The beneficiaries were screened for HIV, blood pressure, hypertension, blood sugar level, diabetes, eye disorders, Hepatitis B, and malaria among other diseases.

The exercise was conducted by a team comprising medical doctors, laboratory technicians, physician assistants, dentists and nurses drawn from the Ghana Health Service.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ggMhLWmXcIYENcvTx9OTSFpJ6qwdOu1O”]Dr. Azuma Abdul-Tawab, the Coordinator of the Rebecca Health Outreach Programme, under the Rebecca Foundation, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that community health screening programmes were important exercises to enhance the health status of the people.

The ultimate goal of the Rebecca Foundation, he said, was to provide safe and proper healthcare services to the aged, children and other vulnerable groups in the communities to improve on their health and bring joy to them.

The medical outreach initiative of the Foundation has covered more than 2,000 people in the Central, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions.

Dr. Abdul-Tawab advised the public to visit the hospital regularly for routine checkups, eat balanced diets, exercise, drink more water and have enough rest and avoid self-medication.

The beneficiaries were educated on good eating habits and dangers of drug abuse and self medication by public health nurses.

They were also educated on HIV prevention, especially mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding.

The nurses appealed to the public to go for voluntary HIV testing, which is free, to help them know their status and receive the needed care and support.

Madame Philomena Baidoo, a 64-year old trader, commended the Foundation for the gesture, saying it will improve the healthcare needs of people in the area.

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Source: GNA

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This year’s International Women’s Day celebration forum focused on girl child marriage and education.

[contextly_sidebar id=”QNE89eISaqsRUA5paJMockhBESoGOr3k”]Speaking at the forum on the Theme, “Press for Progress” Madam Akufo-Addo also acknowledged some individuals who had positively impacted the lives of children in their communities.

“The 2018 International Women’s Day theme is ‘Press for progress’. All over the world, we are experiencing strong and concerted activism towards gender parity. Today is an opportunity for us to add our voices to the discussions to get us closer to our goal.

“I certainly want to have my grandchildren to live in a Ghana where we have gender parity so this year’s theme speaks to something deep within me. For me, it means we move despite the obstacles. That we push forward in spite of the resistance. It means that we do not allow anything to stop us. Today, discussions will focus on two important and related issues. Girls’ education and the elimination of child marriages. Why the focus on these two issues? Because education is the catalyst for the development of the individual and the nation.”

Meanwhile the Centre for Democratic Congress (CDD), in a statement marking International Women’s Day, has commended various stakeholders for their immeasurable contribution towards the fight for women’s rights, justice, and equality.

It, however, maintained that progress towards gender parity remains slow.

According to CDD, inequality is very prevalent in women’s participation in politics, in spite of the policies introduced to increase women representation in key government offices.

Quoting a recent Afrobarometer survey, CDD indicated that statistics had shown that a large majority (72%) of Ghanaians “agree” or “agree very strongly” that women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men. However, women are rarely encouraged to compete for such positions.

“This was evident in the 2016 elections where there was only one female presidential candidate and only one female running mate, representing 14.3% as opposed to 85.7% male. Though there was an uptick in women representation in Parliament in the elections (37, compared to 29 in 2012) – the highest in the country’s history – this is still very low, compared to 238 elected male parliamentarians,”CDD added in its statement.

CDD-Ghana also noted that Ghanaian women, both in the rural and urban settings are confronted with peculiar challenges which threaten their socio-economic and political development.

The Centre, therefore, recommended that government applies the appropriate policies and measures to accelerate the realization of gender equality in Ghana.

Paramount among these is the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill, which will ensure 50:50 representations of women in key public appointments.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The ultra-modern health facility was funded by the her initiative, Infanta Malaria Prevention Foundation and its partners.

In addition, the Foundation organized a free health screening exercise and catered for the needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS at the official inauguration ceremony.

Mrs. Rebecca Akufo whose major concern is the provision of quality healthcare for the destitute in society, reiterated the determination of her Foundation and its partners to reduce malaria and the infant mortality ratio across Ghana at the ceremony.

“Today we the Infanta Malaria Prevention Foundation team and partners are fulfilling our main objective of reducing malaria and malnutrition in vulnerable population through improving access to preventive care and effective services across Ghana.”

She explained the HIV/AIDS screening exercise saying, “I am also equally pleased to bring HIV and health screening exercise services to your community today as part of actions to support Ghana’s chapter of the Organization of African Ladies against AIDS. As First Ladies of Africa we are committed to the elimination of HIV with emphasis on the prevention of mother to child transmission.”

“So far my office has been working beautifully with the Ghana AIDS Commission to achieve this goal. Our hope is that in a few years there would be zero transmission of HIV from mother to child,” she stated.

She underscored the need for Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to periodically get tested for HIV and receive counselling.

“Getting screened is the first step to avoid potential health risk in future. Please encourage friends, family and your community to receive counseling, know their HIV status and change their behaviour that put us all at risk of a condition that can be avoided.”

“I wish to encourage our youth to adopt healthy behaviours. You are the future of this nation. It is therefore imperative for the future of Ghana that you remain healthy by making the right choices.”

The First Lady added that she would continue to support national efforts to ensure a healthy and productive country.

The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed commended the First Lady for her humanitarian services.

“Health delivery services are very critical especially in the northern region and the construction of the CHPS compound demonstrates the First Lady’s mother for all character.”

According to him, the Northern Region lacked adequate health facilities and pleaded with the First Lady for more of such projects.

He assured the First Lady that the Nyanshegu CHPS compound would serve the purpose of its establishment.

“The regional administration will liaise with the assembly to ensure that the facility is put to good use and I will also admonish the various assemblies to emulate this kind gesture by using their internal resources to construct similar facilities in their respective areas.”

Salifu Saeed bemoaned the increasing ratio of maternal mortality in the area and called for a multifaceted approach to solve the problem.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Vinod Abraham indicated that, the US$ 600 million ultra-modern health project, will help to pioneer innovative solutions to health delivery in Ghana and beyond particularly in the West African sub-region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”eM5yvop8cOSEk7s9grIN7QpsNOburFyQ”]He said that when completed, the university will be the “first of its kind in the West African sub-region” and will be a unique medical research and innovation centre in West Africa offering programmes including Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing and Physiotherapy.

He also noted that “the university will not only cater for Ghanaian students, but also international students, and offer state of the art virtual patient learning, advanced simulation centre, among others, which will transform medical education in the country and in the region as a whole.”

In addition to the university, Dr. Abraham said the Teaching Hospital proposed will have 300 beds and will be a tertiary care centre for Ghanaians as well as those from the sub-region. This, he noted, will “help position Ghana as a medical tourism destination.”

He assured the First Lady that the hospital will also provide cost-effective and affordable care to the poor and needy, as well as provide direct employment to 2500 Ghanaians when both projects are completed.

The First Lady expressed her gratitude to the Thumbay Group for choosing Ghana for such an enormous project, and pledged her support to see the project completed.

Thumbay Group is a diversified international business conglomerate with its headquarters in DIFC- Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Group is a pioneer in using innovation to constantly find solutions to health issues.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The building, which cost some GHc10 million generated from public fundraising and donations, is expected to help reduce congestion and current deaths reported daily at the facility.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qBkKwMiiyrpw6oq14Pzq4XXOeLhppKLT”]Available records show that a newborn baby dies every fifteen minutes with four babies dying every hour at the country’s biggest referral hospital for people in the northern part of the country.

But the new unit, which has over 15 incubators and 3 emergency wards, will allow KATH take in four times the current number of infants and mothers and reduce avoidable deaths by 60-80%.

Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo who cut the sod for the construction of facility in May 2017 has been raising funds towards the project together The Multimedia Group Limited.

The project now houses the Maternity, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care units at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

More urgency needed to end maternal mortality

Mrs. Akufo-Addo had earlier bemoaned the continuous death of women and children during childbirth worldwide, especially Ghana.

The First Lady, while speaking at a Campaign on Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA), described the situation as not only worrying but unacceptable.

“Ghana could not achieve its millennium development goal target of 185 per 100,000 live births; we achieved 319 per 100,000 live births at the end of 2015. Given that the new sustainable development goal target is to achieve 70 per 100,000 live births by the end of 2030, we need to work with urgency,” she added.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The project, which will see to the training of some three hundred girls between the ages of 11-14 from ten junior high schools across the country, also seeks to develop the interest of young girls in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Speaking at the launch, the First Lady urged young girls to take advantage of ICT, arguing that it can now be used to improve women’s economic outlook and address the gender gap.

“Indeed, the emerging digital economy, offers developing countries like Ghana an opportunity to take a quantum leap in development, by transforming the economy into a high- value-added, information and knowledge based economy. As more women understand the value of the Internet and ICT in terms of sustainable livelihoods, they will improve their quality of life and become more productive members of society. As women, we need to understand that, the Internet is a resource for empowerment, for restoration, for self-development and for arming oneself in the knowledge economy.”

“I am therefore happy to learn that this project seeks to train more girls. Ultimately, it will develop young girls to be critical thinkers and creators of technologies and inspire them to develop their full potential.”

On her part, the Chief Executive Officer for Soronko Academy, Regina Honu, said it was the impact and the change needed that allowed for the establishment of the first coding and human centered design school in the country.

According to her, although there is a wide market for coders and developers in the country, it is challenging when it comes to girls.

“There are a lot of women in this space, but they need more support. We also have to educate the decision makers that a single quota team is not efficient. What I mean is that, if you just have a group of men developing for different population, that can’t work. You can’t design a solution for deaf people when you don’t have a deaf person in your team to understand the perspective. So you can’t have a single team of men developing a solution which is consumed also by women, so it is important that they add that diversity. It goes a long way to add to the innovation.”

Soronko Academy formally known as Tech Needs Girls, was established to mentor women and girls to lead and be innovate by learning to code.

The launch, which was done in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Communication, and Gender and Social Protection, also had support from UNESCO-IFAP, GES, DreamOval, HACSA and the Ghana- India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT.

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By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the First Lady, although much has been done to reduce the plight of women and children suffering from diseases, a lot more can be done.

Speaking at a donation exercise at the Princess Marie Louis children’s hospital in Accra, the First Lady called for collective efforts to fight cases of malnutrition among children, which she said could further elapse into more deadly diseases.

“You may have heard about the Komfo Anokye mother and baby unit, which the Rebecca Foundation just completed. We are also contributing to building a hostel for parents of children undergoing cancer treatment at Korle Bu. This is just the beginning. Our next project is at the Korle Bu children’s emergency ward, and then hopefully we will look at other regions. You may know also that the Infanta Malaria Foundation under its ReMMap project is working with other partners in malaria prevention and improving nutrition outcomes for women and children.”

She further advised nursing mothers to properly breastfeed their babies, and provide healthy food which would strengthen them as they grow.

“There is overwhelming evidence that a significant number of Ghanaian children are malnourished with many suffering from anaemia. Children with anaemia easily get ill with other diseases especially malaria, and this contributes to the high health service budget.”

“I wish to use this occasion to ask all stakeholders to spread the gospel of breastfeeding and proper nutrition. If we can improve nutrition in children, we would be going a long way in improving the holistic development of children,” he added.

The First Lady through the Rebecca Foundation, donated assorted items including bags of rice, cartons of chicken, packs of biscuits, soft drinks, bags of beans and other items towards the kid’s party.

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By: Felicia Osei/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The programme, which seeks to deepen cultural, academic and sports ties between pupils of the two countries, will see 10 pupils from the school visiting Ghana, whiles 10 pupils from Ghana also visit China every year.

Under the programme, the children are expected to gain a lot especially in the area of sports, as the pupils from China will be trained in Ghana’s favorite sporting disciplines especially soccer, whilst Ghanaian pupils visiting China will also be taught various sports including table tennis.

First Lady Mrs. Akufo-Addo commended the people of China for their sense of discipline saying “the exchange programme would help impart some of their values to the participating children.”

Prof. Kwesi Yankah, who accompanied First Lady’s team to China, said “through the power of sports, the children who will be participating in the exchange programme will be able to make friends to deepen cultural relations among the two countries.”

The agreement for the programme was signed on behalf of the Rebecca Foundation by Ms. Shirley Laryea, from the Office of the First Lad,y whilst Wang Xiaoguang, Director General, Education and Sports Bureau of the Licang District signed for the school.

Later, the First Lady met with members of the Ghanaian community in Qingdao area, where she encouraged them to contribute their knowledge, skills and resources to the development of Ghana, and assured them that President Akufo-Addo and his team is working hard to steer the country towards sustainable development and prosperity.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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She confirmed her participation when Members of EWN, a non-profit organisation of  women in senior management and executive positions in private organisations and women entrepreneurs, paid a courtesy call on her ahead  of the conference

The courtesy call, according to Freda  Duplan, Managing Director of Nestle Ghana and Chairperson of EWN  was to formally  introduce Executive Women Network (EWN) to the first lady and her office and extend an invitation to her.

The conference will be held under the theme: Rebranding Ghana to drive business growth – the perspective of women leaders.

Mrs. Duplan said “we believe that as women in leadership roles, our contribution to the socio-economic development of Ghana cannot be over-emphasized.  We have a duty to maximise our efforts on one front and complement each other riding on our collective strengths to deliberately position Ghana as the go-to country for business and investment not only in Africa but globally”.

“This conference is the opportune call to all women in business, civil society organizations and politics who wish to be part of the solution and the nation’s development agenda to converge and deliberate on actionable strategies to rebrand Ghana for growth”. she concluded.

The  First Lady welcomed and commended the team for their work in empowering women in Ghana.

She said, ” I’m excited to associate with this great initiative and going forward, I would be glad to partner and work together on your various mentorship and corporate social responsibility programmes in various communities”.

The maiden Executive Women Network annual conference is a call to action to move from rhetoric to action & execution in rebranding Ghana for economic development and will feature outstanding speakers from business, academia, politics and civil society.

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Source: Executive Women Network

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This, according to her, will help increase the survival rate of victims in the country.

Globally, Breast cancer is the leading cancer for women, and the second leading cause of female cancer deaths.

Recent statistics by the World Health Organization indicate that, over 2000 women in Ghana get the disease and more than 1000 die from it every year.

As alarming as that may be, the organization also projects an increase in numbers in countries like Ghana.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s awareness month celebration,  Mrs Akufo-Addo assured victims of the disease of government’s support.

“If we are to make a head way in improving the sad outcomes of Ghanaians with breast cancer, we cannot ignore these two pillars.

It is therefore not surprising, that the Korle Bu Breast Surgical unit has adopted the theme: Early Detection and Effective Treatment save lives for this year’s October Breast Awareness campaign. This hospital sees over 400 new breast cancer cases every year. Most of the women report with advanced disease, after trying unproven therapies.”

Breast cancer survival in advanced countries has improved over the last few decades. The improvement has been based on two factors; with the first being early detection through effective screening, and the second being effective treatment options made possible through cancer research.

“During this month of October, there will be a lot of publicity and education about breast cancer. Clearly, the problem is late detection and delayed treatment. Effective treatment is available in this country.” she noted.

The First Lady also called on the public to disregard misconceptions about the disease as well as false claims on treatment on the internet and other social media platforms.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about the disease as a result, many women end up in the hospital after trying other treatments; by this time, their cancers are no more curable. I have been informed that over 90% of patients with early breast cancer treated in this hospital survive the disease. This figure, compares with what pertains in the advanced countries. Yet, the majority of our breast cancer patients do not survive breast cancer.”

“I encourage our women to report early and comply with treatment that has been proven to be effective.  It is important that we access proven treatment methods and educate others to do the same.”

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By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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