The Fellows interacted with Ambassador Robert Jackson, and shared amazing stories of their experiences, lessons acquired and skills gained.

Ambassador Jackson said the US government was looking forward with great expectation to see how the fellows will put the skills gained to good use to the benefit of Ghana.

Speaking to citifmonline.com, one of the fellows, Philip Osei Bonsu, thanked the Embassy, and said he was convinced that his colleagues will put to good use the skills gained for Ghana’s benefit.

In attendance were staff of the US Embassy, including Sophia Bosompem, Cultural Affairs Specialist, Sarah Shabbir, Cultural Attaché, Rukmini Essel, Alumni Coordinator, Roberto Quiroz, Public Affairs Director, US Embassy Ghana.

Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Communications, Vincent Odotei-Sowah, representing the government, thanked the US government for its commitment towards nurturing Ghana’s human resource, which will essentially accelerate the country’s development, as the beneficiaries of the project contribute their quota to nation building.

Earlier, the fellows were hosted briefly at the Flagstaff House by the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.

In a related development, the maiden brainstorming session of the Mandela Washington Fellows Association of Ghana, was held to deliberate on the way forward for the association, and also officially introduce the national executives to members.

The Association is made up of fellows from all the cohorts since 2014, and has Prosper Amuquandoh as President, Dr. Mary Eyram Ashinyo, Vice President, Mutaru Muqthar, Secretary, Nana Opoku Afriyie-Asante, Treasurer, Akosua Afriyie Osei-Appaw, Projects Director, and Philip Osei Bonsu, an astute broadcaster as the Media Relations and Publicity Director.

About the YALI program

Forty (40) Ghanaians participated in the United State of America’s (USA) 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI).

YALI was launched in 2010 by US president Barack Obama to invest in the next generation of African leaders and nurture them as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.

The Mandela Washington Fellowship takes young African leaders to the United States for 6 weeks of leadership training and mentoring at twenty U.S. universities and colleges in three areas: business and entrepreneurship, civic engagement and public administration.

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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Photo Credit: US Embassy Ghana

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The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) is grappling with unusual incidents of children being rushed to the hospital for treatment after they mistakenly swallowed caustic soda and detergent.

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Source: Graphic Online

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There have been a number of suspected cases reported at the hospital, however tests conducted on the suspected patients have, so far,  been negative.

The Head of Public Health Unit at the KATH, Dr Dennis Laryea told Citi News that  the hospital wants to get all its workers, “both health and non-health officials” ready for any outbreak.

According to him, “health workers must understand and know about the disease and be able to know what to do in case they treat an infected patient.”

“In fact, they also need to know what to even look out for,” he added.

Dr. Laryea confirmed the hospital had received “some equipment and some protective gear” from the Ministry of Health, but stated that he was unsure whether they would be enough to effectively deal with an outbreak of Ebola

“I cannot say that it is adequate as the adequacy would depend on the burden we have to deal with,” he said.

“We could have a thousand and we may need two thousand and that would be inadequate. We have something now that if somebody is suspected of having Ebola, we can use to treat him,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Health Service says preparations are still underway to set up treatment centers in the Greater Accra, Ashanti and the Northern Regions.

The government announced that it would set up “treatment centers for medical officers in Tema for the Southern belt, in Kumasi for the Middle belt and in Tamale for the Northern Belt.”

The Director of Disease Surveillance at the GHS, Dr Badu Sarkodie told Citi News  that the centres was being set up in Tema and Kumasi and work would start on a treatment center in Tamale soon.

He stated that all health centres in the country had the mandate to set up isolation centres in their facilities to deal with suspected cases but confirmed cases would be sent to the treatment centres.

No case of Ebola has officially been recorded in Ghana so far, but over 950 people have died from the disease in West Africa, in what the World Health Organisation has called a a global health emergency.

By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The four-month-old baby is being kept at the maternity block and is reported to be doing well.

The mother had left her in the care of another patient, one Diana, who had gone for antenatal care around 1200 hours on June 10, under the pretext of visiting the washroom and never, returned.

A Public Health Nurse Counselor, Ms Gladys Asamoah told a section of the press that when after about three hours, there was no sign of the mother returning, the patient became suspicious and handed the baby over to a Senior Midwife on duty at the time, Ms Gladys Kwabena.

Mrs Theresa Francisca Amoateng, Senior Nursing Officer said the baby was brought in weak and pale with the weight of about four kilogrammes.

She said voluntary contributions from the nurses and few private individuals had been used to feed her. Others have also donated clothing and pampers.

“The baby is now doing well, progressing steadily with a weight of 4.2 kilogrammes”, she added

She said the authorities of the hospital had already reported the matter to the Department of Social Welfare and were making arrangements to hand her over.

Source: GNA

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The Health Ministry after its extensive investigation has ordered the suspension of two midwives.

Marian Asare and Patience Amponsah are to go for two and four weeks suspension without pay.

The two supervisors were cited for not following due procedure in their duty while the doctor who oversaw the delivery has been left to go free.

The directive has however attracted public outrage with many, including the family of Suweiba describing the punishments as too lenient.

But Dr Amoako Baah believes the public should be more circumspect in calling for stiffer punishment.

“If you are a nurse under pressure, so many women and babies, save this one, that one is dead, why would you spend time on a dead one when there is another one being born and another baby is about to die too. So if in the process, you neglected to sign a document, should you be held so responsible for it?” he asked.

He was of the firm opinion that sparing the nurses should have even been considered in the ministry’s directives.

Meanwhile, President of the Ashanti Regional Bar Association, Lawyer Yaw Boafo was of the view that the whole issue had been treated with “unfair political populism”.

He explained that the whole issue about someone purported to have stolen a baby was stirred by the streak of conflicting information given by the mother of the stillborn baby- Suweiba Mumuni.

He pointed out that the issue only became topical three days after an elder of the family came asking for the body for Islamic burial.

He indicated that the fault system in the hospital was bound to happen as by culture and tradition, most parents refused to take stillborn home.

This he said had reduced the procedures for documenting such occurrences.

Lawyer Yaw Boafo was however unhappy the ministry’s report failed to condemn the physical attacks on the hospital and its staff by some youth from Suweiba’s community.

He conjectured that those areas must have been spared the whip because of their strong allegiance to the ruling national democratic congress (NDC).

By: Afiba Anyanzua Anyanzu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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“This is a serious issue and all of us should be concerned…If our mothers, wives and sisters go to hospitals to deliver and cannot find their babies after delivery, then that is a serious matter. This House takes a serious view of this issue.

“I direct that the Ministry of Health (MOH) provide this House with the findings on the matter for us to act appropriately,” Mr Adjaho said in response to a request by the Majority Whip and Member of Parliament for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka.

The MP for Asawase urged the Speaker to demand a comprehensive report from the ministry based on the investigations carried out by three bodies on the issue.

The Ministry of Health has announced that it had received the final report on investigations into the babies that went missing at Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, KATH in 2014.

Suweiba Mumin, who went to the hospital to deliver, lost the baby under very bizarre circumstances.

This outraged the youth living in her community who attacked doctors, nurses and other hospital staff.

As later events unfolded, the bodies of four other babies allegedly stillborn could not be found, leading to public outcry and conspiracy theories, prompting police investigations and necessitating the MOH to constitute a body to look into the matter.

“Mr Speaker, we should demand the report from the Ministry for further scrutiny of the recommendations”, Alhaji Muntaka said.

The Legislator, who is also the Chairman of the House’s Health Committee, was not intrigued by the fact that the supposedly comprehensive report submitted to the MOH, as announced by the Ministry over the weekend did not address the vexed issue of Suweiba’s missing baby.

“We have to act appropriately because of the sensitive nature of this matter”, Muntaka said.

Thus Mr Adjaho has requested the Majority Leader to ensure that the report is made available to the House as soon as practicable and referred to the Health Committee for deliberation on the recommendations.

Source: GNA

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This is because the ministry has failed to officially communicate its directive to the hospital.

KATH came under attack sometime in February this year when a baby born by one Suweiba went missing at the facility.

A final report released by the Ministry of Health directed that two midwives proceed on two and four weeks suspension respectively without pay for professional misconduct.

The report also asked for the midwives be stripped of their license for their negligence.

But according to Citi News’Ashanti Regional correspondent Hawa Iddrisu, KATH is yet to act on the recommendations released by the Health Ministry since it has not yet received any official notification of the report and its sanction thereafter.

The Public Relations Officer(PRO) of KATH, Mr. Kwame Frimpong in an interview with Citi News confirmed that the management of the hospital can only implement the directive by the Health Ministry after it has officially received the report.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This follows the rejection of a GHC 50,000 compensation offered the family of the missing baby by some community leaders.

According to the family, they are keen on getting the matter resolved; therefore, accepting the compensation will lead to a premature closure of the matter.

They stated that the failure of the community leaders to disclose the source of the money, also informed their decision to reject it.

The Health Ministry, since the news broke, has been making efforts to unravel the circumstances under which the body of the stillborn baby went missing.

The Chief Executive Officer of KATH, Professor Ohene Adjei, was asked to proceed on leave for failing to produce the baby within the 14-day ultimatum given by the Ministry.

The Doctor and Midwife who were on duty when the incident occurred have also been sent home.

Three months after the baby went missing, it has still not been found.

Suweiba’s brother, Abdul Rahman Moomen told Citi News, it appears the Health Ministry is no longer interested in the matter.

“The Ministry of Health is trying to throw the issue with their tactics. They are trying to extend some deadlines, we are doing this, we are doing that so that by the time we realize, the issue and those who are following it will think that the family is not doing their best,” he accused.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to Suweiba’s brother, Abdul Rahman Moomen, a delegation of community leaders presented the money to them and urged them to forget about the case.

The community leaders however, refused to disclose the source of the compensation to the family.

The body of a stillborn baby went missing at KATH in February this year. Other bodies of about four stillborn babies were also reported missing.

The Health Ministry intervened by giving the hospital authorities a 14-day ultimatum to produce the bodies of the missing babies.

The doctor and midwife on duty during the delivery of the baby were asked to proceed on leave pending investigations.

Some workers including health officials of KATH were also arrested and are facing prosecution in court for their suspected involvement in the missing baby saga.

The failure of the hospital management to locate the body of the baby resulted in the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Professor Ohene Adjei.

Months after the incident occurred, the matter is yet to be resolved.

Abdul Rahman Moomen, in an interview with Citi News said the family rejected the money because justice will not be served.

According to him, there is still so much uncertainty regarding the status of the baby; whether it was indeed stillborn or it is alive in an unknown location.

Early on, the Minister of Health, Sherry Ayittey told Citi News, she will instruct the management of KATH to compensate Suweiba if they fail to find her baby.

“The hospital must account for it so it is the hospital that will certify the whereabout of the baby…it is the administration that will be responsible for any serious compensation to the family.”

It is however unclear if the said compensation came from the Hospital or the Ministry.

By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan

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