Daily Graphic, Pg 11. Tues. March 23/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
MOST nursing mothers, after their maternity leave, find it difficult adjusting to their normal work schedules, since they have to leave their babies in the care of grandparents, other relatives or nannies.
This makes the transition back to work after maternity leave very frustrating and unpleasant, most especially for mothers who are not comfortable with the people they leave their babies with.
Some are forced to take their babies to the crèche at an early age and this also puts the babies at risk of contracting various infections and diseases.
Although most workers relish the idea of a crèche in their offices where they can take their babies and drop in intermittently to either breast-feed or check on them, not many see the idea as materialising in their companies.
The staff of Databank Financial Services in Accra are, however, lucky to have a crèche to cater for the needs of nursing mothers who resume work after their maternity leave.
Built by the management of the bank, the Datakids Crèche, which started operating in September last year, is being manned by a retired nursing officer of the Ghana Armed Forces, Captain Nana Adams (retd), and three supporting crèche tutors.
Presently, the crèche has 14 children, made up of eight toddlers aged between eight months and two years and four pupils who drop in to wait for their parents after they close from school.
Interestingly, at the Datakids Crèche, not only mothers who work at the bank drop in their babies but also fathers whose wives work in other companies where the facility is non-existent also drop in their babies to enable their mothers to have their peace of mind at their various workplaces.
The Datakids Crèche is fitted with a kitchenette and a washroom and the babies are fed with food which their parents pack for them and they are bathed whenever necessary and also just before they are picked up.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Databank, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, who was at the opening ceremony of the Datakids Crèche, said the project was one of the Databank’s means of ensuring that its workers worked in a comfortable environment.
He said the need for the crèche became necessary when the company realised that it was necessary to meet the needs of its staff to boost productivity.
According to him, the establishment of the crèche within the premises of the company would help attain that objective, since nursing mothers would have the peace of mind to work.
He said if all companies began to put the interest of their employees’ children at the centre of their businesses, the country would begin to cherish its children and that would help make the work of women easier.
The Head of Human Capital and Administration at Databank, Mrs Felicia Gyamfi Ashley, said the company also offered a week’s paternity leave for men whose wives were delivered of babies, saying that enabled the fathers to offer their wives the needed services within the period.
She said Databank had the interest of the family at heart and that in celebrating 20 years of its existence, it saw the crèche as a more appropriate opportunity to cater for the interest of nursing mothers who were staff of the company.
The Crèche Mother, Captain Nana Adams (retd), said with her expertise as a former nursing officer, she was able to offer relevant advice to the young mothers and fathers who brought their children to the crèche, as well as ensure that they were properly taken care of.
She said the Datakids Crèche admitted children from birth to six years when they were ready to be integrated into the formal school system.
A father whose baby has, since the start of the crèche, been benefiting from services provided by the centre, said the facility had been a blessing to him and his wife who also worked in another bank.
The father, Mr Emmanuel Quarm, said his wife had to start work a month after delivery and putting the baby in the crèche had been more of a blessing than they had expected.
According to him, he now worked with a free mind, since he did not have to think of the safety or otherwise of his baby.
Mrs Sophia Quarm said the crèche could not have been established at a better time.
She said the place had been of tremendous help to her as a new mother, since she also learnt a lot from the Crèche Mother.
Friday, March 26, 2010
GIWC commended for its charitable work
Daily Graphic, Pg 11. Sat. March 20/10
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, has commended the Ghana International Women’s Club (GIWC) for helping to better the lives of a number of less privileged women in the country.
Speaking at a fund raising and tea party organised by the group in Accra for its members, the minister lauded the club for undertaking various projects in parts of the country to make life more meaningful for women and children.
She called on other women groups in the country to help deprived women progress in live.
She said the government was trying to accelerate development in the three northern regions, and called on private individuals to channel their projects to that part of the country to benefit more women and children.
The President of the club, Mrs Nagwa Katta, said the club had funded over three hundred projects in parts of the country, adding that it was aiming at undertaking more development projects that would better the lives of more women in the country.
She said after 30 years of service in the country, the club, which was made up of women from different nations residing in Ghana, would continue to initiate projects in deprived communities in the country, and called for more support to enable the club to attain its objectives.
The Project Chairperson of the GIWC, Mrs Florence Frimpong, mentioned the Autism Centre in Accra, the Orthopaedic Centre at Nsawam, the Breeches Day Care Centre, the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and the Okuapeman School, as some of the places where the club’s projects are located. She also said others were the Dzorwulu Special School, the Osu Library, the Sesami Women’s Group in the Brong Ahafo Region and a farming project for the Navrongo Women’s Group.
She said in 2008, the club raised $30,000 to fund over 170 cataract operations for some less deprived people.
Currently she said the club was aiming at providing beds for the Obstetric Unit of the Ridge Hospital.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, has commended the Ghana International Women’s Club (GIWC) for helping to better the lives of a number of less privileged women in the country.
Speaking at a fund raising and tea party organised by the group in Accra for its members, the minister lauded the club for undertaking various projects in parts of the country to make life more meaningful for women and children.
She called on other women groups in the country to help deprived women progress in live.
She said the government was trying to accelerate development in the three northern regions, and called on private individuals to channel their projects to that part of the country to benefit more women and children.
The President of the club, Mrs Nagwa Katta, said the club had funded over three hundred projects in parts of the country, adding that it was aiming at undertaking more development projects that would better the lives of more women in the country.
She said after 30 years of service in the country, the club, which was made up of women from different nations residing in Ghana, would continue to initiate projects in deprived communities in the country, and called for more support to enable the club to attain its objectives.
The Project Chairperson of the GIWC, Mrs Florence Frimpong, mentioned the Autism Centre in Accra, the Orthopaedic Centre at Nsawam, the Breeches Day Care Centre, the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and the Okuapeman School, as some of the places where the club’s projects are located. She also said others were the Dzorwulu Special School, the Osu Library, the Sesami Women’s Group in the Brong Ahafo Region and a farming project for the Navrongo Women’s Group.
She said in 2008, the club raised $30,000 to fund over 170 cataract operations for some less deprived people.
Currently she said the club was aiming at providing beds for the Obstetric Unit of the Ridge Hospital.
Friday, March 19, 2010
ECOWAS meets on climate change
Daily Graphic (spread)Fri. March 19/10
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
MINISTERS of Environment from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Accra yesterday to adopt and validate a sub-regional programme of action to reduce the negative impact of climate change in the sub-region.
Dubbed, “Programme of Strategic Guidelines on Reduction of Vulnerability to Climate Change in West Africa”, the document is intended to serve as guidelines for countries within the sub-region.
The document was drafted during a meeting of technical committee of experts in agriculture, environment and water resources in conformity with the decision of the Summit of Heads of State and Government held in February in Abuja.
Addressing the meeting, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, said climate change was real and its impact was devastating.
She said climate change was affecting the major drivers of the country’s economy including agriculture, industry and infrastructure.
Ms Ayittey said climate change impacts had the greatest potential to undermine significant components of existing economic and social infrastructure, adding that current changes already threatened to undermine progress made towards the achievement of development goals.
She said adapting to climate change and building climate-resilient economies were a must and there was the urgent need to transition towards a sub-regional green low-emissions economies now.
For his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Ousseini Salifou said the issue of climate change was of great concern due to its effects on human life, animals and plants.
He said climate change was one of the worst impediments to the promotion of sustainable development, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and poverty reduction.
According to him, experts had predicted that the West African sub-region would be one of the worst affected by climate change and might probably have the most negative impact.
He said a clear reduction of vulnerability to climate change for the natural, economic and social systems in the sub-region would necessitate production of scientific knowledge and technical innovations, as well as reforms of current policies and habits.
Mr Salifou called for the voluntary adoption of a management system marked by great anticipation capacity in order to significantly achieve effective reduction of vulnerability of the natural systems.
Story Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
MINISTERS of Environment from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Accra yesterday to adopt and validate a sub-regional programme of action to reduce the negative impact of climate change in the sub-region.
Dubbed, “Programme of Strategic Guidelines on Reduction of Vulnerability to Climate Change in West Africa”, the document is intended to serve as guidelines for countries within the sub-region.
The document was drafted during a meeting of technical committee of experts in agriculture, environment and water resources in conformity with the decision of the Summit of Heads of State and Government held in February in Abuja.
Addressing the meeting, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, said climate change was real and its impact was devastating.
She said climate change was affecting the major drivers of the country’s economy including agriculture, industry and infrastructure.
Ms Ayittey said climate change impacts had the greatest potential to undermine significant components of existing economic and social infrastructure, adding that current changes already threatened to undermine progress made towards the achievement of development goals.
She said adapting to climate change and building climate-resilient economies were a must and there was the urgent need to transition towards a sub-regional green low-emissions economies now.
For his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Ousseini Salifou said the issue of climate change was of great concern due to its effects on human life, animals and plants.
He said climate change was one of the worst impediments to the promotion of sustainable development, achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and poverty reduction.
According to him, experts had predicted that the West African sub-region would be one of the worst affected by climate change and might probably have the most negative impact.
He said a clear reduction of vulnerability to climate change for the natural, economic and social systems in the sub-region would necessitate production of scientific knowledge and technical innovations, as well as reforms of current policies and habits.
Mr Salifou called for the voluntary adoption of a management system marked by great anticipation capacity in order to significantly achieve effective reduction of vulnerability of the natural systems.
October set for census date
Daily Graphic (Back Page), Friday, March 19/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE date for the conduct of the National Population Census has now been tentatively fixed for October 26, this year.
The National Census Steering Committee is said to have fixed the date for the last quarter of the year but it is waiting for a confirmation from Cabinet.
According to a source at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the date was fixed after the committee had deliberated with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders to ensure that the date was convenient to all.
The census, which will be undertaken by 36,000 enumerators and 9,000 supervisors, mostly made up of teachers, will be conducted within a period of two weeks.
The 2010 national census, which was originally expected to take place this month, was delayed because the Census Secretariat needed ample time to capture data from the trial census organised in November last year.
Ghana normally organises its national census, which captures the data of every person living within the borders of the country at census night, in or around March every 10 years but this year’s census delayed due to other factors, such as the commencement of the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
According to experts, such major events could affect the seriousness of the census programme.
According to the source, three new areas on agriculture, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and disability will be introduced into this year’s questionnaire.
The new areas will be introduced alongside some of the normal questions on age, fertility, religious affiliation, as well as educational and economic characteristics of people.
This year’s census will also capture all housing structures, including kiosks, mosques, churches and school buildings in the country.
The Census Secretariat estimates to capture about 25 million people who will be residing within the country on the day of the census.
At a press conference organised in January this year, the Minister of Finance, who is the Chairman of the National Census Steering Committee, said the government was sourcing additional funds from the private sector and developing partners to finance the 2010 Population and Housing Census.
He said the country needed more than US$49 million to organise the census, noting that as of January this year, it had set aside GH¢37 million towards the implementation of the census programme.
The minister, at the press conference, commended the country’s development partners, such as the UNFPA, the DFID, the UNDP, DANIDA, UNICEF, the Swiss government and the People’s Republic of China, for their contribution and pledges, which amounted to US$5 million.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
THE date for the conduct of the National Population Census has now been tentatively fixed for October 26, this year.
The National Census Steering Committee is said to have fixed the date for the last quarter of the year but it is waiting for a confirmation from Cabinet.
According to a source at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the date was fixed after the committee had deliberated with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders to ensure that the date was convenient to all.
The census, which will be undertaken by 36,000 enumerators and 9,000 supervisors, mostly made up of teachers, will be conducted within a period of two weeks.
The 2010 national census, which was originally expected to take place this month, was delayed because the Census Secretariat needed ample time to capture data from the trial census organised in November last year.
Ghana normally organises its national census, which captures the data of every person living within the borders of the country at census night, in or around March every 10 years but this year’s census delayed due to other factors, such as the commencement of the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup.
According to experts, such major events could affect the seriousness of the census programme.
According to the source, three new areas on agriculture, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and disability will be introduced into this year’s questionnaire.
The new areas will be introduced alongside some of the normal questions on age, fertility, religious affiliation, as well as educational and economic characteristics of people.
This year’s census will also capture all housing structures, including kiosks, mosques, churches and school buildings in the country.
The Census Secretariat estimates to capture about 25 million people who will be residing within the country on the day of the census.
At a press conference organised in January this year, the Minister of Finance, who is the Chairman of the National Census Steering Committee, said the government was sourcing additional funds from the private sector and developing partners to finance the 2010 Population and Housing Census.
He said the country needed more than US$49 million to organise the census, noting that as of January this year, it had set aside GH¢37 million towards the implementation of the census programme.
The minister, at the press conference, commended the country’s development partners, such as the UNFPA, the DFID, the UNDP, DANIDA, UNICEF, the Swiss government and the People’s Republic of China, for their contribution and pledges, which amounted to US$5 million.
Ghana, B. Faso, Mali sign €133.1m energy pact
Daily Graphic,(Back page) Thurs. March 18/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
GHANA, Burkina-Faso and Mali yesterday signed onto a €133.1 million energy interconnection project to link the three countries.
The 742-kilometre project will transfer an initial 130 megawatts of energy from Han in Ghana, to Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Fasso and Sikasso and Bamako, both in Mali.
The project, expected to be completed within 45 months, will be financed by the three countries and will be facilitated by the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Secretariat.
A communiqué that will commit the three countries to the project was signed by the ministers of energy from the three countries in Accra yesterday.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, who represented the sector minister, said the natural gas from Ghana’s oil find would constitute the critical fuel for the power generation.
He said presently, a 330kV Coastal Backbone Project, being financed partly by the Korean government, was under construction at the Aboadze-Prestea-Kumasi Transmission Line, to help address the country’s serious transmission capacity inadequacies.
Alhaji Fuseini said the backbone project would form part of the planned infrastructure required for the operation of the proposed West Africa grid network being undertaken by the three countries.
He said the network in the northern part of the country was being strengthened with the construction of a 161kV transmission line linking Tumu, Han and Wa and explained that the project, scheduled for completion by the close of 2013, would tie into the Ghana-Burkina Faso-Mali interconnection project.
He said the generation of power from Ghana’s oil production would help to give a predictable and sustainable energy price for all in the sub-region.
He called on the various utility companies in the three countries to develop common technical standards that would ensure that the systems put in place operated on common standards.
The Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr Amadu Diallo, in an address said the project, which had minimal environmental and social impact, had been approved by the various environmental protection agencies in the three countries.
He said WAPP, after the adoption of the document, would commence with the preparation of bidding documents, mobilisation of funding, as well as a supplementary work to establish an institutional framework.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
GHANA, Burkina-Faso and Mali yesterday signed onto a €133.1 million energy interconnection project to link the three countries.
The 742-kilometre project will transfer an initial 130 megawatts of energy from Han in Ghana, to Bobo Dioulasso in Burkina Fasso and Sikasso and Bamako, both in Mali.
The project, expected to be completed within 45 months, will be financed by the three countries and will be facilitated by the West African Power Pool (WAPP) Secretariat.
A communiqué that will commit the three countries to the project was signed by the ministers of energy from the three countries in Accra yesterday.
Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, who represented the sector minister, said the natural gas from Ghana’s oil find would constitute the critical fuel for the power generation.
He said presently, a 330kV Coastal Backbone Project, being financed partly by the Korean government, was under construction at the Aboadze-Prestea-Kumasi Transmission Line, to help address the country’s serious transmission capacity inadequacies.
Alhaji Fuseini said the backbone project would form part of the planned infrastructure required for the operation of the proposed West Africa grid network being undertaken by the three countries.
He said the network in the northern part of the country was being strengthened with the construction of a 161kV transmission line linking Tumu, Han and Wa and explained that the project, scheduled for completion by the close of 2013, would tie into the Ghana-Burkina Faso-Mali interconnection project.
He said the generation of power from Ghana’s oil production would help to give a predictable and sustainable energy price for all in the sub-region.
He called on the various utility companies in the three countries to develop common technical standards that would ensure that the systems put in place operated on common standards.
The Secretary-General of WAPP, Mr Amadu Diallo, in an address said the project, which had minimal environmental and social impact, had been approved by the various environmental protection agencies in the three countries.
He said WAPP, after the adoption of the document, would commence with the preparation of bidding documents, mobilisation of funding, as well as a supplementary work to establish an institutional framework.
Give women quality health services
Daily Graphic, Pg. 11 Thurs. March 18/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
UNSAFE abortion is defined as a procedure for termination of unwanted pregnancies either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards or both.
Health experts say the problem accounts for the country’s high maternal mortality rate, with unsafe abortions accounting for 11 per cent of the country’s maternal mortality rate.
Factors, including harmful socio-cultural practices such as trokosi, widowhood rites, female genital circumcision, women branded as witches, child marriages, stigmatisation of the disabled, among others, work against reducing maternal mortality in the country.
To halt all these negative cultural practises, Ghana has ratified a number of international convention relevant to the realisation of women’s reproductive rights such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, among others.
Also, the government has put in place a lot of domestic legislation and policy frameworks, including the Children’s Act, the National Health Insurance Act, Reproductive Health Policy, Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy, Matrimonial Causes Act, Criminal Code and the Domestic Violence Act to ensure that women make free and informed decisions about issues that affect their reproductive and sexual lives without any fear of coercion, violence or discrimination.
According to a Gynaecologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Ali Samba, most women abort unwanted pregnancies because family planning services are not accessible or affordable.
Dr Samba, who was making a presentation on “Saving women’s lives: The situation of maternal mortality in Ghana and the interventions to address maternal mortality” at a seminar in Accra, said most women in the country ended up having unsafe abortions due to the restrictive abortion laws and policies in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) and the Reducing Maternal Mortality and Mobidity (R3M) Programme in Accra recently on the theme “Saving the organ of creation”. It was aimed at educating students of the University of Ghana, Legon, as part of an advocacy activity aimed at enlightening the students on their reproductive rights.
Partnered by the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA), the seminar also provided a platform for the students to come out on how the economic, social and cultural practices within the country contribute to protecting their reproductive rights.
Dr Samba reiterated his call to make family planning services free, saying women who could not afford the service would rather opt for the free antenatal care services, which were currently being offered in public hospitals as opposed to paying for contraceptive or family planning services.
Nana Oye Lithur, Director of the HRAC, in a presentation, said although abortion, to some extent, was criminal in the country, women rarely reported cases of abortion, neither were they prosecuted for them.
She said between 2002 and 2006, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service recorded 89 attempted cases of abortion. The same outfit, she said, also recorded 69 cases of abortions within the same period.
According to her, in all circumstances in which abortion is permitted by law, that is when the pregnancy is the result of rape and when the pregnancy poses danger to the health of the pregnant woman, it should be safe, saying that in all cases, women should have access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortions.
She said the law on abortion in Ghana was stated in the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) Section 58 and 59. She pointed out that although there was no legislative instrument (LI) to back the law, the Ghana Health Service had developed standards and protocols for the prevention and management of unsafe abortion and comprehensive abortion care.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
UNSAFE abortion is defined as a procedure for termination of unwanted pregnancies either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment lacking minimal medical standards or both.
Health experts say the problem accounts for the country’s high maternal mortality rate, with unsafe abortions accounting for 11 per cent of the country’s maternal mortality rate.
Factors, including harmful socio-cultural practices such as trokosi, widowhood rites, female genital circumcision, women branded as witches, child marriages, stigmatisation of the disabled, among others, work against reducing maternal mortality in the country.
To halt all these negative cultural practises, Ghana has ratified a number of international convention relevant to the realisation of women’s reproductive rights such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, among others.
Also, the government has put in place a lot of domestic legislation and policy frameworks, including the Children’s Act, the National Health Insurance Act, Reproductive Health Policy, Adolescent Reproductive Health Policy, Matrimonial Causes Act, Criminal Code and the Domestic Violence Act to ensure that women make free and informed decisions about issues that affect their reproductive and sexual lives without any fear of coercion, violence or discrimination.
According to a Gynaecologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Ali Samba, most women abort unwanted pregnancies because family planning services are not accessible or affordable.
Dr Samba, who was making a presentation on “Saving women’s lives: The situation of maternal mortality in Ghana and the interventions to address maternal mortality” at a seminar in Accra, said most women in the country ended up having unsafe abortions due to the restrictive abortion laws and policies in the country.
The seminar was organised by the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC) and the Reducing Maternal Mortality and Mobidity (R3M) Programme in Accra recently on the theme “Saving the organ of creation”. It was aimed at educating students of the University of Ghana, Legon, as part of an advocacy activity aimed at enlightening the students on their reproductive rights.
Partnered by the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA), the seminar also provided a platform for the students to come out on how the economic, social and cultural practices within the country contribute to protecting their reproductive rights.
Dr Samba reiterated his call to make family planning services free, saying women who could not afford the service would rather opt for the free antenatal care services, which were currently being offered in public hospitals as opposed to paying for contraceptive or family planning services.
Nana Oye Lithur, Director of the HRAC, in a presentation, said although abortion, to some extent, was criminal in the country, women rarely reported cases of abortion, neither were they prosecuted for them.
She said between 2002 and 2006, the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service recorded 89 attempted cases of abortion. The same outfit, she said, also recorded 69 cases of abortions within the same period.
According to her, in all circumstances in which abortion is permitted by law, that is when the pregnancy is the result of rape and when the pregnancy poses danger to the health of the pregnant woman, it should be safe, saying that in all cases, women should have access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortions.
She said the law on abortion in Ghana was stated in the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) Section 58 and 59. She pointed out that although there was no legislative instrument (LI) to back the law, the Ghana Health Service had developed standards and protocols for the prevention and management of unsafe abortion and comprehensive abortion care.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
ECOWAS to adopt policy on climate change
Daily Graphic (spread) Tuesday, March 16/10
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
AN ECOWAS ministerial meeting on the adoption of a climate change policy for West Africa opened in Accra yesterday, with an assurance by the Ghana government to pursue measures to reduce the environmental consequences of oil production to the barest minimum.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, who gave the assurance, said the government would use appropriate technologies to ensure that carbon emissions and other dangerous greenhouse gases that would be emitted during oil production and processing were captured and stored.
The two-day meeting is expected to adopt a sub-regional document on climate change policy for West Africa.
The minister said with the production of oil, the country would move from being a low to a high carbon emitter, hence the need to take measures to ensure that appropriate environmental management and safety standards were taken.
“Currently, my government has mandated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a strategic environmental impact assessment of the entire oil production to advise the government on the relevant steps it needed to take to address the adverse effects of oil production on our economy, culture and, above all, our environment," she stated.
Ms Ayitey underscored the need for the sub-regional leaders and policy makers to make reducing the impact of climate change a topmost priority, saying that with the observed trend and projected increases in temperatures and the concomitant decrease in rainfall in all ecological zones, it was certain that water resources and hydro-power production would be seriously affected.
She said climate change was bound to worsen health conditions because it would lead to the incidence of water, air and food-borne diseases.
She said the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December last year did not deliver the fair, equitable and just outcome that was expected by all, adding that African countries would continue to call for a reduction in emissions from developed countries.
Ms Ayittey urged the participants to come up with an effective document, saying that the sub-region must have a broad framework to address all the issues.
For his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Ousseini Salifou, said the meeting was aimed at coming up with a tangible strategy that would enable the sub-region to deal effectively with the issue of climate change.
He said the document, when finalised, would become a pillar and vital tool to deal with various mitigation measures to combat climate change.
He said Africa was united at the Copenhagen summit and that regional leaders would ensure that they continued to present issues with one voice.
He said ECOWAS would continue to support and contribute its quota to ensure that the sub-region experienced minimal effects of climate change.
Mr Salifou gave the assurance that ECOWAS would work closely with relevant agencies and bodies to help find solutions to the negative effects of climate change.
In a related development, African civil society groups yesterday began a four-day meeting in Accra to seek a solution to climate change and protect the continent’s interest in climate matters, reports Mark-Anthony Vinorkor.
Mindful of the fact that climate change is the defining human development and security issue of this generation and that millions of Africans are being forced to cope with the impact of climate change, the organisations are meeting to discuss ways to combine efforts to deal with the problem.
The conference is being organised and sponsored by Friends of the Earth, Ghana.
Ms Ayittey, in a speech read on her behalf, observed that civil society organisations (CSOs) were closer to the grass roots, lived and worked among local populations and so they were in a very good position to bring out the voices from the ground.
She said the ministry considered CSOs as key stakeholders in environmental management in the country working from all levels of policy making, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
To that effect, she said, the membership of the national Climate Change Committee included non-governmental organisations.
Ms Ayittey noted that a successful outcome from the Copenhagen meeting on climate change would have been deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and adequate funds to address climate change in developing countries, but the summit did not deliver that directly.
“Copenhagen, therefore, fell short of the expectations of many developing countries,” she added.
She said developing countries bore little responsibility for causing the climate crisis but they would be hit hardest, saying that was, unfortunately, the case of the continent.
However, Ms Ayittey added, the political willingness demonstrated by global leaders to be present and attend the conference in Copenhagen clearly showed that there was recognition that climate change was one of the greatest threats to socio-economic development and needed multilateral approach.
“Despite the shortcomings, future negotiations on global climate change debate have not closed but the road will not be easy. That is why there is the need for all stakeholders, particularly Africa, to begin to critically analyse the Copenhagen Accord and its implications as a continent and also as individual countries,” she added.
Mr Mithika Mwenda, the Co-ordinator of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, said climate change posed the greatest threat to the survival of humanity and the earth.
He noted that efforts to defeat the challenge of climate change were meeting huge boulders of rock and that time was running out for the global community to act.
Story: Rebecca Quaicoe-Duho
AN ECOWAS ministerial meeting on the adoption of a climate change policy for West Africa opened in Accra yesterday, with an assurance by the Ghana government to pursue measures to reduce the environmental consequences of oil production to the barest minimum.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, who gave the assurance, said the government would use appropriate technologies to ensure that carbon emissions and other dangerous greenhouse gases that would be emitted during oil production and processing were captured and stored.
The two-day meeting is expected to adopt a sub-regional document on climate change policy for West Africa.
The minister said with the production of oil, the country would move from being a low to a high carbon emitter, hence the need to take measures to ensure that appropriate environmental management and safety standards were taken.
“Currently, my government has mandated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct a strategic environmental impact assessment of the entire oil production to advise the government on the relevant steps it needed to take to address the adverse effects of oil production on our economy, culture and, above all, our environment," she stated.
Ms Ayitey underscored the need for the sub-regional leaders and policy makers to make reducing the impact of climate change a topmost priority, saying that with the observed trend and projected increases in temperatures and the concomitant decrease in rainfall in all ecological zones, it was certain that water resources and hydro-power production would be seriously affected.
She said climate change was bound to worsen health conditions because it would lead to the incidence of water, air and food-borne diseases.
She said the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December last year did not deliver the fair, equitable and just outcome that was expected by all, adding that African countries would continue to call for a reduction in emissions from developed countries.
Ms Ayittey urged the participants to come up with an effective document, saying that the sub-region must have a broad framework to address all the issues.
For his part, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Ousseini Salifou, said the meeting was aimed at coming up with a tangible strategy that would enable the sub-region to deal effectively with the issue of climate change.
He said the document, when finalised, would become a pillar and vital tool to deal with various mitigation measures to combat climate change.
He said Africa was united at the Copenhagen summit and that regional leaders would ensure that they continued to present issues with one voice.
He said ECOWAS would continue to support and contribute its quota to ensure that the sub-region experienced minimal effects of climate change.
Mr Salifou gave the assurance that ECOWAS would work closely with relevant agencies and bodies to help find solutions to the negative effects of climate change.
In a related development, African civil society groups yesterday began a four-day meeting in Accra to seek a solution to climate change and protect the continent’s interest in climate matters, reports Mark-Anthony Vinorkor.
Mindful of the fact that climate change is the defining human development and security issue of this generation and that millions of Africans are being forced to cope with the impact of climate change, the organisations are meeting to discuss ways to combine efforts to deal with the problem.
The conference is being organised and sponsored by Friends of the Earth, Ghana.
Ms Ayittey, in a speech read on her behalf, observed that civil society organisations (CSOs) were closer to the grass roots, lived and worked among local populations and so they were in a very good position to bring out the voices from the ground.
She said the ministry considered CSOs as key stakeholders in environmental management in the country working from all levels of policy making, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.
To that effect, she said, the membership of the national Climate Change Committee included non-governmental organisations.
Ms Ayittey noted that a successful outcome from the Copenhagen meeting on climate change would have been deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and adequate funds to address climate change in developing countries, but the summit did not deliver that directly.
“Copenhagen, therefore, fell short of the expectations of many developing countries,” she added.
She said developing countries bore little responsibility for causing the climate crisis but they would be hit hardest, saying that was, unfortunately, the case of the continent.
However, Ms Ayittey added, the political willingness demonstrated by global leaders to be present and attend the conference in Copenhagen clearly showed that there was recognition that climate change was one of the greatest threats to socio-economic development and needed multilateral approach.
“Despite the shortcomings, future negotiations on global climate change debate have not closed but the road will not be easy. That is why there is the need for all stakeholders, particularly Africa, to begin to critically analyse the Copenhagen Accord and its implications as a continent and also as individual countries,” she added.
Mr Mithika Mwenda, the Co-ordinator of the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance, said climate change posed the greatest threat to the survival of humanity and the earth.
He noted that efforts to defeat the challenge of climate change were meeting huge boulders of rock and that time was running out for the global community to act.
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