Pg 31. Fri. May 09/08
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho & Kimberley Robertson
AVIATION experts are meeting in Accra to come up with a draft policy for the operation and improvement in general aviation services in the country.
The draft policy is expected to set guidelines for a National Aviation Policy, which will ensure that general aviation is improved in order to promote development and increase revenue in the aviation industry and the country as a whole.
General aviation covers a wide range of activities, both commercial and non-commercial, including private flying, flight training, air ambulance, police aircraft, aerial fire-fighting, air charter, bush flying, gliding, ultra light aircraft operation and aircraft maintenance activities.
The Minister of Aviation, Ms Gloria Akuffo, who opened the two-day workshop on general aviation, said the vision of her ministry was to make Ghana an “aviation hub” and a gateway to the West African sub-region by 2015.
She said despite an increase in airlines that operated in the country, aircraft maintenance was currently being carried out elsewhere, at great cost to the economy.
She therefore said that creating a general aviation base in Ghana would act as a source of income generation, as well as provide practical training, agricultural and health service delivery and boost tourism.
Ms Akuffo said the ministry’s mission was to “promote a competitive, efficient and cost-effective aviation sector, ensuring safety and security whilst minimising the impact on the environment”.
According to her, for the ministry to achieve its mission and vision, there was a need to develop general aviation as an essential component of aviation.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Aviation, Mr George Scott, said the workshop was aimed at stimulating awareness amongst the policy and regulatory bodies of the general aviation sector.
He said the workshop would bring to light developments in other countries in order to learn from their experiences and adapt accordingly to meet Ghana’s specific needs as a developing nation, as well as encourage Ghanaian youth into aviation-related careers in order to reduce dependence on non-residents.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Julius Okyere Boateng, who chaired the opening ceremony, observed that Ghana had not been able to take advantage of the opportunities that civil aviation offered because the country depended on revenue only from scheduled airline flights as opposed to general aviation.
• Ms Gloria Akuffo (second right) in a chat with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Julius Okyere Boateng (middle), and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Aviation, Mr George Scott (left), after the minister had opened the workshop.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
'Enforce laws to promote child rights'
Pg 38. Thurs. May 08/08
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
A Legal Practitioner with the Commission On Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Samuel Bosompem, has called for stringent enforcement of the country’s laws that protect the rights of children.
According to him, although there were what might be described as “adequate laws” covering the rights of children in the country, these laws did not protect the rights of children and this, he said, had led to many children going through untold hardships.
Mr Bosompem, who was reacting to allegations of sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes, said there was the need for policy makers to put in place stringent measures to ensure that laws regarding the rights of children were enforced and the perpetrators brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Bosompem noted that although Ghana prided itself as being the first to sign onto conventions, protocols or treaties that protected the rights of children, more children continued to go through child labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation, enslavement and abuses in the country.
According to him, Ghana was the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and was a signatory to the African Charter on Human and People’s Right, and had laws such as the Children’s Act, Courts Act, Human Trafficking Act and the Juvenile Detention Act, among others. He, however, noted that all these laws had not been given meaning in practice, looking at the number of cases that were reported daily on child abuse and exploitation.
Mr Bosompem was also of the opinion that poor parenting was a major cause of child exploitation and abuse in the country, adding that CHRAJ as a body was not happy with the enforcement of laws that protected children in the country.
He made specific mention of the children and court Acts, which he said made separate recommendations for the setting up of child panels to deal with children’s issues but said this had not been done in most districts and, therefore, children were tried in adult courts.
He further deplored the situation of the country’s only juvenile detention centre, ‘The Borstal Institute’, saying that the institute did not have the requisite equipment to reform its inmates.
Mr Bosompem said as a country, “we need to be serious and careful to protect our children”, especially those with disabilities and the vulnerable, saying that all children in the country were entitled to special care as provided for under Article 10 of the International Convention on Economic and Social Right and Article 24 on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires the state and family to give children adequate protection.
He said states were further required to protect its children under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which, among other things, calls for the right to education for children.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
A Legal Practitioner with the Commission On Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Samuel Bosompem, has called for stringent enforcement of the country’s laws that protect the rights of children.
According to him, although there were what might be described as “adequate laws” covering the rights of children in the country, these laws did not protect the rights of children and this, he said, had led to many children going through untold hardships.
Mr Bosompem, who was reacting to allegations of sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes, said there was the need for policy makers to put in place stringent measures to ensure that laws regarding the rights of children were enforced and the perpetrators brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Bosompem noted that although Ghana prided itself as being the first to sign onto conventions, protocols or treaties that protected the rights of children, more children continued to go through child labour, trafficking, sexual exploitation, enslavement and abuses in the country.
According to him, Ghana was the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and was a signatory to the African Charter on Human and People’s Right, and had laws such as the Children’s Act, Courts Act, Human Trafficking Act and the Juvenile Detention Act, among others. He, however, noted that all these laws had not been given meaning in practice, looking at the number of cases that were reported daily on child abuse and exploitation.
Mr Bosompem was also of the opinion that poor parenting was a major cause of child exploitation and abuse in the country, adding that CHRAJ as a body was not happy with the enforcement of laws that protected children in the country.
He made specific mention of the children and court Acts, which he said made separate recommendations for the setting up of child panels to deal with children’s issues but said this had not been done in most districts and, therefore, children were tried in adult courts.
He further deplored the situation of the country’s only juvenile detention centre, ‘The Borstal Institute’, saying that the institute did not have the requisite equipment to reform its inmates.
Mr Bosompem said as a country, “we need to be serious and careful to protect our children”, especially those with disabilities and the vulnerable, saying that all children in the country were entitled to special care as provided for under Article 10 of the International Convention on Economic and Social Right and Article 24 on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires the state and family to give children adequate protection.
He said states were further required to protect its children under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which, among other things, calls for the right to education for children.
37 Towns benefit from water project
Pg 55. Thurs. May 08/08
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
THIRTY-SEVEN selected towns within the Eastern and Volta regions have benefited from a 10-year community water project provided by the government and its German counterpart.
The project, which began in 1998, will end in June this year and has so far benefited more than 250,000 in the two regions.
Known as the Eastern and Volta Regions Assisted Project (EVORAP), it is designed to assist selected small towns to operate and manage their water supply systems and to improve their sanitation conditions.
The German Development Co-operation through two development agencies, the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and Kfw, another German development agency, provided financial and technical support for 29 of the small town projects while it partnered the Department for International Development (DFID) UK, to provide water supply and management support to eight additional towns.
Collectively all the households in the 39 project communities paid five per cent of the cost while their district assemblies also contributed five per cent.
At a workshop in Accra yesterday to evaluate the achievements of the project and to chart a way forward for future projects, the Counsellor for Development Co-operation of the German Embassy, Mr Joachim Schmitt, commended the Government of Ghana for showing considerable commitment to providing access to safe drinking water, as well as improving the sanitation conditions for all Ghanaians with special emphasis on the poor and vulnerable.
He said his government was pleased to be associated with the efforts at improving sustainable access to water, improved sanitation conditions and HIV and AIDS awareness creation in the country.
According to him, the German Government does not only focus on infrastructural development but also provide technical assistance, to build the capacity of implementing structures for sustainable operations and management of projects.
“We believe that it is only through empowering the people to manage the system that sustainable access to water supply and improved sanitation conditions can be realised.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CSWA), Dr Phillip Gyau-Boakye, said with the huge investment that had been made, it was important for the beneficiaries to bear in mind that access to safe water supply could only be improved and sustained if existing facilities were kept in good working conditions.
He said to overcome the challenge of systematic sustainability through effective operation and maintenance, “it is imperative that we work towards the development of capacity at the district and community levels for the management of these facilities”.
Dr Gyau-Boakye further emphasised that it was imperative that people at both the regional and district levels became proactive in ensuring that all water and sanitation installations at the community level were operated and managed in a sustainable manner.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
THIRTY-SEVEN selected towns within the Eastern and Volta regions have benefited from a 10-year community water project provided by the government and its German counterpart.
The project, which began in 1998, will end in June this year and has so far benefited more than 250,000 in the two regions.
Known as the Eastern and Volta Regions Assisted Project (EVORAP), it is designed to assist selected small towns to operate and manage their water supply systems and to improve their sanitation conditions.
The German Development Co-operation through two development agencies, the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and Kfw, another German development agency, provided financial and technical support for 29 of the small town projects while it partnered the Department for International Development (DFID) UK, to provide water supply and management support to eight additional towns.
Collectively all the households in the 39 project communities paid five per cent of the cost while their district assemblies also contributed five per cent.
At a workshop in Accra yesterday to evaluate the achievements of the project and to chart a way forward for future projects, the Counsellor for Development Co-operation of the German Embassy, Mr Joachim Schmitt, commended the Government of Ghana for showing considerable commitment to providing access to safe drinking water, as well as improving the sanitation conditions for all Ghanaians with special emphasis on the poor and vulnerable.
He said his government was pleased to be associated with the efforts at improving sustainable access to water, improved sanitation conditions and HIV and AIDS awareness creation in the country.
According to him, the German Government does not only focus on infrastructural development but also provide technical assistance, to build the capacity of implementing structures for sustainable operations and management of projects.
“We believe that it is only through empowering the people to manage the system that sustainable access to water supply and improved sanitation conditions can be realised.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CSWA), Dr Phillip Gyau-Boakye, said with the huge investment that had been made, it was important for the beneficiaries to bear in mind that access to safe water supply could only be improved and sustained if existing facilities were kept in good working conditions.
He said to overcome the challenge of systematic sustainability through effective operation and maintenance, “it is imperative that we work towards the development of capacity at the district and community levels for the management of these facilities”.
Dr Gyau-Boakye further emphasised that it was imperative that people at both the regional and district levels became proactive in ensuring that all water and sanitation installations at the community level were operated and managed in a sustainable manner.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Forum to dialogue on gender and aid effectiveness
Pg11. Sat. May 3/08
By Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
FROM May 5 to 6, 2008, stakeholders on gender will meet at a national consultation forum to deliberate on making aid responsive to gender.
The forum will also provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to dialogue on gender and aid effectiveness, reinforce networking and communication between gender advocates, government actors, donors and multilateral development agencies.
The forum is being organised within the framework of the European Commission (EC)/United Nations (UN) partnership on “Gender Equality for Development and Peace”, to build the basis for partnerships and agreements to strengthen gender equality in national development plans and budgets processes.
It will be attended by participants from the ministries, including Finance,Women and Children’s Affairs, governmental partners, Members of Parliament, civil society groups, academic institutions involved in research on gender and aid effectiveness and on development planning, delegations and representatives from the EC and UN, as well as bilateral and multilateral organisations and donors involved in gender issues.
The stakeholders will also use the forum to decide on a national work plan and set up the relevant institutional mechanisms, including a project steering committee to ensure that the work plan will be realised within the time frame and budget of the programme.
They will also brainstorm on the key message from the findings of a mapping study that was initiated earlier to look into the status of women and gender equality in Ghana, aid to Ghana, aid modalities, alignment, ownership, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
Stakeholders at the forum will also be expected to learn more about the upcoming international forum on Aid Effectiveness which will take place in September this year in the country and identify possible contributions that can be made to benefit Ghana.
By Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
FROM May 5 to 6, 2008, stakeholders on gender will meet at a national consultation forum to deliberate on making aid responsive to gender.
The forum will also provide an opportunity for the stakeholders to dialogue on gender and aid effectiveness, reinforce networking and communication between gender advocates, government actors, donors and multilateral development agencies.
The forum is being organised within the framework of the European Commission (EC)/United Nations (UN) partnership on “Gender Equality for Development and Peace”, to build the basis for partnerships and agreements to strengthen gender equality in national development plans and budgets processes.
It will be attended by participants from the ministries, including Finance,Women and Children’s Affairs, governmental partners, Members of Parliament, civil society groups, academic institutions involved in research on gender and aid effectiveness and on development planning, delegations and representatives from the EC and UN, as well as bilateral and multilateral organisations and donors involved in gender issues.
The stakeholders will also use the forum to decide on a national work plan and set up the relevant institutional mechanisms, including a project steering committee to ensure that the work plan will be realised within the time frame and budget of the programme.
They will also brainstorm on the key message from the findings of a mapping study that was initiated earlier to look into the status of women and gender equality in Ghana, aid to Ghana, aid modalities, alignment, ownership, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
Stakeholders at the forum will also be expected to learn more about the upcoming international forum on Aid Effectiveness which will take place in September this year in the country and identify possible contributions that can be made to benefit Ghana.
‘Redeem pledge of halving malaria mortality’
Pg. 11. Sat. May 3/08
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
AFRICAN Leaders have been reminded to redeem their pledge of halving malaria mortality by 2010.
They have also been called upon to implement well co-ordinated and integrated country-wide programmes to drastically reduce the rate of malaria infection in Africa.
These were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day training for journalists by the Africa Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) in Accra.
The training was part of the celebration of this year’s World Malaria Day which fell on Friday, April 25, 2008 on the theme "Malaria a disease without borders".
The training brought together 20 health journalists under a sub-theme "Malaria- The connection with other preventable diseases".
The communiqué further called on African leaders to commit more money into malaria research to assist policy makers in their planning efforts towards malaria control.
However the efforts of governments and other stakeholders globally to Roll Back Malaria in Africa have been applauded.
Among some of the pledges that the African Leaders made in Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2000 as part of efforts to Roll back Malaria were; to ensure that at least 60 per cent of all pregnant women who are at risk of contacting malaria have access to intermittent presumptive treatment.
Also they pledged to initiate appropriate and sustainable action to strengthen health systems to ensure that by the year 2005 at least 60 per cent of those suffering from malaria would have prompt access to and are able to correctly use, affordable and appropriate treatment within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms.
The African Leaders at Abuja also pledged to ensure that at least 60 per cent of those at risk , particularly children under five years of age and pregnant women benefit from the most suitable combination of personal and community protective measures such as insecticide treated mosquito nets and other interventions which are accessible and affordable to prevent infection and suffering.
According to the communiqué, after eight years, not much had been achieved and that 90 per cent of the world’s malaria deaths of children under five years still occur in Africa.
The communiqué further stated that "As Africans, we should be worried that over 80 per cent of the over one million deaths caused by malaria globally occur in our continent each year and that malaria remains the leading cause of under-five mortality".
It said malaria still constitutes 10 per cent of the continent's overall disease burden and accounts for 40 per cent of public expenditure, 30 to 50 per cent of in-patient admissions and up to 50 per cent of out-patients visits in areas with high transmission.
It further stressed that, "absenteeism among school children and lost worker productivity, all contribute to make malaria a significant contributor to low economic growth in endemic countries, estimated at costing African countries about US$12 billion annually".
The communiqué also called on National Malaria Control programmes in the various African countries to step-up efforts on malaria education to reduce the ignorance around the disease that results in unnecessary deaths. It also added that malaria can be eradicated with concerted efforts from all fronts.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
AFRICAN Leaders have been reminded to redeem their pledge of halving malaria mortality by 2010.
They have also been called upon to implement well co-ordinated and integrated country-wide programmes to drastically reduce the rate of malaria infection in Africa.
These were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day training for journalists by the Africa Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) in Accra.
The training was part of the celebration of this year’s World Malaria Day which fell on Friday, April 25, 2008 on the theme "Malaria a disease without borders".
The training brought together 20 health journalists under a sub-theme "Malaria- The connection with other preventable diseases".
The communiqué further called on African leaders to commit more money into malaria research to assist policy makers in their planning efforts towards malaria control.
However the efforts of governments and other stakeholders globally to Roll Back Malaria in Africa have been applauded.
Among some of the pledges that the African Leaders made in Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2000 as part of efforts to Roll back Malaria were; to ensure that at least 60 per cent of all pregnant women who are at risk of contacting malaria have access to intermittent presumptive treatment.
Also they pledged to initiate appropriate and sustainable action to strengthen health systems to ensure that by the year 2005 at least 60 per cent of those suffering from malaria would have prompt access to and are able to correctly use, affordable and appropriate treatment within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms.
The African Leaders at Abuja also pledged to ensure that at least 60 per cent of those at risk , particularly children under five years of age and pregnant women benefit from the most suitable combination of personal and community protective measures such as insecticide treated mosquito nets and other interventions which are accessible and affordable to prevent infection and suffering.
According to the communiqué, after eight years, not much had been achieved and that 90 per cent of the world’s malaria deaths of children under five years still occur in Africa.
The communiqué further stated that "As Africans, we should be worried that over 80 per cent of the over one million deaths caused by malaria globally occur in our continent each year and that malaria remains the leading cause of under-five mortality".
It said malaria still constitutes 10 per cent of the continent's overall disease burden and accounts for 40 per cent of public expenditure, 30 to 50 per cent of in-patient admissions and up to 50 per cent of out-patients visits in areas with high transmission.
It further stressed that, "absenteeism among school children and lost worker productivity, all contribute to make malaria a significant contributor to low economic growth in endemic countries, estimated at costing African countries about US$12 billion annually".
The communiqué also called on National Malaria Control programmes in the various African countries to step-up efforts on malaria education to reduce the ignorance around the disease that results in unnecessary deaths. It also added that malaria can be eradicated with concerted efforts from all fronts.
Friday, May 2, 2008
101 Pharmacists inducted
pg. 14. Friday May 2/08
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
One hundred and one newly qualified and registered pharmacists were inducted into the Pharmacy Council at a ceremony in Accra on Wednesday.
The new pharmacists underwent six years of academic and internship training programmes during their period of education.
The ceremony, on the theme: “Optimising pharmaceutical workforce for national development”, brought together health professionals from both the public and private institutions, as well as relatives and well-wishers of the inductees.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Gabriel Charles Palmer Buckle, who was the special guest, in a speech read on his behalf exhorted the pharmacists to use their newly acquired knowledge and expertise to help improve the lot of their fellow men and women.
He said Ghana after 50 years was at a very crucial point in its history of nation building and as such needed such experts who would improve the lot of its people.
“I am almost convinced that most of us have turned our education and acquisition of skills and expertise into tools of exploitation and power instead of means of service and enhancement of the lives of the people of this nation,” the Rev Palmer Buckle said.
Most Rev Palmer Buckle noted that “it is very sad that quite often, it is those of us, the educated ones, that use the knowledge we have acquired to exploit our own kith and kin, making them poorer than before”, and advised the new pharmacists to “think Ghana and thank God for Ghana every day, love Ghana and live for Ghana everywhere, pray for Ghana and protect Ghana at all times, serve Ghana and save Ghana now, devote yourselves to Ghana and die for Ghana a little today”.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), who was represented by the Chief Director of the ministry, Lepowura Mohammed Nurudeen D. Jawula, said the new health policy, which emphasises on prevention and health promotion, demanded that pharmacists took central roles in patient management.
He said with the increasing number of chronic conditions to be managed, pharmacists in the public and private sector had become more and more involved in patient management even outside the hospital.
He challenged the newly inducted pharmacists to maintain high levels of dedication and to build on the achievements of their senior colleagues.
The Greater Accra Regional branch President of the society, Mr John Allotey, called on the new pharmacists to be guided by the three principles adopted by the society, which, he said, were image building, public health and international collaboration.
He also called on them to work as professionals no matter where they found themselves.
In a welcoming address, the Registrar of the council, Mr Joseph Nyoagbe, said the council would continue to ensure that the standards of pharmacy practise was maintained through appropriate interventions of monitoring and inspections.
He added that access to medicine without a corresponding availability of trained practitioners would not achieve much.
To complement this, the council has come out with a policy to ensure that all pharmaceutical service providers acquire some level of training and added that eight institutions had been accredited to train medicine counter assistants and that the institutions had so far trained 763 people.
He said the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had provided a level playing field that had made health care available to all irrespective of one’s status in society.
Three of the pharmacists who excelled during their training were honoured. Ms Whitney Sena Assor was adjudged the overall best candidate and was presented with the ‘John Ocran Award’, which is sponsored by the Pharmacy Council in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacies.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
One hundred and one newly qualified and registered pharmacists were inducted into the Pharmacy Council at a ceremony in Accra on Wednesday.
The new pharmacists underwent six years of academic and internship training programmes during their period of education.
The ceremony, on the theme: “Optimising pharmaceutical workforce for national development”, brought together health professionals from both the public and private institutions, as well as relatives and well-wishers of the inductees.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Most Reverend Gabriel Charles Palmer Buckle, who was the special guest, in a speech read on his behalf exhorted the pharmacists to use their newly acquired knowledge and expertise to help improve the lot of their fellow men and women.
He said Ghana after 50 years was at a very crucial point in its history of nation building and as such needed such experts who would improve the lot of its people.
“I am almost convinced that most of us have turned our education and acquisition of skills and expertise into tools of exploitation and power instead of means of service and enhancement of the lives of the people of this nation,” the Rev Palmer Buckle said.
Most Rev Palmer Buckle noted that “it is very sad that quite often, it is those of us, the educated ones, that use the knowledge we have acquired to exploit our own kith and kin, making them poorer than before”, and advised the new pharmacists to “think Ghana and thank God for Ghana every day, love Ghana and live for Ghana everywhere, pray for Ghana and protect Ghana at all times, serve Ghana and save Ghana now, devote yourselves to Ghana and die for Ghana a little today”.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), who was represented by the Chief Director of the ministry, Lepowura Mohammed Nurudeen D. Jawula, said the new health policy, which emphasises on prevention and health promotion, demanded that pharmacists took central roles in patient management.
He said with the increasing number of chronic conditions to be managed, pharmacists in the public and private sector had become more and more involved in patient management even outside the hospital.
He challenged the newly inducted pharmacists to maintain high levels of dedication and to build on the achievements of their senior colleagues.
The Greater Accra Regional branch President of the society, Mr John Allotey, called on the new pharmacists to be guided by the three principles adopted by the society, which, he said, were image building, public health and international collaboration.
He also called on them to work as professionals no matter where they found themselves.
In a welcoming address, the Registrar of the council, Mr Joseph Nyoagbe, said the council would continue to ensure that the standards of pharmacy practise was maintained through appropriate interventions of monitoring and inspections.
He added that access to medicine without a corresponding availability of trained practitioners would not achieve much.
To complement this, the council has come out with a policy to ensure that all pharmaceutical service providers acquire some level of training and added that eight institutions had been accredited to train medicine counter assistants and that the institutions had so far trained 763 people.
He said the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) had provided a level playing field that had made health care available to all irrespective of one’s status in society.
Three of the pharmacists who excelled during their training were honoured. Ms Whitney Sena Assor was adjudged the overall best candidate and was presented with the ‘John Ocran Award’, which is sponsored by the Pharmacy Council in collaboration with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana and the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacies.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ghana Health Service launches Child Health Week
Pg 20. Thurs. May 1/08
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
THE Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched this year’s Child Health Week with a call on parents, teachers and health professionals to ensure that children receive adequate complementary feeding to reduce child obesity and malnutrition.
According to health experts, malnutrition contributes to 50 per cent of all child deaths in developing countries while obesity in children leads to child diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
The week, which would be celebrated from May 5 to 9, 2008, was launched in Accra on the theme: “Healthy eating, a key to child growth and development”, and is the fifth since the celebration was instituted in 2004.
The celebration, aimed at increasing public awareness on packages available for under-five children, brought together health professionals, government agencies, faith-based organisations and the media.
Some of the packages that would be provided would include; immunisation against childhood diseases, vitamin A supplementation, re-treatment of insecticide treated bed nets, provision of child health record cards, weighing of children aged zero to five and registration of children under one year.
The acting Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias Sory, called for a mechanism where a collaborative inspectorate committee would be put in place to inspect feeding in schools especially private day care centres, to ensure that children were not overfed to develop obesity.
He also called for collaboration between parents and health professionals to ensure that children were given proper complementary foods to ensure healthy growth.
The Deputy Director in Charge of Public Health (Nutrition), Mr Jacob Armah, who gave a presentation on complementary feeding, called on parents or caregivers to ensure that such feeding started exactly when the child was six months, saying that a late start could result in the child not receiving the required nutrients.
He said such late starts also slowed children’s growth and development, as well as exposed them to deficiencies and malnutrition.
Dr Armah, however, said diarrhoea was high during complementary feeding stage, from six to 24 months of birth, adding that feeding bottles easily got contaminated and therefore called on nursing mothers to ensure that they avoided acts that could lead to such illnesses.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe Duho
THE Ghana Health Service (GHS) has launched this year’s Child Health Week with a call on parents, teachers and health professionals to ensure that children receive adequate complementary feeding to reduce child obesity and malnutrition.
According to health experts, malnutrition contributes to 50 per cent of all child deaths in developing countries while obesity in children leads to child diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
The week, which would be celebrated from May 5 to 9, 2008, was launched in Accra on the theme: “Healthy eating, a key to child growth and development”, and is the fifth since the celebration was instituted in 2004.
The celebration, aimed at increasing public awareness on packages available for under-five children, brought together health professionals, government agencies, faith-based organisations and the media.
Some of the packages that would be provided would include; immunisation against childhood diseases, vitamin A supplementation, re-treatment of insecticide treated bed nets, provision of child health record cards, weighing of children aged zero to five and registration of children under one year.
The acting Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias Sory, called for a mechanism where a collaborative inspectorate committee would be put in place to inspect feeding in schools especially private day care centres, to ensure that children were not overfed to develop obesity.
He also called for collaboration between parents and health professionals to ensure that children were given proper complementary foods to ensure healthy growth.
The Deputy Director in Charge of Public Health (Nutrition), Mr Jacob Armah, who gave a presentation on complementary feeding, called on parents or caregivers to ensure that such feeding started exactly when the child was six months, saying that a late start could result in the child not receiving the required nutrients.
He said such late starts also slowed children’s growth and development, as well as exposed them to deficiencies and malnutrition.
Dr Armah, however, said diarrhoea was high during complementary feeding stage, from six to 24 months of birth, adding that feeding bottles easily got contaminated and therefore called on nursing mothers to ensure that they avoided acts that could lead to such illnesses.
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