ALTHOUGH there are only 30 women out of the 275 members of Parliament, the women have already started making waves in the House as Mrs Ama Pomaa Andoh, Member for Juaben, made a statement on the Floor about e-waste on Friday.
According to her, recycling 100 per cent of the metal obtained from ore could reduce environmental load to one three-hundredth the load created by mining.
Her statement, which attracted a lot of comments in the House, said if e-waste was properly managed and recycled by trained rural youth in Ghana, a lot of the metal inside these electronic devices could be recovered through conventional means instead of through ‘galamsey’.
She therefore called for the necessary attention to be given to the rural youth, especially the youth in the Juaben constituency, through the creation of green jobs through responsible recycling.
Speaking to other female MPs before the House adjourned sitting on Friday for two weeks to enable the reconfiguration of the Chamber of the House to comfortably accommodate the additional 45 new seats that have been added to the existing 230 seats, the Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Ms Patricia Appiagyei, in an interview, said she was so far impressed with what she was seeing in the House.
A former Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Ms Appiagyei said her expectation from the House was met in the last week when the House sat.
Comparing the assembly level to the House, she said she saw a totally different set-up as the House was more organised and had more quality people in terms of their versatility and exposure.
She was also impressed that the new women in the House have not allowed themselves to be intimidated, commending Mrs Andoh for showing the way.
According to her, most of her colleague female MPs have adopted a calm disposition as they observe proceedings in the House.
With her experience from the district assembly level, Ms Appiagyei said she had a lot to offer her people.
According to her, she would champion the cause of her constituents to ensure that the promises that she made to them were fulfilled.
Her major concern, she said was however, in the area of education and the economic well-being of her people, saying she would strive to help better the lot of the people in that direction.
Her aim was to learn a lot from the more experienced hands in the House. She again said she wanted to gain more experience as a first timer in the House to ensure that she could also make meaningful impact on others in future.
Another MP, Ms Freda Prempeh, MP for Tano North, said so far she had been impressed with the proceedings in the House. Her expectation of what Parliament was had been met.
Although she said their first week in the House had been slow in terms of debating issues, she was of the conviction that things would pick up when the House resumed from the two-week break.
Also a former Assemblywoman, Ms Prempeh saw Parliament as an upgrade of the District/Metropolitan and Municipal assemblies, saying that she was hoping to contribute to more interesting debates on the floor of the House.
Her expectations from the House, she said, were high as, according to her, she was hoping to see a fair, balanced and objective debate devoid of partisanship from all members.
She was also looking at championing the cause of her constituents by ensuring that they got their fair share of the national cake.
The most pressing issue that she said was dear to her heart was looking for support for the only physiotherapy assistant and orthotics institute located in her constituency.
According to her, the school, which is the first of its kind in the country, was established about two years ago with an aim of teaching young people physiotherapy and orthotic care.
Also, she expressed the hope to improve road infrastructure, quality education, potable water and good health care to help improve the living conditions of the people.
Another female MP, Ms Florence Rachel Appoh, said the House was different from what she expected.
According to her, due to the entrenched partisan nature of the country’s politics, she was expecting to see a hostile House where parties would be divided on issues but so far, she had been impressed.
Apart from the seating arrangement in the House, she said nothing differentiated them and therefore she felt at home.
A former Women’s Commissioner at the Pentecost University, Ms Appoh said she was particularly impressed with the Speaker of the House, Mr Doe Adjaho, who she said made the proceedings lively and comfortable for her as a first timer.
Also a founder Member of the Tertiary Institution Network (TEIN), she said she was looking forward to lobbying for more infrastructure for the Gomoa Central constituency in the Central Region. She added that empowering women in her constituency was also one of her priority interventions.
She was also looking at liaising with financial institutions to support women in her constituency, who are mostly vegetable farmers, so that they could expand their farms.
An accountant by profession, Ms Appoh said she hoped to contribute to debate on the floor of the House especially on financial issues.
Aiming to join the Public Account Committee due to her auditing background, she said she would be useful to the committee in the area of research and would also debate on women issues in the House.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Gender mainstreaming needs multi-sectoral approach
THE Chief Director of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), Mr Gershon Kumor, has called for a multi-sectoral approach to fast track commitments made on women’s rights by the government into real positive change for women in urban and rural areas.
According to him, although the country has shown commitment in promoting the rights of women, institutional arrangements and structures to accelerate implementation of policies and provisions have been a challenge, resulting in a slower pace than expected in achieving results for gender equality.
Mr Kumor made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the acting Director of the Department of Women (DoW), Ms Patience Opoku, at the opening of an implementing partners consultative meeting organised in Accra by the DoW as part of the country’s effort to implement the African Women Decade which spans from 2010 to 2020.
The AWD was declared at the 12th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2009 on the theme “Grassroots Approach to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment” and was launched in Ghana in June 2011.
The AWD, which has 10 thematic areas, has the objective of, among other things, creating awareness and mobilising national support and political will to implement the agreed international, regional and sub-regional decisions and gender commitments; re-invigorate commitment to accelerate the implementation of agreed global, regional and national commitments on the human rights perspective, focusing on priorities such as education, health, agriculture, women’s economic and political empowerment, gender-based violence; mobilise resources for implementing the decade and energise the African women’s movement with a focus on youth and grass-root women leaders.
Mr Kumor said since gender issues cut across all sectors and at all levels of development, there was the need for ministries, departments and agencies as well as civil society organisations, development partners and the private sector to work together so as to strategise together on how they could achieve a common goal of gender equality.
He said the realisation of women’s rights and the achievement of all the eight Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) particularly MDG three, through the effective domestication of the principles of the country’s international policy obligations, required the combined and complementary effort of different stakeholders.
He said it was in the light of harnessing efforts that the DoW, with support from the National Planning Commission (NDPC), has developed a Strategic Framework, which is based on the objectives of the African Women Decade, with the goal of “showing result for gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Ghana”.
A Policy Planning Analyst of the NDPC, Mrs Mary Mpereh, in a presentation on Ghana and the African Union’s (AU) Women Decade: Towards the Road Map, said the strategic thrust of the AWD was to identify gaps in the implementation of the CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action, the National Gender and Children’s Policy, and harness advantages offered by ongoing national and international initiatives in order to strengthen Ghana’s quest for gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as its reporting obligations on international and regional conventions and protocols.
She said more importantly, the AWD would be integrated into national development policies, sector and district plans, budgets and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
The Director, Gender Unit of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), Mrs Dorothy Ony who gave a status report on MOWAC’s re-engineering plan and other activities, said the country has domesticated a lot of international protocols and policies in its laws to show its commitment towards gender mainstreaming. She mentioned some of these to include the passage on the Domestic Violence Act in 2007, the passage on the Anti-Human Trafficking Act and the Children’s Act, among others.
Other activities she said include developing an Affirmative Action Bill to increase women’s participation and representation in governance and decision making positions, the development of the Ghana National Action Plan (GHANAP) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the development of sex/gender disaggregated data collection instruments with the collaboration of Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The Ministry, she said, was currently implementing its re-engineering plan of action which was aimed at improving its work processes through the development of a responsive organisational structure, improving its staff development and performance, enhance the knowledge and skills of MOWAC staff in gender mainstreaming as well as enhance MOWAC staff capacity in ICT to support Gender Management Information System (GMIS), among others.
Professor Takyiwa Manu, who co-ordinated the meeting, said gender equality could not work in isolation, hence the need for all to support it.
She said although the country had signed different treaties and protocols, the status of women had not changed.
According to him, although the country has shown commitment in promoting the rights of women, institutional arrangements and structures to accelerate implementation of policies and provisions have been a challenge, resulting in a slower pace than expected in achieving results for gender equality.
Mr Kumor made this known in a speech read on his behalf by the acting Director of the Department of Women (DoW), Ms Patience Opoku, at the opening of an implementing partners consultative meeting organised in Accra by the DoW as part of the country’s effort to implement the African Women Decade which spans from 2010 to 2020.
The AWD was declared at the 12th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2009 on the theme “Grassroots Approach to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment” and was launched in Ghana in June 2011.
The AWD, which has 10 thematic areas, has the objective of, among other things, creating awareness and mobilising national support and political will to implement the agreed international, regional and sub-regional decisions and gender commitments; re-invigorate commitment to accelerate the implementation of agreed global, regional and national commitments on the human rights perspective, focusing on priorities such as education, health, agriculture, women’s economic and political empowerment, gender-based violence; mobilise resources for implementing the decade and energise the African women’s movement with a focus on youth and grass-root women leaders.
Mr Kumor said since gender issues cut across all sectors and at all levels of development, there was the need for ministries, departments and agencies as well as civil society organisations, development partners and the private sector to work together so as to strategise together on how they could achieve a common goal of gender equality.
He said the realisation of women’s rights and the achievement of all the eight Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) particularly MDG three, through the effective domestication of the principles of the country’s international policy obligations, required the combined and complementary effort of different stakeholders.
He said it was in the light of harnessing efforts that the DoW, with support from the National Planning Commission (NDPC), has developed a Strategic Framework, which is based on the objectives of the African Women Decade, with the goal of “showing result for gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Ghana”.
A Policy Planning Analyst of the NDPC, Mrs Mary Mpereh, in a presentation on Ghana and the African Union’s (AU) Women Decade: Towards the Road Map, said the strategic thrust of the AWD was to identify gaps in the implementation of the CEDAW and Beijing Platform for Action, the National Gender and Children’s Policy, and harness advantages offered by ongoing national and international initiatives in order to strengthen Ghana’s quest for gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as its reporting obligations on international and regional conventions and protocols.
She said more importantly, the AWD would be integrated into national development policies, sector and district plans, budgets and monitoring and evaluation frameworks.
The Director, Gender Unit of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC), Mrs Dorothy Ony who gave a status report on MOWAC’s re-engineering plan and other activities, said the country has domesticated a lot of international protocols and policies in its laws to show its commitment towards gender mainstreaming. She mentioned some of these to include the passage on the Domestic Violence Act in 2007, the passage on the Anti-Human Trafficking Act and the Children’s Act, among others.
Other activities she said include developing an Affirmative Action Bill to increase women’s participation and representation in governance and decision making positions, the development of the Ghana National Action Plan (GHANAP) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security for the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the development of sex/gender disaggregated data collection instruments with the collaboration of Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The Ministry, she said, was currently implementing its re-engineering plan of action which was aimed at improving its work processes through the development of a responsive organisational structure, improving its staff development and performance, enhance the knowledge and skills of MOWAC staff in gender mainstreaming as well as enhance MOWAC staff capacity in ICT to support Gender Management Information System (GMIS), among others.
Professor Takyiwa Manu, who co-ordinated the meeting, said gender equality could not work in isolation, hence the need for all to support it.
She said although the country had signed different treaties and protocols, the status of women had not changed.
Nestle leads way to improving micro-nutrient intake
Article: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
MICRO-NUTRIENTS are nutrients which are needed by the human body in very tiny amounts but it is estimated that two billion people which is 30 per cent of the global population have some degree of micro-nutrient deficiency.
Micro-nutrient malnutrition can be a risk factor to many diseases and contribute to high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Estimated micro-nutrient deficiencies according to the World Health Report 2002 account for about 7.3 per cent of the global burden of disease, with iron and vitamin A deficiency ranking among the 15 leading causes of the global disease burden.
Micro-nutrients include such dietary minerals as zinc and iodine, and they are necessary for the healthy functioning of all the body's systems, from bone growth to brain function. Sodium, for instance, is responsible for maintaining the proper fluid balance in the body; it helps fluids pass through cell walls and helps regulate appropriate pH levels in ones blood.
Micro-nutrients are commonly referred to as vitamins which include vitamin C, A, D, E and K, as well as the B-complex vitamins and minerals such as flouride, selenium, sodium, iodine, copper and zinc.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that, micro-nutrient deficiency present a huge threat to the health of the world's population naming some common micro-nutrient deficiencies to include iodine deficiency, vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency.
Iodine deficiency is the world's foremost cause of brain damage. Iodine deficiency, during pregnancy, can result in stillbirth, miscarriage and irreversible mental retardation. Fortunately, it's easily prevented by the use of iodide salt.
Vitamin A deficiency is also a leading cause of blindness in children; in pregnant women, it can cause night blindness and increase maternal mortality rates.
Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency in the world it is the only one prevalent in developed countries. Over 30 per cent of the world's population suffers from iron deficiency anemia.
Micro-nutrients are different from macro-nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate and fat. Micro-nutrients are called "micro"-nutrients because the body needs only very small quantities of them for survival.
The CODEX Contact Point Manager, Ms Joyce Okoree of the Ghana Standards Authority at a forum in Lagos, Nigeria on food fortification recently said globally, nutrition and its relationship to health and wellness has gained great importance.
Micro-nutrients deficiencies she said were widespread and could have devastating effects on health and also serve as a risk factor to many diseases as it contributes to high rates of morbidity and mortality.
The forum organised by Central and West Africa office of Nestle, the first by Nestlé in the Region formed part of the company’s Creating Shared Value (CSV) approach, under which, initiatives are designed to address the company’s business needs while scaling up sustainable investments in nutrition, water and rural development across the world.
It was on the theme "The role of business in food security and nutrition", and was in collaboration with the Lagos Business School of the Pan-African University in Lagos, Nigeria.
In Central and West Africa, Nestlé ramps up investments in cocoa, coffee, grains and cereals to providing educational infrastructure, water and sanitary facilities to underserved communities, as well as addressing malnutrition and obesity through initiatives such as the Nestlé Healthy Kids programme and the micro-nutrients fortification of its products.
Speaking on a sub-topic Commercial market driven fortification, Ms Okoree explained food fortification to mean, the addition of one or more micro-nutrient that is vitamins, minerals, trace elements to foods to increase the content of the micro-nutrient to improve the nutritional quality of the food and to provide a public health benefit with minimal health risk.
According to Ms Okoree, “fortifying foods with vitamins and minerals plays a key role in the prevention of micro-nutrient deficiencies, and through the addition of micro-nutrients to commonly consumed foods, large segments of the population could benefit from improved nutrition without major changes in their dietary habits”.
She says fortification requires thorough food safety and quality assessments due to increasing urbanisation coupled with wider availability and accessibility of packaged foods and market driven fortification is important in addressing public health needs, adding, “market driven fortification has a great potential in contributing to meeting nutrient requirements and thereby reducing the risk of micro-nutrient deficiency”.
An expert in fortification, she contends that the evidence of high rates of micro-nutrient deficiency especially in developing countries was based on the fact that diets generally lack diversity as they were usually based on cereals, roots and tubers with low micro-nutrient content.
However, populations with higher socio-economic status, are able to augment staples with micro-nutrient rich foods whereas this can not be said for populations in the lower income brackets.
It is in the light of ensuring that micro-nutrients are provided at the required quantity and quality to the public in general that Nestle, producers of baby and other foods has added iron and other supplement such as Vitamin A to some selected products.
Nestlé fortifies dairy products with micro-nutrients targeting local nutritional needs. It has launched a number of powdered, affordable milks fortified with iron, vitamin A, or zinc, as well as other micro-nutrients according to local needs. These milks include Nido Essentia in Central and West Africa, Ideal in Brazil and Nespray in Malaysia.
By the end of 2010, these affordable milks were available to millions of consumers in over 70 countries worldwide, especially in developing countries.
Also to help combat iodine deficiency, which causes serious impairment to children’s mental and physical development in developing countries, Nestlé’s Maggi bouillon cube is manufactured using iodine-fortified salt. By 2008 Nestlé had sold over 100,000 tonnes of iodine-enriched bouillon, making it the world’s largest food carrier of iodine. This included 19 billion maggi cubes and tablets sold across Central and West Africa, where iodine deficiencies are highly prevalent
Food fortification, such as iodide salt or vitamin D fortified milk, serves as a public health measure to address population-wide nutrient deficiencies.
Foods that contain added nutrients and ingredients would promote or support overall health and wellness in a variety of ways across many different body systems including heart, bone, digestive, eye, and brain health; weight management; and increased energy and immune health, among others.
Globally, the decision to fortify products is left up to individual food manufacturers. Voluntary fortification is a common practice in many countries. Additionally, 50 countries including the United States, Canada, and Australia require mandatory fortification of certain staple foods with specific nutrient(s) to improve public health, such as the fortification of enriched flour with folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects, and restrict the fortification of foods with certain nutrients such as vitamin D.
MICRO-NUTRIENTS are nutrients which are needed by the human body in very tiny amounts but it is estimated that two billion people which is 30 per cent of the global population have some degree of micro-nutrient deficiency.
Micro-nutrient malnutrition can be a risk factor to many diseases and contribute to high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Estimated micro-nutrient deficiencies according to the World Health Report 2002 account for about 7.3 per cent of the global burden of disease, with iron and vitamin A deficiency ranking among the 15 leading causes of the global disease burden.
Micro-nutrients include such dietary minerals as zinc and iodine, and they are necessary for the healthy functioning of all the body's systems, from bone growth to brain function. Sodium, for instance, is responsible for maintaining the proper fluid balance in the body; it helps fluids pass through cell walls and helps regulate appropriate pH levels in ones blood.
Micro-nutrients are commonly referred to as vitamins which include vitamin C, A, D, E and K, as well as the B-complex vitamins and minerals such as flouride, selenium, sodium, iodine, copper and zinc.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that, micro-nutrient deficiency present a huge threat to the health of the world's population naming some common micro-nutrient deficiencies to include iodine deficiency, vitamin A deficiency and iron deficiency.
Iodine deficiency is the world's foremost cause of brain damage. Iodine deficiency, during pregnancy, can result in stillbirth, miscarriage and irreversible mental retardation. Fortunately, it's easily prevented by the use of iodide salt.
Vitamin A deficiency is also a leading cause of blindness in children; in pregnant women, it can cause night blindness and increase maternal mortality rates.
Iron deficiency is the most common deficiency in the world it is the only one prevalent in developed countries. Over 30 per cent of the world's population suffers from iron deficiency anemia.
Micro-nutrients are different from macro-nutrients such as protein, carbohydrate and fat. Micro-nutrients are called "micro"-nutrients because the body needs only very small quantities of them for survival.
The CODEX Contact Point Manager, Ms Joyce Okoree of the Ghana Standards Authority at a forum in Lagos, Nigeria on food fortification recently said globally, nutrition and its relationship to health and wellness has gained great importance.
Micro-nutrients deficiencies she said were widespread and could have devastating effects on health and also serve as a risk factor to many diseases as it contributes to high rates of morbidity and mortality.
The forum organised by Central and West Africa office of Nestle, the first by Nestlé in the Region formed part of the company’s Creating Shared Value (CSV) approach, under which, initiatives are designed to address the company’s business needs while scaling up sustainable investments in nutrition, water and rural development across the world.
It was on the theme "The role of business in food security and nutrition", and was in collaboration with the Lagos Business School of the Pan-African University in Lagos, Nigeria.
In Central and West Africa, Nestlé ramps up investments in cocoa, coffee, grains and cereals to providing educational infrastructure, water and sanitary facilities to underserved communities, as well as addressing malnutrition and obesity through initiatives such as the Nestlé Healthy Kids programme and the micro-nutrients fortification of its products.
Speaking on a sub-topic Commercial market driven fortification, Ms Okoree explained food fortification to mean, the addition of one or more micro-nutrient that is vitamins, minerals, trace elements to foods to increase the content of the micro-nutrient to improve the nutritional quality of the food and to provide a public health benefit with minimal health risk.
According to Ms Okoree, “fortifying foods with vitamins and minerals plays a key role in the prevention of micro-nutrient deficiencies, and through the addition of micro-nutrients to commonly consumed foods, large segments of the population could benefit from improved nutrition without major changes in their dietary habits”.
She says fortification requires thorough food safety and quality assessments due to increasing urbanisation coupled with wider availability and accessibility of packaged foods and market driven fortification is important in addressing public health needs, adding, “market driven fortification has a great potential in contributing to meeting nutrient requirements and thereby reducing the risk of micro-nutrient deficiency”.
An expert in fortification, she contends that the evidence of high rates of micro-nutrient deficiency especially in developing countries was based on the fact that diets generally lack diversity as they were usually based on cereals, roots and tubers with low micro-nutrient content.
However, populations with higher socio-economic status, are able to augment staples with micro-nutrient rich foods whereas this can not be said for populations in the lower income brackets.
It is in the light of ensuring that micro-nutrients are provided at the required quantity and quality to the public in general that Nestle, producers of baby and other foods has added iron and other supplement such as Vitamin A to some selected products.
Nestlé fortifies dairy products with micro-nutrients targeting local nutritional needs. It has launched a number of powdered, affordable milks fortified with iron, vitamin A, or zinc, as well as other micro-nutrients according to local needs. These milks include Nido Essentia in Central and West Africa, Ideal in Brazil and Nespray in Malaysia.
By the end of 2010, these affordable milks were available to millions of consumers in over 70 countries worldwide, especially in developing countries.
Also to help combat iodine deficiency, which causes serious impairment to children’s mental and physical development in developing countries, Nestlé’s Maggi bouillon cube is manufactured using iodine-fortified salt. By 2008 Nestlé had sold over 100,000 tonnes of iodine-enriched bouillon, making it the world’s largest food carrier of iodine. This included 19 billion maggi cubes and tablets sold across Central and West Africa, where iodine deficiencies are highly prevalent
Food fortification, such as iodide salt or vitamin D fortified milk, serves as a public health measure to address population-wide nutrient deficiencies.
Foods that contain added nutrients and ingredients would promote or support overall health and wellness in a variety of ways across many different body systems including heart, bone, digestive, eye, and brain health; weight management; and increased energy and immune health, among others.
Globally, the decision to fortify products is left up to individual food manufacturers. Voluntary fortification is a common practice in many countries. Additionally, 50 countries including the United States, Canada, and Australia require mandatory fortification of certain staple foods with specific nutrient(s) to improve public health, such as the fortification of enriched flour with folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects, and restrict the fortification of foods with certain nutrients such as vitamin D.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
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.
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.
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.
Women were at the center stage in 2012
By: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
YEAR 2012 saw a lot of women achieving greater laurels while some also got entangled in bitter experiences. From international and political appointments, academic laurels to assault and battery, women became key players in a lot of issues from across the country and beyond.
A female food scientist, Dr Sabina Anokye Mensah, was earlier in the year appointed by the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) as a women’s major group organising partner for preparations towards the UN Conference on Sustainable Development which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June.
Dubbed Rio+20, UNCSD was organised in pursuance of the UN General Assembly Resolution that relates to the programme of action for sustainable development of Small Island Developing States. Dr Anokye Mensah is the Gender and Development Co-ordinator of the Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS Foundation) and she is also the focal person for the Voices of African Mothers, an international non-governmental organisation.
Lawyer and Gender Consultant, Ms Hilary Gbedemah, was also elected as Ghana’s representative to the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Her appointment followed a fiercely contested election at the UN Headquarters, New York. By her election, Ghana joins 10 other elected member states that would spearhead the activities of CEDAW from January, 2013.
The Takoradi Polytechnic, for the first time in the history of the school, appointed a female, Mrs Sylvia Beatrice Oppong-Mensah, as its Registrar. The Rector of the Polytechnic, Rev. Professor Daniel Nyarko, together with the Chairman of the Polytechnic Council decorated her at her induction ceremony in Takoradi.
Also Mrs Patricia Ampofowaa Boso from Kumasi was adjudged the 18th National Best Teacher for 2011.The 18th National Best Teacher Awards was held in 2012.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ghana, elected its first female chair in the person of Ms Georgina Opoku Amankwaa. Ms Amankwaa, who was the Chairperson of the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), made history in August when she was elected at the TUC’s congress in Kumasi as the first female chairperson.
In a similar vein, the Chief Executive Officer of L’AINE Services Limited, Mrs Ellen Hagan, was in September adjudged the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) Marketing Woman of the year for 2011.
The Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent (Mrs) Patience Quaye, was in September appointed as the Co-ordinator of Region 18 of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) in Canada at the 50th IAWP training.
Ghana’s ‘Chorkor fish smoker’ was in March 2012 hailed at the 56th Commission on the status on Women at the United Nation (UN) in the New York Conference. At a side event organised by Ghana at the conference, delegates gave thumps up for the use of a locally designed technology as an appropriate means to improve livelihoods of rural women.
In the run-up to the December 2012 general elections, three political parties selected women as their Vice Presidential candidates. The first was the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) which selected Ms Eva Lokko, followed by the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which picked Nana Akosua Frimpongmaa Sarpong-Kumankuma while the People’s National Convention (PNC) picked Mrs Helen Sanorita Dzatogbe Matervi.
In September, a gender-based violence court was commissioned in Kumasi by His Lordship Mr Justice Robin B. Batu, Ashanti Regional Supervising High Court Judge, to help in resolving domestic violence cases in a speedy manner.
African Queens were in the country in September to form a cultural leadership network. The over 15 queens who were at a conference in Accra, brainstormed on how to build structures for the formation of an African Women’s Cultural Leadership Network (AWCLN).
Also, for the first time in the political history of the country, two females led their political parties as flag bearers: Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former first lady, led the National Democratic Party (NDP) while Akua Donkor led the Ghana Freedom Party. They were both, however, disqualified by the Electoral Commission at the last minute.
At the end of the 2012 general election, 30 women were elected at various constituencies as Members of Parliament (MPs). The figure represents an increase from 19 women MP’s in 2008.
YEAR 2012 saw a lot of women achieving greater laurels while some also got entangled in bitter experiences. From international and political appointments, academic laurels to assault and battery, women became key players in a lot of issues from across the country and beyond.
A female food scientist, Dr Sabina Anokye Mensah, was earlier in the year appointed by the United Nation Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) as a women’s major group organising partner for preparations towards the UN Conference on Sustainable Development which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June.
Dubbed Rio+20, UNCSD was organised in pursuance of the UN General Assembly Resolution that relates to the programme of action for sustainable development of Small Island Developing States. Dr Anokye Mensah is the Gender and Development Co-ordinator of the Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS Foundation) and she is also the focal person for the Voices of African Mothers, an international non-governmental organisation.
Lawyer and Gender Consultant, Ms Hilary Gbedemah, was also elected as Ghana’s representative to the United Nation’s Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Her appointment followed a fiercely contested election at the UN Headquarters, New York. By her election, Ghana joins 10 other elected member states that would spearhead the activities of CEDAW from January, 2013.
The Takoradi Polytechnic, for the first time in the history of the school, appointed a female, Mrs Sylvia Beatrice Oppong-Mensah, as its Registrar. The Rector of the Polytechnic, Rev. Professor Daniel Nyarko, together with the Chairman of the Polytechnic Council decorated her at her induction ceremony in Takoradi.
Also Mrs Patricia Ampofowaa Boso from Kumasi was adjudged the 18th National Best Teacher for 2011.The 18th National Best Teacher Awards was held in 2012.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ghana, elected its first female chair in the person of Ms Georgina Opoku Amankwaa. Ms Amankwaa, who was the Chairperson of the Public Services Workers Union (PSWU), made history in August when she was elected at the TUC’s congress in Kumasi as the first female chairperson.
In a similar vein, the Chief Executive Officer of L’AINE Services Limited, Mrs Ellen Hagan, was in September adjudged the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) Marketing Woman of the year for 2011.
The Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent (Mrs) Patience Quaye, was in September appointed as the Co-ordinator of Region 18 of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) in Canada at the 50th IAWP training.
Ghana’s ‘Chorkor fish smoker’ was in March 2012 hailed at the 56th Commission on the status on Women at the United Nation (UN) in the New York Conference. At a side event organised by Ghana at the conference, delegates gave thumps up for the use of a locally designed technology as an appropriate means to improve livelihoods of rural women.
In the run-up to the December 2012 general elections, three political parties selected women as their Vice Presidential candidates. The first was the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) which selected Ms Eva Lokko, followed by the Convention People’s Party (CPP), which picked Nana Akosua Frimpongmaa Sarpong-Kumankuma while the People’s National Convention (PNC) picked Mrs Helen Sanorita Dzatogbe Matervi.
In September, a gender-based violence court was commissioned in Kumasi by His Lordship Mr Justice Robin B. Batu, Ashanti Regional Supervising High Court Judge, to help in resolving domestic violence cases in a speedy manner.
African Queens were in the country in September to form a cultural leadership network. The over 15 queens who were at a conference in Accra, brainstormed on how to build structures for the formation of an African Women’s Cultural Leadership Network (AWCLN).
Also, for the first time in the political history of the country, two females led their political parties as flag bearers: Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former first lady, led the National Democratic Party (NDP) while Akua Donkor led the Ghana Freedom Party. They were both, however, disqualified by the Electoral Commission at the last minute.
At the end of the 2012 general election, 30 women were elected at various constituencies as Members of Parliament (MPs). The figure represents an increase from 19 women MP’s in 2008.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Mercury, the silent killer
By Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
It is said to be the only metal that presents itself in liquid form at room temperature. Perhaps its deceptive nature adds to it being one of the most dangerous but silent killers of our time.
In its raw state, it is used by small scale miners to extract gold, making it the worst pollutant in the world after the burning of fossil fuels.
It is also extracted from electronic-waste (e-waste) such as computers. E-waste burnt at dump sites in places such as Agbogbloshie, poses health hazards to humans and also contaminates foodstuffs sold at the market.
The Odaw River passes through Agbogbloshie carrying materials from burning sites into gutters and rivers from which water is collected for the numerous vegetable farms situated in the area while the air is also polluted and inhaled by thousands of people who live and work in the area known as Sodom and Gomorra, a densely populated slum.
Mercury is said to be the cause of more than 50 illnesses and diseases, notable among them being Addison's disease, Alzheimer's, asthma, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune disease, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, colitis, depression, environmental illness, fibromyalgia, gastritis, infertility, insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Others are juvenile arthritis, learning disabilities, lupus erythromatosus, manic depression, multiple chemical sensitivities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, Parkinson's disease, pervasive developmental disorder, psychosis, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, sciatica, sleep disorders and yeast syndrome, among others.
Acute mercury exposure can affect gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. In some cases, mercury poisoning can lead to inflammation of the mouth, loose teeth, ulcerated and bleeding gums. It can also cause certain digestive tract problems such as diarrhoea, inflamed colon and stomach cramps, respiratory problems such as persistent coughing and emphysema and cardiovascular problems such as blood pressure changes, weak pulse and chest pain.
* People involved in small-scale mining do not protect themselves from chemical pollution
At a national forum in Accra quite recently on the health problems caused by exposure to mercury, the Head of the Public Health Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Philip K. Amoo, disclosed that many of the kidney recorded deaths among people between the ages of 35 and 45, were due to “heavy metal deposition in the kidney leading to kidney failure.
Mercury, according to health experts, is an extremely reactive toxic element, which can cause a number of hazardous effects on ones health. The severity of health effects of mercury poisoning depends upon the duration and dose of exposure, the chemical form of the mercury, route of exposure and the age and health of the person exposed. It can cause severe damage to the central nervous system.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHSS), mercury is a known toxic substance that is harmful to especially pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and young children with the most sensitive group being foetuses.
Foetuses exposed to mercury are prone to decreased birth weight and muscle tone, developmental delay, seizure disorders, deafness, blindness and spasticity.
Poisoning from mercury occurs when a person inhales or ingests or the skin or eye come into contact with mercury. Mercury is widely found in water, soil and air in various forms. Methylmercury is an extremely poisonous form of mercury. It is formed when mercury present in the air gets deposited onto land or into water and is seized upon by certain microorganisms.
Mercury poisoning can also be caused by the consumption of fish that has been contaminated with mercury or through direct exposure to some mercury-containing products. This exposure can affect the immune system and other organs, including the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys. It also travels thousands of miles in the atmosphere, settling in oceans and river beds.
According to the Executive Director of Ecological Restorations, Mr Emmanuel Odjam-Akumatey, the devastation caused by widespread mining is easy to spot, as areas where such activities are undertaken present huge swathes of the forest turned to barren desert, but the damage caused by the heavy use of mercury is more difficult to detect.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person who consumes two servings of mercury contaminated fish per week is getting seven-and-a-half times the safe limit of mercury into his or her body.
In Ghana thousands of people are involved in small scale mining, and according to Kwame Owusu, who 15 years ago was involved in the mining business in Hyediam, a mining community near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, he is still suffering from skin infections and has developed permanent red eyes as a result of the use of mercury to extract gold.
Similarly, tens of thousands of remote mining sites have sprung up mostly in communities where big mining firms are located, such as Obuasi, Tarkwa and Sunyani and the usage tons of mercury each year has ravaged the nervous system of miners and their families.
The use of mercury in gold mining is illegal in many countries because it is toxic to both human health and the environment but small scale miners continue to use the substance as it is the cheapest, quickest and easiest way of extracting this precious mineral whose price continue to soar on the world market.
In gold mines, as much as one to three grams of mercury are lost for every gram of gold produced. But mercury is a slow and silent killer, so miners scoff at health concerns. They breath mercury fumes and handle the toxic liquid for years with no problems.
Human-generated sources of mercury exposure are a major cause of mercury poisoning. Mercury exposure can occur from breathing contaminated air or due to inadequate use or disposal of mercury-containing products, such as computers, batteries, thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs.
Ghana is identified as a dumping ground for e-waste from developed countries such as used computers, used mobile phones, old fridges and other electronic gadgets which are imported for a cheaper prize or are given as donations to schools and non-governmental organisations.
* Fumes from this burning site at Agbogbloshie in Accra end up in nearby water bodies
The Director of the Education Department of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Emmanuel Salu, identifies that apart from e-waste coming from outside the country, e-waste is also generated locally as most Ghanaians have no idea what to do with their obsolete mobile phones, TV sets, sound systems, refrigerators, air conditioners, computers and CFL lamps and therefore dump them at repair shops and refuse dumps.
With the onset of globalisation, there is a sharp increase in e-waste in Ghana from developed countries which, according to Mr Salu, has neither been matched with policy and regulatory mechanisms nor with infrastructure. He disclosed that only 13 per cent of e-waste is recycled with or without safety procedures.
To him, the country is doing very little to control the situation because of the high demand for the use of such gadgets in the cities and rural areas.
Despite the hazards caused by exposure to mercury, local and international civil societies, including Ecological Restoration, are concerned that the importation and buying of mercury is as easy as doing any other business and that the international trade in mercury is largely unregulated.
According to them, a total of 55 countries across the world where small-scale gold mining is rife, including Ghana, lack the political will or capacity to prevent the toxic metal from falling into the hands of small scale miners who use the substance indiscriminately.
Although mercury has beneficial uses in areas such as dentistry where it is used for repairing cavities, it is diverted and sold to the gold mines instead, where it can fetch prices 10 times higher its original price.
By the 20th century, mining companies had abandoned mercury in favour of chemicals like cyanide. But small-scale miners like it because according to them, it is easy to use, fast, cheap and leaves the gold cleaner.
In Ghana the importation of the liquid metal is regulated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and according to concerned civil society organisations, this shows the lack of seriousness attached to the importation and use of such a dangerous substance as it is treated as a commodity and not a dangerous substance which needs to be protected from getting into the wrong hands.
* Activities of such miners expose them to the dangers of Mercury pollution
Solutions needed
According to Mr Odjam-Akumatey, the question in Ghana now is how to reconfigure public policy, businesses and infrastructure to ensure better returns from development choices in terms of natural, human and financial capital. This necessitates law and markets working together at national, regional and international levels to coherently align economic, environmental and human health goals.
To Mr Salu there is the need for a national collection point for items like used mobile phone batteries, disused CFC bulbs and TV circuit boards which contain mercury.
In his opinion, there is the need for a national policy on e-waste to deal with importation and dumping of old products into the country and the empowerment of national institutions to tackle the problem as a national priority.
According to him a project dubbed the 'E-waste Africa Project' which was developed as part of the Basel Convention aims at enhancing the capacity of African countries in Ghana, Benin, Egypt, Liberia, Nigeria, Tunisia to tackle e-waste imports from the developed world.
Activities under the project include surveys, development of tools for assessing e-waste management, addressing the sound management, testing and certification of second hand products.
To him, the project has a potential to contribute to poverty alleviation by developing market opportunities for trade and export of recovered materials.
The project will also help artisans improve on recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and assist the Ghana EPA to control transboundary movements of e-waste and prevent illegal traffic of such waste.
As part of the way forward, the EPA, he said, in close collaboration with Vodafone is to set up a system to collect used mobile phone batteries at designation centres in Ghana
This will create the needed education to take mobile phone batteries and spoilt phones from the system for recycling .
Another project undertaken by the agency is to find best practices for people in the waste sector so as to recover useful materials from the e-waste through proper methods and training.
Also he suggests the need for proper education so that residents, especially in Accra, do not throw e-waste into water bodies as the Korle Lagoon restoration project in Accra has found that most of the waste found in the lagoon are used computer parts
It is said to be the only metal that presents itself in liquid form at room temperature. Perhaps its deceptive nature adds to it being one of the most dangerous but silent killers of our time.
In its raw state, it is used by small scale miners to extract gold, making it the worst pollutant in the world after the burning of fossil fuels.
It is also extracted from electronic-waste (e-waste) such as computers. E-waste burnt at dump sites in places such as Agbogbloshie, poses health hazards to humans and also contaminates foodstuffs sold at the market.
The Odaw River passes through Agbogbloshie carrying materials from burning sites into gutters and rivers from which water is collected for the numerous vegetable farms situated in the area while the air is also polluted and inhaled by thousands of people who live and work in the area known as Sodom and Gomorra, a densely populated slum.
Mercury is said to be the cause of more than 50 illnesses and diseases, notable among them being Addison's disease, Alzheimer's, asthma, attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune disease, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, candidiasis, chronic fatigue, colitis, depression, environmental illness, fibromyalgia, gastritis, infertility, insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Others are juvenile arthritis, learning disabilities, lupus erythromatosus, manic depression, multiple chemical sensitivities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic attacks, Parkinson's disease, pervasive developmental disorder, psychosis, rheumatoid arthritis, schizophrenia, sciatica, sleep disorders and yeast syndrome, among others.
Acute mercury exposure can affect gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. In some cases, mercury poisoning can lead to inflammation of the mouth, loose teeth, ulcerated and bleeding gums. It can also cause certain digestive tract problems such as diarrhoea, inflamed colon and stomach cramps, respiratory problems such as persistent coughing and emphysema and cardiovascular problems such as blood pressure changes, weak pulse and chest pain.
At a national forum in Accra quite recently on the health problems caused by exposure to mercury, the Head of the Public Health Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Philip K. Amoo, disclosed that many of the kidney recorded deaths among people between the ages of 35 and 45, were due to “heavy metal deposition in the kidney leading to kidney failure.
Mercury, according to health experts, is an extremely reactive toxic element, which can cause a number of hazardous effects on ones health. The severity of health effects of mercury poisoning depends upon the duration and dose of exposure, the chemical form of the mercury, route of exposure and the age and health of the person exposed. It can cause severe damage to the central nervous system.
According to the Ghana Health Service (GHSS), mercury is a known toxic substance that is harmful to especially pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and young children with the most sensitive group being foetuses.
Foetuses exposed to mercury are prone to decreased birth weight and muscle tone, developmental delay, seizure disorders, deafness, blindness and spasticity.
Poisoning from mercury occurs when a person inhales or ingests or the skin or eye come into contact with mercury. Mercury is widely found in water, soil and air in various forms. Methylmercury is an extremely poisonous form of mercury. It is formed when mercury present in the air gets deposited onto land or into water and is seized upon by certain microorganisms.
Mercury poisoning can also be caused by the consumption of fish that has been contaminated with mercury or through direct exposure to some mercury-containing products. This exposure can affect the immune system and other organs, including the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys. It also travels thousands of miles in the atmosphere, settling in oceans and river beds.
According to the Executive Director of Ecological Restorations, Mr Emmanuel Odjam-Akumatey, the devastation caused by widespread mining is easy to spot, as areas where such activities are undertaken present huge swathes of the forest turned to barren desert, but the damage caused by the heavy use of mercury is more difficult to detect.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a person who consumes two servings of mercury contaminated fish per week is getting seven-and-a-half times the safe limit of mercury into his or her body.
In Ghana thousands of people are involved in small scale mining, and according to Kwame Owusu, who 15 years ago was involved in the mining business in Hyediam, a mining community near Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, he is still suffering from skin infections and has developed permanent red eyes as a result of the use of mercury to extract gold.
Similarly, tens of thousands of remote mining sites have sprung up mostly in communities where big mining firms are located, such as Obuasi, Tarkwa and Sunyani and the usage tons of mercury each year has ravaged the nervous system of miners and their families.
The use of mercury in gold mining is illegal in many countries because it is toxic to both human health and the environment but small scale miners continue to use the substance as it is the cheapest, quickest and easiest way of extracting this precious mineral whose price continue to soar on the world market.
In gold mines, as much as one to three grams of mercury are lost for every gram of gold produced. But mercury is a slow and silent killer, so miners scoff at health concerns. They breath mercury fumes and handle the toxic liquid for years with no problems.
Human-generated sources of mercury exposure are a major cause of mercury poisoning. Mercury exposure can occur from breathing contaminated air or due to inadequate use or disposal of mercury-containing products, such as computers, batteries, thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs.
Ghana is identified as a dumping ground for e-waste from developed countries such as used computers, used mobile phones, old fridges and other electronic gadgets which are imported for a cheaper prize or are given as donations to schools and non-governmental organisations.
The Director of the Education Department of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Emmanuel Salu, identifies that apart from e-waste coming from outside the country, e-waste is also generated locally as most Ghanaians have no idea what to do with their obsolete mobile phones, TV sets, sound systems, refrigerators, air conditioners, computers and CFL lamps and therefore dump them at repair shops and refuse dumps.
With the onset of globalisation, there is a sharp increase in e-waste in Ghana from developed countries which, according to Mr Salu, has neither been matched with policy and regulatory mechanisms nor with infrastructure. He disclosed that only 13 per cent of e-waste is recycled with or without safety procedures.
To him, the country is doing very little to control the situation because of the high demand for the use of such gadgets in the cities and rural areas.
Despite the hazards caused by exposure to mercury, local and international civil societies, including Ecological Restoration, are concerned that the importation and buying of mercury is as easy as doing any other business and that the international trade in mercury is largely unregulated.
According to them, a total of 55 countries across the world where small-scale gold mining is rife, including Ghana, lack the political will or capacity to prevent the toxic metal from falling into the hands of small scale miners who use the substance indiscriminately.
Although mercury has beneficial uses in areas such as dentistry where it is used for repairing cavities, it is diverted and sold to the gold mines instead, where it can fetch prices 10 times higher its original price.
By the 20th century, mining companies had abandoned mercury in favour of chemicals like cyanide. But small-scale miners like it because according to them, it is easy to use, fast, cheap and leaves the gold cleaner.
In Ghana the importation of the liquid metal is regulated by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and according to concerned civil society organisations, this shows the lack of seriousness attached to the importation and use of such a dangerous substance as it is treated as a commodity and not a dangerous substance which needs to be protected from getting into the wrong hands.
Solutions needed
According to Mr Odjam-Akumatey, the question in Ghana now is how to reconfigure public policy, businesses and infrastructure to ensure better returns from development choices in terms of natural, human and financial capital. This necessitates law and markets working together at national, regional and international levels to coherently align economic, environmental and human health goals.
To Mr Salu there is the need for a national collection point for items like used mobile phone batteries, disused CFC bulbs and TV circuit boards which contain mercury.
In his opinion, there is the need for a national policy on e-waste to deal with importation and dumping of old products into the country and the empowerment of national institutions to tackle the problem as a national priority.
According to him a project dubbed the 'E-waste Africa Project' which was developed as part of the Basel Convention aims at enhancing the capacity of African countries in Ghana, Benin, Egypt, Liberia, Nigeria, Tunisia to tackle e-waste imports from the developed world.
Activities under the project include surveys, development of tools for assessing e-waste management, addressing the sound management, testing and certification of second hand products.
To him, the project has a potential to contribute to poverty alleviation by developing market opportunities for trade and export of recovered materials.
The project will also help artisans improve on recycling of electrical and electronic equipment and assist the Ghana EPA to control transboundary movements of e-waste and prevent illegal traffic of such waste.
As part of the way forward, the EPA, he said, in close collaboration with Vodafone is to set up a system to collect used mobile phone batteries at designation centres in Ghana
This will create the needed education to take mobile phone batteries and spoilt phones from the system for recycling .
Another project undertaken by the agency is to find best practices for people in the waste sector so as to recover useful materials from the e-waste through proper methods and training.
Also he suggests the need for proper education so that residents, especially in Accra, do not throw e-waste into water bodies as the Korle Lagoon restoration project in Accra has found that most of the waste found in the lagoon are used computer parts
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