According to her, the second stage is the elimination of the disease which must be supported by a functioning health system, while the third stage is eradication which is usually global and undertaken when vaccines exist and no case is reported in three years.

Dr Baffoe-Wilmot was addressing the Ghana Health Service (GHS) monthly forum in Accra to commemorate the World Malaria Day on Sunday, April 25.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasite and transmitted through the female anopheles mosquito with simple symptoms as fever, headache, muscle pain, loss of appetite and severe symptoms like severe anaemia, blood in urine, convulsion, jaundice and extreme general weakness.

She noted that though recorded cases in Out Patient Departments had reduced from 49.5 per cent in 2001 to 30.0 per cent in 2009, the total malaria admission from 48.0 per cent in 2004 to 44.2 per cent in 2009 for children under five, 34.0 per cent to 30.3 per cent for total malaria and 7.5 per cent to 5.4 per cent for pregnant women during the same period, still pose challenges.

Dr Baffoe-Wilmot said other setbacks include minimum use of insecticide treated nets (ITN) even though ownership is high, misdiagnosis leading to wrong treatment and over consumption of malaria treatment, the prescription of mono therapy by clinicians, ignorance and misconceptions about the disease.

According to her, current strategies to control malaria included indoor residual spraying, environmental management and targeted larviciding, ITN for children under five and pregnant women, free distribution of the nets during mass immunization days and directly observed therapy for pregnant women.

On curative strategies, she noted that treatment had been largely based on presumption diagnosis but now the programme is encouraging diagnosis by microscopy before treatment and drugs for simple and uncomplicated malaria, which include; Artesunate-amodiaquine; artermether-lumefantrine and Dihydro-artsemisinin pieraquine.

Mother and care givers could also be trained to give the correct treatment at home, she added.

“Malaria is responsible for a growth penalty of up to 1.3 per cent per year,” Dr Baffoe-Wilmot noted, adding that it has been estimated that the annual economic burden in Africa is 1.7 billion dollars while a single bout of malaria cost a sum equivalent to over 10 working days in Africa.

In Ghana, 8,200 malaria cases are reported daily, with 4,500 deaths, 1,500 under five deaths while 60 pregnant women die from the disease annually.

She called on the government and the private sector to prioritize malaria control through resource allocation and social responsibilities.

According to a study by the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research on the economic burden of malaria in Ghana, the disease is a challenge to human development and both the cause and consequence of underdevelopment.

It is the number one cause of morbidity accounting for 40-60 per cent of outpatient and the leading cause of mortality in children under five and cause of work lost due to illness.

Source: GNA

Mr Laud Anthony Bassing, of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi said like the deadly disease HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B could be transmitted through kissing and sexual intercourse.

Addressing members of the Catholic Organisation for Social and Regional Advancement (COSRA) in Kumasi at the weekend, Mr. Bassing explained that the disease has all the characteristics of malaria and therefore makes early detection difficult.

The health talk formed part of the activities marking the eighth biennial national games of the organisation on the theme: “COSRA @40, you are the vessel God wants to use to make a difference.”

It was attended by over 600 delegates from 16 archdioceses and dioceses of the Catholic Church.

“Even though Hepatitis B is as viral as AIDS,” he said, “it is deadlier than AIDS and early treatment is critical.” Indeed, he added, it can live outside the body for more than a week and can only be killed by an alcohol of more than 70 per cent concentration.

He said unlike AIDS where one could live with the disease for more than a decade, in the case of the Hepatitis B, “one can live at most for six months after which the disease vanishes or you die from it.” The symptoms include tiredness, diarrhoea and dizziness.

It is, therefore advisable not only to seek early treatment but to test for Hepatitis when treating malaria.

As in the case of AIDS, he advised the public to keep to the ABC of prevention namely abstinence, be faithful in relationship and condom use.

In addition one must avoid using blades, tissues and handkerchiefs that have been used by others.

Speaking at a thanksgiving mass to round off the four-day activities, the Vicar General of the Kumasi Archdiocese, Rev. Msgr. Douglas Peters, advised members of COSRA to take stock of their activities over the years and re-position the organisation to enable it achieve its objectives.

Source: Times/Ghana

The ever-growing demand for the latest fashionable mobile phone, flat screen TV or super-fast computer creates ever larger amounts of obsolete electronics that are often laden with toxic chemicals like lead, mercury and brominated flame retardants. Rather than being safely recycled, much of this e-waste gets dumped in developing countries. Previously, we have exposed pollution from e-waste scrap yards in China and India. Nigeria has also been identified as a dumping ground for old electronics.

During our investigation into the shady e-waste trade, we uncovered evidence that e-waste is being exported, often illegally, to Ghana from Europe and the US. We visited Ghana to investigate workplace contamination from e-waste recycling and disposal in the country.

In the yards, unprotected workers, many of them children, dismantle computers and TVs with little more then stones in search of metals that can be sold. The remaining plastic, cables and casing is either burnt or simply dumped:

Some of the samples contained toxic metals including lead in quantities as much as one hundred times above background levels. Other chemicals such as phthalates, some of which are known to interfere with sexual reproduction, were found in most of the samples tested. One sample also contained a high level of chlorinated dioxins, known to promote cancer.

Dr. Kevin Bridgen, from our science unit, has visited scrap yards in China, India and Ghana: “Many of the chemicals released are highly toxic, some may affect children’s developing reproductive systems, while others can affect brain development and the nervous system. In Ghana, China and India, workers, many of them children, may be substantially exposed to these hazardous chemicals.”

How does it get to Ghana?

Containers filled with old and often broken computers, monitors and TVs – from brands including Philips, Canon, Dell, Microsoft, Nokia, Siemens and Sony – arrive in Ghana from Germany, Korea, Switzerland and the Netherlands under the false label of “second-hand goods”. Exporting e-waste from Europe is illegal but exporting old electronics for ‘reuse’ allows unscrupulous traders to profit from dumping old electronics in Ghana. The majority of the containers’ contents end up in Ghana’s scrap yards to be crushed and burned by unprotected workers. Some traders report that to get a shipping container with a few working computers they must accept broken junk like old screens in the same container from exporters in developed countries.

What’s the solution?

While working computers and mobile phones can have a new lease of life in some African countries, they create pollution when thrown away due to the high levels of toxic chemicals they contain. This is why we are pressuring the biggest electronic companies to phase out toxic chemicals and introduce global recycling schemes. Both of these steps are vital to tackle the growing tide of toxic e-waste.

Some companies are making progress towards taking responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products. However, Philips and Sharp stand out for refusing to accept that they are responsible for recycling their old products. The stance of these powerful multinationals is ensuring there will always be a digital divide that they prefer remains hidden, a dangerous divide with unprotected workers in developing countries left with the toxic legacy.

Source: GREENPEACE

The outbreak of Swine Flu in parts of the world will not pose any threat to the country, the Veterinary Services Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, has assured the public. Speaking to the Times yesterday on Ghana’s state of preparedness against any possible outbreak, the acting Director of the Department, Dr Enoch Boye-Mensah Koney said there is a surveillance system in place that conducts routine exercises along the country’s entry points.

In the exercise, live or dressed birds and animals imported into the country are critically examined and those suspected of having flu are vaccinated.

Dr Koney said the main job of the department is to control and prevent animal diseases that are likely to be introduced into country, adding that this core function enjoins it to be proactive in its surveillance, monitoring and evaluation roles.

“We have surveillance system that will detect anything within our territory in the shortest possible time,” he said.

Besides the department collaborates with the port authorities, the Customs Excise and Preventive Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, Ministry of Health as well as the Wildlife Department among other agencies, to constantly check, particularly, people entering the country.

At the entry points, he said, any person detected with flu would be quickly treated to avoid any possible transmission, according to Dr Koney.

“As we speak now the disease is not in the country and as our core function we are determined to prevent any outbreak in the country,” he said.

From next week, he said the department will conduct surveillance along the Ghana Cote D’Ivoire border as part of its routine exercises against such outbreaks.

Dr Koney dispelled public fears that those who eat pork could be infected, saying the disease could be transmitted if one came into contact with infected pigs or through a viral infected air.

He said that explains why schools have been closed down and other public places banned in countries experiencing the flu.

Swine influenza is an acute and highly contagious respiratory disease of swine caused by orthomyxiovirus.

In Mexico, over 80 people are reported dead from the disease and the United States, New Zealand, France, China, Russia and Taiwan have begun planning to put anyone with the symptom of the deadly virus under quarantine.

Source: The Ghanaian Times

It said the directive had become necessary to help increase and encourage many people to participate in the Voluntary, Counselling and Testing (VCT) exercise to improve their health status. The release urged heads of facilities at hospitals and health centres to ensure that all fees previously collected for HIV Testing should be duly accounted for and a report submitted to the Regional Directorates of Health Services at the end of February 2009. Dr. Thomas Agyarko Poku, HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator in charge of Ashanti Region told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) the directive was laudable and hoped it would pave the way for many people to undertake VCT to improve their health.

He advised people to take their health seriously and attend hospitals and clinics when necessary. Dr Poku urged the public to practice regenerative health by eating healthy and balanced diet, exercising their bodies as well as resting at all times. 27 Feb. 09

Source. GNA

Mr. Boakye-Yiadom was speaking at the pre-implementation meeting on Project Resource Mobilization Awareness in Kumasi at the week-end. The meeting, jointly organized by the PPAG and the Environmental Protection Association of Ghana (EPAG) and attended by over 25 participants aimed at advocating for the integrating of RH supplies in the distribution of chain of medical supplies.

It was also to advocate for explicit and realistic budget line for RH supplies including contraceptives to improve Family Planning Programme. He cited an instance where the number of Community Based Agents (CBA’s) of the PPAG who were over 1,000 all over the country had been reduced drastically and attributed this to lack of funds towards promoting RH Mr Boakye-Yiadom said some donor countries had over the years supported RH and Family Planning Programme and called on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to provide funds towards such programmes.

The Director of Programmes appealed to the National Health Insurance Authority to include contraceptives in the list of drugs in the National Health Insurance Scheme to promote RH and Family Planning in the country.

He advised the participants to play advocacy roles to enable the government and others commit resources towards Reproductive Health in the country.

Mr John Kwadwo Owusu, Executive Director of EPAG said the organization aims at improving the lives of people through environmental and health programmes, advocacy on gender, governance and others.

He noted that shortage of RH supplies was among the problems undermining progress towards achieving the poverty reduction level targets under the Millennium Development Goals and the International Conference on Population and Development’s Programme of Action and hoped that effective measures would be taken to address such problem. The Executive Director appealed to the media to highlight on issues to promote Reproductive Health in the country.

Source: GNA

The exercise undertaken in collaboration with management of Zoomlion Ghana is code named “Keep Ghana Clean”.

The year-long exercise to be extended to other regions included distilling of drains, sweeping and collection of refuse.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Fritz Baffour, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South and Mr Jonathan Nii Tackie Komme, Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo said their constituencies within fishing communities had high incidence of malaria, cholera and typhoid fever.

“There is therefore, the need to rid the communities of filth to ensure good health for the people,” they said.

“Being the heart of the metropolis, there is the need for us to get involved as Parliamentarians to join the citizenry to fight these preventive diseases.”

At Madina/Abokobi Constituency, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho complained of lack of dumping sites to dispose off refuse and called on the people to participate in the exercise to be in good health to achieve middle income status set for the country in 2020.

Source: GNA

We all know the problem
What is the cause of the filth on the streets?
• Generally, as I said before, the cause of the filth is that the rate at which rubbish is dumped on the street is far in excess of the rate at which rubbish is taken off. In fact no effort or provision is made towards ridding the streets of rubbish. Look at the picture above. Is there any dustbin?

• There are no bins in the city of Accra. The few that are available are too few, too small and too far between to have any effect.
• The few inadequate bins are not emptied frequently enough to have an effect on the problem
• Our public places are either never swept or are swept so infrequently that their net effect is zero.
• When swept the accumulated rubbish is left in place to create an even more ghastly sight or left to scatter and destroy the required effect.
How can the problem be solved?
As mentioned before, since the problem is caused by an unbalanced equation, the solution is to simply balance the equation by increasing the rate at which rubbish is taken off. This can be achieved as follows;
• In high traffic areas such as the Accra-Tema Station, Kaneshie Market, Okaishie etc rubbish bins should be provided every 5 to 10 feet.
• The bins must be appropriately designed for use by both pedestrians and cleaners.
• In lorry parks, responsibility for cleaning should be given to the GPRTU office.
• The bins must be emptied every hour to prevent rubbish build up.
• Road sweepers and garbage collectors should be adequately paid for the job to be attractive. This will help reduce unemployment.
• Teams of garbage collectors must have supervisors who inspect and take action to ensure the job done is up to scratch.
• When bins are abundantly provided, we can now justifiably prosecute people who drop litter all over the place.
• I am sure the Poly tank manufacturers in the country will be only too willing to manufacture the bins and bin bags needed for the project.
Conclusion. Again, I end by repeating the conclusion of 3 years ago; The solution to our problem is not a matter of high-tech gadgetry, but of simple application and effort. The streets of the great cities we hear of and admire have been clean for centuries before automotive vehicles were invented.
Sometime in 1999, a British cleaning company published a letter in The Daily Graphic offering their services to our authorities, but clearly nothing came of it.

Source: GhanaWeb

“A comprehensive skills strategy in the industry is therefore needed to meet health care demands of the century,” he said. Dr. Duah said this on Saturday at the first matriculation ceremony for 110 students of the school who had training in nursing and health care assistants.

He said in order to meet such demand, a new framework was required to address issues such as capacity building, funding and labour needs. “This framework, among other things, would need an active private sector involvement both in the training and service needs in the health care industry, and this calls for the establishment of private health institutions to augment government’s effort”, he said.

He said the school was poised and committed to provide quality health services. “We seek to provide awareness and education as a contribution towards the eradication of disease and the promotion of health”.

Dr. Duah said the chronic exodus of nurses and other health professionals had affected the industry. “The brain drain of nurses and other professionals calls for pragmatic measures for the training of health care assistants to help the few in the system.”

He said the school would roll out a new programme: Laboratory Technician in September and Health Administration, Pharmacy, Ambulance, Physiotherapy and Computer training would also be added. Dr. Duah said the school was also collaborating with sister institutions both local and abroad to provide quality tuition, “Currently, we are collaborating with Weber State University and Algojuil College”.

He said the school was set to achieve greater laurels and called on stakeholders in the industry, NGOs, parents and students to contribute their quota to the realization of its dreams.

Ms Susanna Arthur, Vice Principal of the School, urged the students to be dutiful as well as living a good moral life and said “As we admit you as students of this college, set yourselves very high academic and moral standards.” She said it was important for them as students to develop their analytical skills to sharpen them for the job market.

Sources: