Rwanda becomes the second country in Africa to ban shisha smoking after Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli imposed the ban in July last year.

CANCER

Other countries with similar bans are Pakistan, Jordan, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

The Rwanda Health ministry has also outlawed the importation, advertising and smoking of shisha within its territory over health concerns.

In a public notice effective December 15, 2017, the ministry warns of sanctions to those who flout the ban arguing that “…shisha tobacco smoking is damaging, addictive and dangerous on human lives.

“The smoke that emerges from a water-pipe contains numerous toxicants known to cause lung cancer, heart diseases, just to name a few,” reads the communication from Health Minister Diane Gashumba.

World Health Organisation (WHO), in a recent advisory note to regulators, revealed that smoking shisha posed grave health risks.

In a single session, it said, shisha smokers can inhale smoke of 100 or more cigarettes.

SMOKE

“Cigarette smokers typically take eight to 12 cigarettes with a 40 to 75 millimetre puffs and inhaled 0.5 to 0.6 litres of smoke unlike shisha smoking sessions which typically last 20 to 80 minutes, during which the smoker may take 50 to 200 puffs which range from about 0.15 to 1 litre each,” it said.

Shisha smoking has become increasingly popular among young people in Africa, including in Kenya.

It goes by several names including hookah tobacco, maassel, narghile and argileh and comes in several flavours including fruity, minty, rich and creamy.

The highly toxic tobacco substance is smoked using a hookah (waterpipe).

The smoke exposes the user to the addictive chemical nicotine as well as tar, carbon monoxide and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead.

HEART

People are drawn to it for being ‘cool’, with patrons flocking to shisha parlours saying it is harmless.

A common belief is that the risks of tobacco are reduced since it is purified as it passes through the water.

On the contrary, WHO insists that even after it has been passed through water, the smoke produced contains high levels of toxic compounds— including carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals.

Shisha smoke is associated with increased risk of disease— cancer, heart and lung complications.

It is also known to cause problems during pregnancy among female smokers.

The side effects may not be immediately noticeable but just like cigarettes, the harmful fumes slowly damage certain parts of the body of a shisha smoker over time.

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Source: Nation.co.ke

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Martha O’Donovan, 25, is accused of referring to Mr Mugabe as “selfish man and sick man”, a charge she denies.

She faces charges of insulting the president and plotting to overthrow the government, her lawyer told US media.

Her arrest appears to be the first of its kind since the country’s cyber ministry was created last month.

The charge of plotting to overthrow the government carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Ms O’Donovan, who reportedly manages Magamba TV, an online-based satirical video outlet, was “arrested during a dawn raid at her Harare residence,” the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said in a Facebook post.

Police accuse her of tweeting: “We are being led by a selfish and sick man,” from the Twitter handle @matigary, said Obey Shava, a lawyer with ZLHR who is representing her.

The tweet in question, dated 11 October, includes an illustration of a man using a catheter, as well as a photo of Mr Mugabe with a circle drawn around his midsection.

The US embassy in Zimbabwe did not immediately return a request for comment.

In a statement to police seen by the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies, Ms O’Donovan is said to have denied “the allegations being levelled against me as baseless and malicious”.

ZLHR said that Ms O’Donovan’s arrest marks the “first Twitter-related arrest” after the Zimbabwean government created a Ministry of Cyber Security, Threat Detection and Mitigation last month.

Critics say the new ministry is a government effort to crack down on social media users.

“This arrest marks the start of a sinister new chapter in the Zimbabwean government’s clampdown on freedom of speech, and the new battleground is social media,” said Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, Muleya Mwananyanda.

Mr Mugabe, 93, has led Zimbabwe for the last three decades.

Last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) revoked his appointment as a goodwill ambassador after a widespread outcry over human rights concerns.

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Source: BBC

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This is according to the 2016 Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey which was conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and the National Malaria Control Programme.

Results of the survey also showed that malaria prevalence among children varies throughout the administrative regions of Ghana, ranging from 5 percent in Greater Accra to as high as 30 and 31 per cent in Central and Eastern regions respectively.

The data which was collected between October 2016 and December 2016 in all the ten regions of the country was to gather population-based estimates of malaria indicators to complement routine administrative data that are used to inform strategic planning and evaluation of Ghana’s malaria control programme.

It was also to provide information on malaria prevention, treatment, and prevalence in Ghana.

The survey which is the first of its kind revealed that rural children are more likely to be infected with malaria than urban children.

On the issue of malaria prevention, the survey showed that prevention practices were on the rise as ownership of long lasting insecticide- treated mosquito nets had more than doubled in the last eight years. More than 7 in 10 households are said to be owners of a treated net compared to 31 per cent in 2008 and 64 percent in 2014.

Among the high-risk groups, 50 per cent of pregnant women and 52 per cent of children under five revealed having slept under a treated net the night before the survey was conducted. This is said to represent an increase from the 39 per cent of pregnant women and 43 per cent of children below five reported in 2014.

Speaking at the 2016 Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey national dissemination workshop, the Acting Government Statistician, Mr. Baah Wadieh said the 2016 GMIS results also revealed some areas of malaria prevention that needed to be improved.

“Diagnosis and appropriate treatment of malaria are important to combating malaria. Though treatment was sought for 72 per cent of children who had fever in two weeks before the survey, only 3 in 10 had a blood test to check for malaria infection before treatment, as recommended by the National Malaria Control Programme of the Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organisation.

He called on all stakeholders to carefully study the report in order to use the information for future planning of policies and intervention programmes associated with malaria in Ghana.

“This is a call to action and it is our expectation that the results of the 2016 Ghana MIS will be utilized by government and all stakeholders to inform priorities, policies and programmes”.

On her part, the Acting Project Manager of the Ghana Malaria Control Programme, Dr. Kezier Malm said the survey also showed a reduction in malaria mortality from 3, 882 in 2010 to 1,264 in the year 2016, translating into a 67 per cent reduction.

According to her, the momentum exists for the global elimination and possible eradication of malaria in some countries including Ghana.

“We in Ghana believe that such ambitious effort needs to be sustained for the duration of the control effort and require a substantial research base. It is therefore imperative to engage researchers at various levels to address this public health challenge”.

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By: Naa Kwaamah Siaw-Marfo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The NGO said stigmatising them was a major contributory factor to the high rate of unsafe abortions and its associated consequences, especially in developing countries.

Mr. Sule Dintie, the Executive Director of SAVE-Ghana, made the call at a programme at Tumu, in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region, to mark the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe Legal Abortion.

He challenged people to address the issues that caused women to seek abortion rather than stigmatising them.

Mr. Dintie said, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly 42 million women who face the challenges of unintended pregnancies annually have abortions, out of which 20 million are unsafe.

These are mostly from developing countries, especially in countries where abortion was illegal, he said.

“In developed regions, nearly 92 per cent of abortions are safe whereas in developing countries like Ghana, 55 per cent are unsafe,” he stated.

Mr Dintie said unsafe abortions accounted for 13 per cent of global maternal mortality and it was responsible for one in eight maternal deaths globally.

He said that maternal mortality was the second most common cause of death among women in Ghana, while more than one in 10 maternal deaths was the result of unsafe abortions.

Mr. Dintie expressed worry that women faced a lot of challenges, including the cost of abortion and transportation to health centres and the criminalisation of abortion by PNDC Law 102 (1985).

The Law, however, excludes pregnancies resulting from rape, defilement, incest and threatening the health of mother and child.

He said health facilities offering Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) were inadequate, especially in rural areas, and as a result there was a great mismatch between the number of abortion seekers and certified providers.

He commended the Government’s effort at reducing maternal mortality through the Free Maternal Health Policy among others interventions.

However, he said, the sad reality was that many women were still dying on daily basis.

Madam Rudkin Baigne, the Sissala East District Public Health Nurse, recounted the dangers of unsafe abortion, including excessive bleeding, perforation of the uterus, infertility, infections, death, depression, and fistula.

Mr. Johnson Saborh, the Sissala East District Chief Executive (DCE), mentioned vulnerability, irresponsible parenting, health reasons, economic hardships and socio-cultural reasons as some of the underlying causes of illegal abortion.

He said if all understood and appreciated these causes, then they would understand the need to stop stigmatising those who sought safe abortion.

The DCE said the Government through the District Assembly had constructed 28 Community-based Health Planning and Services compounds, rehabilitated the Wellembelle Health Centre and constructed a modern theatre, which would be converted into a Polyclinic in the future.

The theme for the occasion was: “Stop Abortion Stigma and Gender Stereotyping, Step into our Stories”.

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Source: GNA

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Following similar earlier engagements in Adentan and La communities in Accra, these community engagements provide an avenue for MTN to have closer interactions with a cross section of customers.

MTN invites selected members of the community who represent different groups in the community and updates them on MTN’s offerings and developments within the company, seeks inputs from them and responds to questions they might have.

Speaking at the recent forum in Ho, the Corporate Communications Senior Manager, Mrs. Georgina Asare-Fiagbenu, indicated that the forum was essential because it enables MTN to build stronger relations with its customers.

Mr Teddy Hayford-Acquah, Regional Technical Manager for the Western and Central Business District, told participants in the Central Region that providing a distinct customer experience is a key avenue towards achieving MTN’s vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to customers.

He announced that resources have been increased in all districts in the Central Region to enhance customer experience on the MTN network.

“MTN has mounted 196 2G and 54 3G cell sites to improve network performance and availability,” he said.

Participants expressed their appreciation for the interaction, with one stating, “This is the first time a telecoms company has done something like this in our Community; I thank MTN for engaging us.”

Another said, “I am likely to be more tolerant to MTN because I now understand some of the challenges MTN goes through and why I sometimes experience difficulties when making a call; this is very good and should be organized at least twice a year.”

The Cape Coast and Ho community fora were attended by a cross section of representatives from each community, including Prison Services, Ghana Police Service, Market Women Association, Ghana Education Service, Methodist, Catholic and Presby Church members, Council of Churches, Fishermen’s Association, Car Washers and Truck Pushers Association, Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Resident Associations and Mobile Money Merchants in the area.

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Source: MTN Ghana

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The Odambea Festival is celebrated by the chiefs and people of Saltpond during the last week of August each year.

MTN paid a courtesy call on the Odambea planning committee to announce its support for this year’s celebration.

Dubbed MTN internet festival, this year’s Odambea promises to be even more exciting with the exploits of social media leading the charge.

Activities that will take place at the festival include a health walk, football gala among others.

MTN also hopes to assist and educate over 2,000 subscribers on MTN data usage and related Value Added Services (VAS).

It was also announced that hiplife sensational rapper Stay Jay will thrill fans at this years’ MTN chill zone at esi mansa spot, saltpond.

Source: MTN

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