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Council of Imams commends President Mahama for reduction in Hajj pilgrimage fare

7Feb

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Council of Imams commends President Mahama for reduction in Hajj pilgrimage fare

The Council of Imams in the Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region has commended President John Dramani Mahama for the reduction in the annual Hajj Pilgrimage fare. The government announced a decrease in the fare from GHC75,000 to GHC 62,000. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Wenchi, Imam Sina Abdul Wahab, the Secretary to Council said the Muslim community in Wenchi received the announcement of the decrease in the fare with excitement, praising the President for that. “In fact, the announcement of the decrease in the pilgrimage has relieved many of the Muslims here who are preparing for this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca”, he stated, saying that it had further opened the opportunity for many of the Muslims to participate in this year’s pilg...

Empower young girls on sexual rights to make informed decisions – PPAG

7Feb

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Empower young girls on sexual rights to make informed decisions – PPAG

Stakeholders in the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) space say empowering girls and young women on their sexual rights will enable them to make informed decisions to improve their lives. Mr Gideon Leckson Leckey, the President, Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), said most young girls often lacked information on their sexual and reproductive health, coupled with their inability to meet their financial needs, making them vulnerable to exploitation. “Recently, there is a study that indicated that a lot of young girls, especially in the Ashanti Region, have multiple sexual partners. If you dive deep into some of these issues, you will realise that most of them do not have education on how to protect themselves and do not have that empowerment to...

7Feb

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Cancer kills almost 18,000 Ghanaians

Ghana lost 17,944 persons to cancer in 2022, recording an estimated 27, 385 new cancer cases in that year, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has said. Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, the Acting Director-General of the GHS, said considering the alarming statistics, his outfit had intensified its campaign on certain leading male cancers, including prostate and liver cancer. The Acting DG gave the statistics at a press briefing on Tuesday to commemorate the 2025 World Cancer Day celebration. According to Prof Akoriyea, liver cancer alone recorded a 90 per cent mortality rate in 2022, with 2,390 deaths out of 2,656 cases. Similarly, prostate cancer recorded a worrying 52 per cent mortality rate, resulting in 1,233 deaths out of 2,395 cases. He said wi...

USAID Suspension: Ghana’s health sector hardest hit, gov’t, stakeholders meet on next steps

7Feb

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USAID Suspension: Ghana’s health sector hardest hit, gov’t, stakeholders meet on next steps

Ghana’s health sector is the hardest hit with the 90-day suspension of the United State of America’s development section, United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Already, a leaked letter from the Regional Directorate to the Director General of the Ghana Health Service acknowledge that the suspension had significantly disrupted the health supply chain, particularly in the Northern, North East, and Savannah Regions, which rely on the Northern Regional Medical Stores for commodity distribution. “The halt in distribution services poses a severe risk of stockouts for essential medicines, vaccines, and other critical health commodities… commodities including maternal and child health, malaria prevention and treatment, family planning, and HIV/AIDS services, are likely t...

Reinstate PEPFAR programmes to save lives – US Government urged

7Feb

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Reinstate PEPFAR programmes to save lives – US Government urged

The African-led HIV Control Working Group (AHCWG) has appealed to the United States Government to fully reinstate the President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) funded programmes to continue providing life-saving support to persons living with HIV, globally. It also called for clear communication on the future of funding the programme after the conclusion of the re-evaluation and realignment of foreign policy. AHCWG, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said halting funding to such a successful public health programme, without notice, risked the lives of millions of people who depended on those resources to manage HIV infections or prevent new transmissions, particularly among high-risk populations. This follows an Executive Order by the US Governm...

NGO commissions renovated classroom block for Tegbi-Ashiata Basic school

7Feb

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NGO commissions renovated classroom block for Tegbi-Ashiata Basic school

Tegbi-Ashiata Basic School in the Anloga Municipality of the Volta region has received a major boost to its infrastructure with the commissioning of a renovated three-unit classroom block by a Germany based non-governmental organisation (NGO), 'Woezor Elena Haasen Library,' dedicated to promoting education and literacy in rural communities. The renovated classroom block project, worth thousands of cedis, was aimed at boosting and providing quality teaching and learning under a conducive environment for both teachers and students of Tegbi-Ashiata Basic School for better results. Dr Christian Haasen, the Co-Founder of the NGO, during the commissioning ceremony at the Tegbi-Ashiata basic school, reiterated the organization's commitment to supporting education in rural communities...

Olam Agri screens over 1000 bakers in Western Region

7Feb

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Olam Agri screens over 1000 bakers in Western Region

Olam Agri, a Multinational Agri Business, has organised a health screening exercise for more than a 1000 bakers in the Western Region. The Healthy Baker initiative conducted annually was to ensure that the bakers were healthy and fit to bake healthy pastries for the consuming public. “Our screening is done annually dubbed “healthy Baker” but this year we decided to introduce breast screening for the women to be examined,” Mr Kwabena Owusu, the Communications Officer of Olam Agric told the Ghana News Agency in Sekondi. The exercise, zoned within 24 areas in the Region, was expected to screen about 1000 bakers by the end of February 2025. He said about 7,000 bakers are expected to be screened in Greater Accra, Western, Central and Ashanti Regions. ...

Include chiefs in key committees – Central Regional House of Chiefs President to Mahama

7Feb

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Include chiefs in key committees – Central Regional House of Chiefs President to Mahama

Odeefo Amoakwa Boadu VIII, the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs has entreated President John Dramani Mahama to reconsider the relationship between government and the chieftaincy institution to give traditional authorities active role in the governance and development of the country. He expressed disquiet over the sidelining of chiefs in the governance of the country by successive governments, thereby relegating their role to the background. Addressing a grand durbar held to crown President Mahama’s thank-you tour of the Central Region, Odeefo Boadu urged the President to include chiefs in key and relevant committees that were aimed at addressing national issues. “Even with our limited capacity, we assure you that we shall als...

Kasoa-Winneba Road Dualization to Be Extended to Cape Coast

7Feb

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Kasoa-Winneba Road Dualization to Be Extended to Cape Coast

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government will extend the Kasoa-Winneba Road dualisation project to Cape Coast. The former Minister of Roads and Highways had earlier performed the sod-cutting ceremony to commence the $180 million dual carriageway project along the Kasoa-Winneba highway. The 30-kilometer road was expected to ease traffic congestion, facilitate the movement of goods and services, and boost trade. Speaking in Cape Coast during his thank-you visit to the Central Region, President Mahama affirmed plans to extend the project to Cape Coast. “While phase one is ongoing, phase two and phase three will be packaged and funded under our Big Push programme,” the President said. “The second phase of this project will be...

Mahama highlights Government’s commitment to operationalisation of Komenda Sugar Factory

7Feb

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Mahama highlights Government’s commitment to operationalisation of Komenda Sugar Factory

President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday highlighted his government's commitment to the operationalisation of the Komenda Sugar Factory in the Central Region. He noted that he asked the Minister of Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry to update him with the Komenda Sugar Factory. "We are determined to proceed and continue with that project so that the Central Region will become the biggest producer of sugar in Ghana," President Mahama said at a durbar of the Chiefs and People of the Central Region in Cape Coast during his Thank You Tour of the Region. The nationwide tour, which began on Friday, January 24, in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital is to enable the President to express his sincere appreciation to the people of Ghana for the overwhelming support and trust r...