The Association’s General Secretary, Edward Ameyibor, made the proposal at its Annual National Conference held in Tamale.

The conference was in commemoration of the Association’s Silver Jubilee.

Edward Ameyibor maintained that the National Health Endowment Fund was long overdue.

“The fund is necessary because there are certain illnesses workers contract when they are still in office.”

“There are certain diseases no matter who you are unless you are supported by the state you will not be able to support yourself.”

Mr. Ameyibor further lamented that, “There are heart problems, kidney, liver and on top of these problems there is cancer as well.”

“In Europe, issues of this nature are being paid by the citizenry. They have a national endowment fund to support it.”

He implored government and the Trades Union Congress (TUC), to secure a Post Retirement Health Care package for pensioners.

“Workers are left to foot their medical bills when they go on retirement. If you are working with a radio station and when you are injured the many times you are in the office, they will pay your bills but when you leave the office the business is ended.”

He renewed the Association’s cordial relations with SSNIT, saying, “Our relationship with SSNIT is important to us, and we hope to drive more benefits from this relationship. This is why we are interested and are demanding that our pension funds are prudently managed. For many of us, the SSNIT pension is all we have and it must not be threatened.”

Area Manager of SSNIT in charge of Northern Region, Joss- Arris Bougre, reassured the pensioners that their welfare remained SSNIT’s major concern.

“The welfare of pensioners is a concern to SSNIT and I am very happy that the General Secretary said this platform is meant to come out with strategies. I want to assure you that SSNIT is ever ready to support to improve the situation.”

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Currently, about fifty two veterinary doctors are unemployed due to government’s inability to absorb them into the system since 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”DqKNHZ7w41a9MQ6WmyA2awRtwdtQFsif”]According to the President of the Association, Dr. Kwasi Agyei Safo, their role in contributing to the success of the agriculture sector has been undermined.

He told Citi News they will resort to other means to express their displeasure if government fails to address their concerns.

“We finished our housemanship in August 2016 and we are home…We have not been employed. The second batch has also finished in August 2017, but they have not been paid their housemanship salary let alone being employed. The third batch is yet to finish this August so the whole programme is an avalanche of issues that need to be taken care of by government and the Ministry as a whole.

“We have exhausted all diplomatic means talking to our veterinary doctors, talking to the Minister of Agriculture so the next option was to petition the President so we have petitioned the President. What I understand is that government does not see the implication of the process in our society because they think our job is to go and treat animals and come home.”

‘We need employment’

In 2017, some trained veterinary doctors in the country similarly demanded immediate employment from the government.

The doctors had also issued a month’s ultimatum to the government, threatening that they may take legal action if the government fails to meet their demand.

One of the affected doctors, Dr. Emmanuel Kodua, had said all efforts to get the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to address the concerns had been unsuccessful.

“What we are demanding is that, for the first and second batch, we need employment… We have not been given our appointment letters. Meanwhile, we have finished our National Service and even we have sent our report to the registrar as he requested.”

“As we speak now, two batches are in the house; they’ve not been posted, and the third batch is doing their housemanship now, but they have not been served their appointment letters but have been asked to do their housemanship, so they are also demanding their appointment letters,” he said.

Graduate Nurses demand employment

The Veterinary doctors’ plea follows protests by some graduate nurses who were asking government to employ them.

The about 200 graduates who picketed at the Ministry on Monday, said several appeals to the Ministry of Health to engage them after they completed school in 2016, had not yielded results.

Some of the nurses were clad in red and wielded placards with messages that urged government to immediately address their concerns.

The aggrieved students were prepared to spend the night at the Ministry if authorities failed to post them, but they were dispersed by police personnel, only to return to the Ministry the next day.

–

By: Marian Ansah & Zoe Abu Baidoo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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It said the government’s urgent efforts will help to significantly reduce the number preventable deaths from cancer.

The Society, in a press statement copied to citifmonline.com on the occasion of World Cancer Day on February 4, 2018 noted that deaths from cancer globally are expected to rise to over 14 million per year over the next 10 years if governments do not address issues of unequal access to quality healthcare.

“…Pople world-wide [are] facing unequal access to cancer detection, treatment, and care services. An acute example of a global access gap particularly affecting the underserved and underprivileged is access to radiotherapy. As one of the major methods of treatment for cancer, radiotherapy is recommended for 52% of cancer patients,” the statement said.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Society, Prof. Edwin Wiredu pledged the Society’s commitment to help the government develop an accurate data on cancer in Ghana and also contribute to reducing the fatality rate of cancer.

Read the full statement below:

Sunday, February 4, will be World Cancer Day- day set aside by the international community to increase awareness and education on cancer with the slogan “We can. I can”. The World Cancer Day 2018 campaign calls for joint efforts between governments, nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations to promote action and investments in areas including tobacco control, promotion of healthy lifestyles, cancer screening and early detection, and improved cancer treatment services, as well as palliative care.
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) indicates that in 2012, worldwide, there were 14.1 million new cancer cases, 8.2 million cancer deaths (with 50% of these being premature deaths), and 32.6 million people living with cancer within 5 years of diagnosis.

About 8 million (57%) of the new cancer cases, 5.3 million (65%) of the cancer deaths, and 15.6 million (48%) of the 5-year prevalent cancer cases occurred in the less developed regions.

It is important to stress that the number of cancer deaths is projected to rise to over 14 million per year over the next 10 years.

The focus of the UICC in this year’s campaign is to raise awareness about the millions of people world-wide facing unequal access to cancer detection, treatment, and care services. An acute example of a global access gap particularly affecting the underserved and underprivileged is access to radiotherapy. As one of the major methods of treatment for cancer, radiotherapy is recommended for 52% of cancer patients. The gap between need and availability is highest in low- to middle income countries; 90% of low- to middle-income country cancer patients lack access to radiotherapy. There is an urgent for support for some forms of chemotherapy. The cost outlay in some cases is close to a death sentence because of huge barriers to access.

The global target is a 25% reduction in premature deaths from cancer and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 2025. This was a target set in 2011 by the World Health Organization (WHO) to cut premature NCD deaths by 25% within 14 years. It is almost 7 years since this target was set by the WHO. To meet this target requires more action than ever to close the inequality in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care.

Cancer is recognized as the leading cause of global morbidity. Today, there are an estimated 8.8 million deaths from cancer every year with about 70% of cancer deaths occurring in developing countries which are the most ill-equipped to cope with the cancer burden. The starkest area of inequity relates to childhood cancers – a specific group that the WHO underscored in its landmark 2017 Cancer Resolution – with survival rates over 80% in high income countries and as low as 20% in low income countries.

In Ghana there are about 12,700 reported cancer deaths (2008). The leading cancer deaths in females are cancers of the breast, cervix, haematopoietic organs, liver, stomach and colorectal. The top cancers deaths in men are liver, prostate, haematopoietic organs, stomach, pancreas and bladder. The leading causes of cancers deaths in children are malignancies of the haematopoietic system, followed by brain, kidney, eyes, and liver and bone tumours.

As we mark World Cancer Day, the Cancer Society of Ghana will work with other partners to improve quality of cancer data for public health use, increase access to early detection and accurate cancer diagnosis, increase access to timely and quality treatment and support palliative care services to people living with cancer.

PROF EDWIN K. WIREDU

CHAIRMAN OF TRUSTEES

CANCER SOCIETY OF GHANA

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Medics in Leicester treated a 34-year-old man who ruptured his throat while trying to stop a high-force sneeze.

With nowhere to escape, the pressure ripped through the soft tissue, and although rare and unusual, they say others should be aware of the danger.

Trapping a sneeze could also damage the ears or even rupture a brain aneurysm, they warn in journal BMJ Case Reports.

The man said he felt a “popping” sensation in his neck when it happened and then immediately experienced pain and difficulty swallowing and speaking.

When the doctors checked him over they found he had swelling and tenderness around his throat and neck.

An X-ray revealed air escaping from his windpipe into the soft tissue of his neck through the rupture.

The man had to be fed by a tube for the next seven days to allow time for the tissues to heal.

After spending a week in hospital, the man was sent home and made a full recovery.

Doctors from the ear, nose, throat department at Leicester Royal Infirmary, where the man was treated, said: “Halting a sneeze via blocking nostrils and mouth is a dangerous manoeuvre and should be avoided.”

Sneezes can spread diseases, so although it is good to “let them out”, make sure you catch them in a tissue, say experts.

With flu season in full swing, children and adults should be encouraged to cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when they cough and sneeze and then throw the tissues away in a bin and wash their hands to stop the spread of germs, says Public Health England.

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Source: BBC

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First-year students enrolled under the Free SHS policy have started undergoing medical examinations, and their medical records would be kept and allocated to the various health facilities near their schools.

Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, made this known to the media on Monday, during a routine inspection of some health facilities in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and La Dade-Kotopon Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.

He said all the second cycle educational institutions are supposed to have functional sick bays to take care of the health needs of students.

“Every secondary school’s boarding house should have a functional sick bay, which would be a connection between us and the school…We will use the sick bay as a point of call whenever any student is sick, and even allow the health facility looking after the school to deploy a nurse there,” he said.

Dr. Nsiah-Asare said the GHS would take full control of school health, and would not wait till an epidemic breaks out or students fall sick before providing health services.

He said the GHS would also take students through physical education, healthy lifestyles and nutrition, as well as health education, and general environmental sanitation issues in the schools.

The Director-General of the GHS said government was re-structuring the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), in order to improve health service delivery.

He said government has settled some of the arrears of the NHIS, and expressed optimism that, it would complete paying the outstanding arrears by the end of the year.

“Health is our main business, and so the Ministry of Health’s ultimate aim is to run health facilities and ensure that the public receive quality healthcare,” he said.

He said the MOH and its agencies like the GES and the teaching hospitals were undertaking a lot of innovations and initiating changes that would enhance administrative efficiency and ensure quality healthcare and customer service delivery.

Dr. Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah, the Medical Superintendent of the La General Hospital, said in 2017, the facility received a lot of support from the government in terms of deployment of health personnel, which improved the general service delivery.

He said the facility has started putting measures in place to renovate some of its structures, adding that, it had secured some space to install new beds to accommodate more patients.

Dr. Oduro-Mensah said: “We’re hoping that government alongside other companies and philanthropists would donate needed equipment to improve the care of patients”.

He said the hospital, which started as a polyclinic, needed expansion since it was the only health facility in the municipality.

On challenges, he said, the facility was still grappling with unacceptable staff attitudes, funding and NHIS outstanding debts.

However, he said, it was determined to consolidate the gains made last year in order to make healthcare better.

Touching on plans to roll out innovative policies to increase its internally-generated funds, he said, the facility was considering putting up a ward that would cater for patients who may request for “VIP Treatment”, instead of general services.

He said it would also consider entering into public-private partnerships with some major laboratories, so that services which the hospital could not provide would be given to them and vice versa.

“We can also offer health screening to other corporate organisations at a cost, but whatever we do, we don’t want to burden our clients and avoid charging them illegally for services we render to them,” he said.

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Source: GNA

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The Commission has, therefore, advised persons living with HIV (PLHIV) to stick strictly to the Anti-Retroviral medication to stay healthy.

The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, who refuted the claims of a herbal cure for HIV at a media briefing in Accra, said these claims should be ignored.

She told PLHIV that; “If you think herbal medicines are good for you, have them as supplements like you take vitamins. Please tell everybody who is living with the virus never to neglect taking the antiretroviral medication in addition to the therapy.”

The briefing was held at the end of a two-day Annual Strategic Planning Meeting of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), and it aimed at charting the way forward in the fight of HIV epidemic for 2018.

It was attended by regional, district and national officers of the Commission, and chaired by Dr Adu-Gyamfi.

Dr Adu-Gyamfi said the strategic objectives of GAC for 2018 were to ensure the availability of funding for all relevant HIV programmes and review and formulate policies towards epidemic control.

She said currently there were enough antiretroviral drugs in the country, including pediatric medication, emphasising that “GAC is not short of medication”.

She said the Commission, however, had challenges with funding, which would enable it to carry out it education, counselling and testing activities, among other things.

A Ghana AIDS Fund will be launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in May, this year, to encourage private entities and businesses to contribute to the cause.

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Source: GNA

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Magnesium is super duper important. It has a role to play in just about every single bodily process, including insulin regulation and metabolism. If you don’t get enough magnesium into your body, you could suffer from all kinds of troubling ailments, including heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. As you can already tell, magnesium is pretty important. But what is it exactly? Magnesium is a mineral that, like all minerals, is found in nature. It’s your body’s fourth most-needed mineral, with most of it stored away in your bones. The thing is that, because magnesium isn’t included in all healthy foods, it’s possible for you to enjoy an otherwise healthy diet and lifestyle but still be magnesium deficient. To make sure that doesn’t happen any time soon, let’s check out the 10 magnesium rich foods you need to include in your diet.

Dark Chocolate

Who said getting more magnesium into your system had to be boring?! Dark chocolate might be super indulgent and a bit of a guilty pleasure but it’s also heart-healthy and an excellent source of magnesium. Eat a small serving of dark chocolate per day for just under 20% of your daily recommended amount of magnesium. Chocolate has a bit of a bad reputation but eaten in small doses (two squares per day), dark chocolate provides some wonderful health benefits. As well as magnesium, it’s also rich in manganese, copper, iron and, of course, taste. Yum! It’s also got lots of antioxidants which combat free radicals, thereby saving you from potential long-term disease.

Blackberries

No one needs to give up snacking, but a lot of us need to start snacking smarter. Instead of gorging on candy bars, greasy chips and sugary treats, we need to start turning to healthier snacks. Step forward blackberries! Not only are blackberries just as tasty as candy, they’re also rich in antioxidants and magnesium. Just one cup contains around 28mg of this essential mineral. Awesome. Blackberries can help you bring down your bad cholesterol levels, and they strengthen teeth and bones. If you want, you can munch on them out of your hand, or you can add them to a morning bowl of oatmeal. Both are wins.

Okra

Okra seeds are also one of fabulous magnesium rich foods. A cup contains around 60mg of the essential mineral, which is also rich in iron, vitamin B6, vitamin C and vitamin A. Okra prevents oxidative damage and strengthens your immune system.

Beans and Lentils

Beans and lentils are complete proteins. The more you eat of them, the fuller you’ll feel and the more magnesium you’ll have in your system. Just a single cup of soybeans contains around 85mg of magnesium. This equates to over 20% of your daily recommended amount. Not bad, huh?! Lentil soup is a good option for when you want a light meal or snack. Other beans you should start adding to your list of groceries include pinto beans, garbanzo beans, chickpeas, black-eyed peas, French beans and white beans.

Nuts

Some people absolutely love nuts, and you know why? Because nuts are both tasty and nutrient dense. This means that what tastes good can also be super good for you! Just a 28g serving of cashews is enough to get you 20% of your daily recommended amount of magnesium. Not bad, huh?! Nuts in general are good sources of beneficial fat and fibre, and they can lower cholesterol while regulating blood sugar levels. The best nuts for magnesium are Brazil nuts, almonds and cashews.

Bananas

Bananas also deserve their place in amazing magnesium rich foods, they are massively popular in the western world. Most people know them for their potassium content, but a single banana also arms you with just less than 10% of your daily recommended amount of magnesium. That’s pretty good when you consider that you can polish off a banana as an afternoon snack in minutes. Bananas also contain beneficial antioxidants, fibre, vitamin C, and they lower high blood pressure and bring down bad cholesterol. Excellent.

Avocados

Everyone is eating avocados at the moment, from hipsters to your grandmother. They go with so many different types of dishes, from guacamole to scrambled eggs. As well as being so versatile, avocados are also one of good magnesium rich foods. A single mid-sized avocado is enough to stock you up on around 15% of your daily recommended amount of this key mineral. Avocados’ nutritional profile also includes good fats, vitamin K and B vitamins, as well as fibre.

Blackstrap Molasses

If you need to ween yourself off sugar, blackstrap molasses is magnesium-rich alternative. It contains 48mg of the essential mineral per tablespoon and also contains selenium, calcium, iron and B-complex vitamins.

Seaweed

Ever tried seaweed before? If you’ve eaten in a Japanese restaurant or lived in Japan, there’s a good chance you have. If you’ve never tried it before and are wondering why in the heck we’d tell you to try seaweed, get this: Seaweed contains a massive 120mg of magnesium for every 100 gram serving. That’s pretty mega. Seaweed is also rich in iron, vitamin C and calcium, which makes it pretty nutrient dense. As a bonus, seaweed doesn’t contain many calories. In fact, a single serving contains as little as 20 calories. This means that if you’re on a low calorie diet right now, you can totally eat more seaweed. It goes well with salads, poultry, salmon and tuna. Mhmm!

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The latest of such facilities are a newly built Reproductive and Child Health Service Centre and a rehabilitated health post at Choggu in the Sagnarigu district.

Alhassan Suhuyini, at the official handing over ceremony today [Thursday] promised to do his best to improve the well-being of his constituents.

According to him, these projects, and others which have already executed were funded by his share of the Members of Parliament Common Fund which is incorporated into the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF).

The Tamale North Legislator recalled how health professionals posted to that community attended to patients particularly lactating mothers and children under trees, hence his rapid intervention.

Education

Alhassan Suhuyini said he procured 400 dual desks for distribution to some selected basic schools that lacked furniture, compelling pupils to lie on the bare floor to write.

He disclosed that GHc40,000.00 was expended on brilliant-but-needy students pursuing various courses at the tertiary levels.

Agriculture

As a peri-urban constituency where agriculture is the economic mainstay of most residents in the Tamale North constituency, Alhassan Suhuyini said 200 farmers had received fertilizers to improve their yields.

He decried the fall armyworms invasion of farmlands for which reason knapsack sprayers were distributed to reduce its widespread.

Alhassan Suhuyini also called for peaceful coexistence to enable him accomplish his unfinished agenda in fulfillment of his 2016 campaign promises.

He described the year 2017 as the toughest in his political life and anticipated that 2018 will be better.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogma/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This is according to the Head of Surveillance at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Asiedu Bekoe.

[contextly_sidebar id=”i9PM5C4O2zXbKUf7dgsUWEZlGnu3VM6D”]The vaccines were expected to arrive in the country over the weekend but delayed.

Confirming the latest development to Citi News, Dr. Bekoe said: “As far as we are concerned, it is suppose to come today [Wednesday], so hopefully they will get it as early as possible. WHO and the Ministry are going to get it cleared, so we give it to the students as early as possible. “

The H1N1 flu has been detected in at least a dozen students of Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, where four students are suspected to have died from it.

The school’s students and staff were administered some other antiviral agents, and the school was also fumigated, following the detection of the swine flu.

Apart from the suspected outbreak of swine flu at Kumasi Academy, a death from meningitis was recorded at the Koforidua Secondary Technical School in the Eastern Region.

Other meningitis deaths were recorded at the Damango Senior High School in the Northern Region and the Bawku Secondary Technical, Zuarungu SHS, and the Tempane SHS both in the Upper East Region.

Response action

The Health Ministry in a statement released a few days ago outlined measures it had taken to prevent a further spread of the disease .

These measures are listed below :
1. Alert has been sent to all health facilities for heightened awareness, early case detection and improved case management.
2. Enhanced surveillance in all the schools and communities.
3. Public education is ongoing.
4. Contact tracing initiated and ongoing.
5. National Technical Coordinating Committee (NTCC), Regional and District Public Health Emergency Management Committees activated.
6. Vaccines and more antivirals for H1N1 arranged for.
7. Initiated process to enhance School Health
8. Designating a hospital to each second cycle institution.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the Service, the deaths of some students from meningitis in recent weeks are isolated cases that do not constitute an outbreak.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8J3UNr1ljfTnOmmNTXHtoFk1a93TRnzH”]The Director for Public Health at the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Badu Sarkodie in a Citi News interview said that the service has vaccines for meningitis in stock but currently the incidents reported do not indicate an outbreak.

“For meningitis, we have not reached the situation to apply the vaccine. We have the vaccine, but to give it, we have to declare an outbreak first. There is a criterion for outbreak declaration and we haven’t reached there yet,” he said.

A preliminary report by a medical team at the Damongo District Hospital earlier this week, indicated that the death of a student at Damongo Senior High School in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region, was caused by non-communicable meningitis.

The Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Charity Sarpong, also this week confirmed that, a second-year science student of Koforidua Technical School, died from Meningitis.

A student of Tempane Senior High School in the Garu-Tempane district of the Upper East Region, was also on Saturday confirmed dead of Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CMS).

These have raised concerns over a possible outbreak of the disease after a similar development at the Kumasi Academy in the Ashanti Region, although early medical reports indicate that the students were infected with H1N1 influenza Type A.

Four students have so far died from this strain of influenza within the last month.

The Ghana Health Service has initiated moves, together with the World Health Organization, to procure vaccines for the strain of influenza.

“What we are bringing is vaccine not for meningitis, but the H1N1 influenza and the target is the most vulnerable and those at risk. They are the entire student population in the affected school together with their teaching and non-teaching staff. We will also target the frontline health workers and other people whose activities bring them into contact with those affected,” Dr. Sarkodie said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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