Some women achievers of 2012

Compiled by: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE year 2012 saw a lot of activities that were geared towards improving the lot of women across the country. Women continued to be marginalised in all areas of their development such as in politics and economics.
It is in this vain that the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), which is the sector ministry in charge of promoting the well-being of women and children in the country, together with other ministries, civil society organisations, as well as gender groups, worked at improving the conditions of women in all sectors, including political and economic empowerment.
In the year 2012, some of the activities  undertaken were the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) holding a two-day review meeting on the implementation of the Domestic Violence Law, which was passed in 2007.
In September, the ministry also launched a technical skills training programme under its Gender Responsive Skills and Community Development Project (GRSCDP). The programme was aimed at encouraging young girls to go into male dominated areas of training.
In November, the Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), re-launched a programme to promote the use of female condoms among sexually active people. The meeting was the second to be held since the passage of the law which was aimed at curbing the rate of domestic violence in the country.
It was acknowledged at the review meeting that the successful implementation of the DV Act depended on the efficient collaboration of all partners including civil society and non-governmental organisations.
The Ghana Congress of Evangelism (GHACOE) Women’s Ministry, a Christian non-governmental organisation, which works at promoting the holistic development of women, chalked 35 years in the year under review. The mission of the organisation is to help women and girls at all levels of society, especially the poor and distressed, to attain holistic development.
The Association of Queens in three traditional areas in the Tain District in the Brong Ahafo Region in May called for the abolition of widowhood rites and other negative traditional practices in the area which are inimical to the development of women.
They presented a communique to the Tain District Assembly, where they bemoaned the existence of such practices in modern times.
Also, the Offinsohemaa, Nana Ama Serwaa Nyarko, marked the silver jubilee of her enstoolment as the 16th occupant of the Ameko Hema Stool of the Offinso Traditional Area. launching activities to mark the celebrations, she underscored the need to promote peace, unity and development of the area and the country as a whole.
 A woman at 100 had delivered 4,000 babies as a traditional birth attendant in the Prestea Huni Valley area in the Western Region. Madam Mary Morkey, popularly refered to as Maame Ntiwe, was said to have delivered over 4,000 out of the 7,000 inhabitants of Insu-Siding, a farming community.
At her centenary celebration, resident showered gifts on her, while beneficiaries of her birth attendant skills gave testimonies of her work.
The Koforidua Regional Hospital in 2012 was commended for establishing itself as a reputable training centre for health workers in the area of long-term family planning methods.
The commendation came from the President and Chief Executive Officer of EngenderHealth, an international not-for-profit organisation, Ms Pamela Barnes, when she visited the hospital in May.
Patients at the Tamale Teaching Hospital commended a young female doctor, Dr Lawrencia Serwah Manu, for her humility and exceptional respect and care towards patients.  the patients described the doctor born in the 1980s, as cultured, respectful, caring and God-fearing. Barely three months into her housemanship at the TTH, Dr Manu’s selfless sacrifice and passion to save human life could not go unnoticed.
The Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre in June launched the “Women in Leadership project” with the aim of encouraging women’s participation in politics and public life. A four-year project is to be implemented from 2012 to 2016 with funding from the Dutch Government under its Funding Leadership Opportunities for Women.
 On the international front, following the heels of Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, first female President of an African country, was President Joyce Banda of Malawi. She was sworn in in April, 2012 after the death of the sitting President of that country. She was the Vice-President of Malawi before the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in April, 2012.
The first woman who gave birth to the world’s first test-tube baby died in June at age 64 in the United Kingdom. Ms Lesley Brown gave birth  to her daughter Louisa Brown after trying for a baby by her  husband for nine years.

No shortage of HIV test kits in E/R

Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE National Programmes Manager of the Ghana AIDS Control Programme, Dr Nii Akwei Addo, has debunked a Ghana News Agency (GNA) report that there is a shortage of HIV testing kits in some parts of the Eastern Region.
He said the Eastern Regional Medical Stores have enough stock of the test kits and, therefore, called on sites and hospitals that have shortages to request for supply from the regional medical stores.
Dr Addo, who was reacting to a GNA report, called on Civil Society Organisations working in the region to contact the district health administration where they operated to restock their supplies.
According to the GNA report, efforts to contain the spread of the HIV in the Eastern Region were being hampered by the shortage of HIV testing kits and reagents to determine the CD4 counts of people diagnosed to be HIV positive in the region.
The CD4 count of a person diagnosed as HIV positive determines if the fellow could be put on anti-retroviral therapy and to help control the ability of the individual to infect other persons with the virus.
According to the report, as a result of the shortage of the HIV testing kits, the region was concentrating its efforts on the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, yet investigations conducted by the GNA indicated that pregnant women in some health facilities were not tested for their HIV status due to the shortage of the testing kits.
 The report continued that as a result of the situation that the region found itself, 105 leading civil society organisations that had been  funded by the Ghana AIDS Commission to promote various activities to help reduce the rate of HIV infections in the region were not likely to meet their targets.
Investigations by the GNA also revealed that even some health facilities in the region had challenges in getting testing kits to diagnose patients suspected to be HIV positive.
The report further stated that currently, the region was expecting it’s next supply of 12,000 HIV testing kits next month but that could not meet the needs of the region for a month because according to some health officials who spoke to the GNA on conditions of anonymity, the region would need about 15,000 testing kits for a month and 90,000 testing kits for six months.