upper East Region namely Kassena-Nankana and Builsa North Municipalities and Kassena-Nankana West and Bongo Districts. Presenting the items to management of the two health directorates at Bongo, Mr Gilbert Asante, the Project Coordinator, WaterAid Ghana, indicated that their role in the project implementation was to ensure that the health facilities were conducive for young people to access health services particularly regarding their sexual life. 'So, we are focusing on preventing infections, building capacity of health workers to understand global standards of infection prevention and so have trained some health workers on infection prevention, waste management, menstrual hygiene among others,' he said. He said the donation of items which was second of its kind under the project after the two municipalities received similar gestures last year, was to contribute to making sanitation and hygiene materials accessible at the facilities to enable health worker practise infection prevention and control behaviour. The Project Coordinator said under the SHARE project, eight youth friendly corners would be created within the operational health facilities in the four operational districts to promote adolescents' access to accurate sexual and reproductive health information to help them make informed decisions. 'We will also provide the health facilities with incinerators and each district will get one. We are also putting in place toilet facilities and a minimum of eight toilet facilities and we are going to do the WaterAid standards because we want the young people to feel comfortable when they visit the health facilities,' he added. Receiving the items, Mrs Estella Abazesi, the Bongo District Director, Ghana Health Service, expressed gratitude to WaterAid Ghana and its partners for the support over the years and gave the assurance that the materials would be distributed to the health facilities and be used for the intended pur poses. She said most of the health facilities lacked most of the materials donated making it difficult to practise the required standard of infections prevention and control and added that the gesture would help improve quality of health care delivery in general. On his part, Mr Alhassan Lawal, the Kassena-Nankana West District Director of the Ghana Health Service, said the district was among the areas with the highest prevalence of teenage pregnancy and noted that creating youth friendly environments would help motivate young people to seek services at the health facilities to prevent them from getting pregnant. Source: Ghana News Agency

WINDHOEK: A new Namibian Head of State will be sworn in on Sunday afternoon to replace the late President Hage Geingob, who passed away in the early hours of the morning, Vice President Nangolo Mbumba has announced. Mbumba who is the current Acting President of Namibia, revealed this to the media at State House following an urgent Cabinet meeting on Sunday. 'The Cabinet has decided that the position of president cannot remain vacant. At 14h00 in the Banquet Hall, somebody will be sworn in as the president,' Mbumba said without revealing the Cabinet choice of the next country leader. He added that a high-level Cabinet committee has also been set up to start the funeral arrangements for the president, who died at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek. The committee, comprised of Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and other senior ministers, will work with the National Honours Advisory Committee for the funeral arrangements. 'We created a committee to prepare for all arrangements that need to be done befo re our President, Dr Hage Geingob, is given his rightful place in the annals of the heroes of Namibia. That committee, consisting of the prime minister, deputy prime minister, and other ministers, will work together with the committee that usually organises these events, which is chaired by the Secretary to Cabinet. This is the highest level of funeral we ever have in the Republic of Namibia,' Mbumba explained. Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has asked the public to disregard false interpretations given to a recent permit granted a local cocoa processing company to import cocoa beans from Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. COCOBOD, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said it was 'an industry practice' to allow factories to import cocoa beans from other countries. COCOBOD in a letter dated January 25, 2024, approved a request by Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company to import a total of 3,500 tonnes of cocoa beans from Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria. It also asked Afrotropic Cocoa Processing Company to obtain all necessary authorisations from relevant State institutions before commencing the importation. Some stakeholders in the cocoa industry and others have raised issues about the approval, asking why the world's second largest cocoa-producing country be importing cocoa beans? COCOBOD, in its response, said: 'All processing companies in Ghana established post November 2001 are permitted by law to import cocoa be ans for processing in Ghana.' The practice, according to COCOBOD, was to 'help the companies meet their desired recipes for chocolate production and other uses. 'Ghana's cocoa is a premium cocoa, and as part of cost management and operational strategy, companies often blend premium Ghana cocoa with less premium cocoa beans from other producing countries. 'It is an industry practice that?has existed for over 20 years to allow factories to import from other countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, and Ecuador,' the statement said. COCOBOD, therefore, urged the public to ignore the 'widespread misinformation', especially on social media. Source: Ghana News Agency WINDHOEK: The late President Hage Geingob's temporary family spokesperson, local lawyer Sisa Namandje, has acknowledged the efforts of the medical team who attended to the president until his passing. Recognising the medical team of four doctors at the late president's residence in Windhoek on Sunday, Namandje said the family is exceptionally happy with what the medical team had been doing in the last weeks until Geingob's passing. Geingob, 82, passed away in Windhoek early Sunday morning due to complications from cancer. 'We are exceptionally happy with what you have been doing in the last two weeks… I saw you work hard yesterday, we saw you trying to do everything you could do in your power, ability, and expertise,' he said. Namandje noted that the medical team had been attending to the president until his recent trip to the United States of America, where he had undergone medical treatment. 'We will forever be indebted to you for the efforts you have been making. It has been a difficult period, you tr avelled with the president, had a few hours with your families and you tried everything. But with every medical condition, there are only two ways,' he noted. Geingob returned to Namibia on Wednesday after receiving specialised cancer treatment in the United States. Geingob last month informed the nation that cancerous cells were detected in his body by his medical team. The Presidency then on 24 January said Geingob travelled to the United States on invitation by leading scientists and medical professionals in Los Angeles to undergo novel therapy for cancerous cells. Namandje further noted that while the government prepares Geingob's State funeral arrangements, evening devotions will be held daily at 18h00 at the Geingob residence in Windhoek. Source: The Namibia Press Agency

SWAKOPMUND: Erongo Region Governor Neville Andre Itope has called on the Namibian nation to continue the late President Hage Geingob's legacy of not leaving anyone behind, as the nation mourns his passing. In an interview with Nampa on Sunday, Itope, who highlighted President Geingob's contribution towards the country's independence and development over the years, said his passing is not only a great loss to his family but to the entire nation. 'We are called upon as the Namibian nation during this sad time to stay united and strong as well as to continue his legacy and also to ensure a Namibian house which he has always affectionately been preaching for,' he expressed. Itope further called on Namibians to learn from the late president's teachings, regardless of tribe, race and political differences. 'President Geingob has also established a system that enables us to rely on institutions, therefore we should get the confidence in this system and continue this legacy.' The governor commended the president for his major contributions to the establishment of sectors such as green hydrogen, among others, which currently hold the potential of creating financial stability for Namibia. 'We therefore need to work hard to ensure that these industries that were discovered during his leadership continue to grow and benefit the Namibian nation, as this would have been his wish,' Itope expressed. President Geingob passed away in a Windhoek hospital during the early morning hours of Sunday, where he was admitted in intensive care following his return from the United States of America where he had gone for treatment. Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Ballot for the run-off local council elections started under normal conditions and no irregularities were reported," underscored on Sunday Secretary General of the Organisation for the Defence of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ODDPH) Bouraouia Agrebi. The run-off local elections recorded the participation of 4 candidates through direct voting, Agrebi told TAP, pointing out that a total of 279 seats are reserved for people with disabilities. The ODDH has deployed 28 young people to collect data across the country and 197 observers to monitor the elections, he specified. Bouraouia Agrebi voiced wish that the turnout in the run-off local elections would increase, indicating that the organisation will hold a press conference on Sunday at 7 p.m. to present the results collected in the polling centres. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse