Article: Salome Donkor
Gender and policy advocacy organisations recognise that improving the lives of women and other members of society require a balanced gender representation in government structures by promoting greater responsiveness to women in politics and decision-making.
Women would also have improved chances of being elected to political office to promote gender-balance in decision-making at all levels so that their interests and basic needs will continue to be met by influencing policies from a gender perspective and addressing inequalities and injustices in social relationships.
Results so far recorded after Sunday’s parliamentary elections, however seem to dim hopes of increasing the representation of women in the next Parliament.
In 2004, 104 women contested the parliamentary election out of which 25, comprising 20 females from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and five from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were elected into the current 230-member legislature. The number of female parliamentary candidates reduced to 103 this year.
So far, five new female parliamentary candidates have emerged victorious from the results declared — four of them on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the other on the ticket of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP).
The government’s spokesperson on infrastructure, Ms Catherine Abelema Afeku of the NPP, polled 11,641 votes to unseat the incumbent MP, Mr Kojo Armah of the CPP, who got 2,314 votes, to win the Evalue Gwira Parliamentary seat.
The rest are Madam Beatrice Bernice Boateng (New Juaben South); Madam Gifty Klenam (Lower West Akyem), and Ms Irene Naa Torshie Addo (Tema-West)
Ms Samia Yaba Christiana Nkrumah, daughter of Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, won the Jomoro seat for the Convention People’s Party (CPP) after beating the incumbent MP Mr Lee Ocran.
Some of the incumbent female MPs who retained their seats are Ms Akua Sena Dansua of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Second Deputy Minority Whip, who retained the North Dayi seat for the third time with 26,734 votes, Madam Mary Salifu Boforo, who polled 17,506 votes to retain the Savelugu seat for the NDC for the fourth time, and Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, who retained the Tarkwa Nsuaem seat for the third time with 30,631 votes, as against 19,596 votes obtained by Mrs Christiana Kobina of the NDC.
Other incumbent female MPs who have retained their seats are Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, NPP, Bantama, Mrs Elizabeth Agyeman, NPP, Oforikrom, Shirley Ayorkor Botwey, Weija and the Deputy Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, who retained the Ayawaso West Wuogon seat for the NPP.
Despite these the Deputy Minister for Education and Sports, Angelina Baiden Ammisah, lost her Shama seat to the NDC, while the Minister for Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, and the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Norley Ashietey, respectively surrendered the Nalerigu and the Ledzokuku seats to the NDC.
Fears that the number of women in the current legislature is likely to reduce have been deepened by the fact that six women out of the 25 who are currently in Parliament did not contest in the parliamentary elections.
Female MPs such Ms Anna Nyamekye (Jaman South) and Ms Hilda Josephine Addo (Kwadaso) lost their seats to males, during the primaries, while Mrs Gladys Asmah (Takoradi), Ms Christine Churcher (Cape Coast), Ms Theresah Amaley Tagoe (Ablekuma South) and Mrs Grace Coleman, who did not contest during the primaries, had their slots filled by males.
Only one out of the 23 female candidates fielded by the CPP has so far won the election.
Gender and policy advocacy organisations need to do more through sensitisation and empowerment programmes to increase social awareness as well as provision of financial assistance to female candidates.
That is necessary to increase the number of women who vote in order to increase the number of women who are elected to promote gender equality and women's participation in public life.
Until that is done, Ghana will still have a long way to go to attain 30 per cent of women representation in parliament.
Across Africa, improvements have been made in some countries such as Rwanda and South Africa. However, the 30 per cent representation of women in politics and decision making as a provision for the ultimate goal of 50 per cent representation as spelt out in the Beijing Platform for Action is yet to be achieved by majority of the countries that have ratified or signed onto the document. Currently Rwanda is the only country in the world where women make up the majority in parliament. Women secured 48 out of the 80 seats or 56.25 per cent. The Constitution of Rwanda provides for 30 per cent minimum quota for women in Parliament or 23 seats.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dealing with challenges of HIV
Article: Salome Donkor
THE fact that HIV and AIDS continues to pose a major challenge to the economic development of Africa because its infection rate is about 70 per cent , is well- known by many people.
It is also common knowledgethat HIV continues to pose a developmental challenge to most countries in Sub-saharan Africa where 22.5 million out of the 33.2 million people are infected with the disease.
Furthermore, the fact that in Ghana the national response programme has made significant impact to the extent that the national prevalence rate is now 1.9 per cent and various interventions are working ;leading to a very high level of awareness creation, is also not new. Majority of the infections in the country, nearly 90 per cent are within the age group of 15-49 years ,with 58 per cent of infected people being women and girls.
According to the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), currently, awareness creation in the country is almost universal and 110 sites have been established to offer anti- retroviral treatment (ART), while prevention of mother to child transmission centres (PMTCT) have been established in most hospitals to cater for pregnant women.
Condom usage has also increased from 28 to 33.4 per cent in women and from 44 to 52 per cent in men.
Despite these significant achievements, the Director General of the GAC Prof Sakyi Awuku-Amoah, contends that the nation is still confronted with many challenges that call for effective media involvement in the fight against the HIV pandemic.
He mentioned some of these challenges in his opening remarks at a workshop for journalists in Accra as the need to disseminate information to reduce high risk behaviour and personal risk exposures, stigma reduction, increasing ART therapy, since a large number of persons living with HIV (PLWAs) are not going for the anti- retroviral therapy, to help them manage the disease and prolong their life span.
He therefore charged the media to change their ‘sit-and-look attitude’ and assume a proactive role to addressing HIV and AIDS and help to showcase HIV and AIDS prevention interventions at all levels.
The workshop was organised by the GAC to build the capacity of participants in the ethics in order to give accurate reporting on HIV and AIDS, as part of this year’s World AIDS Day celebration, which falls on December 3. This year’s celebration is under the theme “Leadership: Reducing stigma and Discrimination.
Stigma and discrimination have greatly affected the fight against HIV and AIDS. This is because while only 10 per cent of the global population knew their HIV status, in Ghana, it was eight per cent.
This means that a lot of people do not know their status, while a large number of those who know their status and are in need of anti-retroviral treatment have refused to go for the treatment because of the fear of stigmatisation and discrimination. Consequently, only about 17,000 out of 71,000 PLWAs who need ART, go for medication. The question being asked is that why do we continue to stigmatise PLWAs to the extent that they refuse to go for their medication.
The opening remarks by the Prof Awuku-Amoah, and the presentations by Mr Cosmos Ohene-Adjei, a Sub-project Manager at the GAC and Mr Ato Amoaning of the League of HIV reporters set the tone for discussions.
Apart from the issue of PLWAs not accessing treatment as a result of stigmatisation, one of the issues that came up for discussion was whether prostitution should be legalised in view of the risk faced by commercial sex workers as a result of the HIV pandemic. Available reports indicate that a number of commercial sex workers are HIV-positive.
Conceding that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world which involves men, women, adults, children, the rich and the poor some participants indicated that some people engage in the business because of poverty, while other factors also make people to engage in prostitution, or seek the services of prostitutes.
Those who looked at the issue from the moral point of view contended that prostitution is a sin against God, since it involved the use of ones body, which is the temple of the Lord, for commercial sex purposes.
Others also said that the legalisation of prostitution would do more harm than good to the nation since it would encourage the youth to be promiscuous.
Some also debunked the argument that measures would be put in place to conduct a test on licensed prostitutes when it was legalised to ensure they operated without being infected with the virus, because nobody could be forced to undertake the HIV test since the test was voluntary.
In the light of these complexities and insecure formalities, they said legalisation of prostitution, which was a criminal act under the criminal Code 1960 (Act 29), had proved to be incapable of solving the HIV pandemic.
On the contrary, those in favour of the legalisation of prostitution maintained that, that action would provide structures to make sure that men and women or boys and girls who wanted to offer their bodies for sex for payment obtained license from an approved body and these prostitute shall be subjected to periodic HIV tests to make sure that none of them practised prostitution while infected.
T deal with low risk perception especially among the youth due to misconception and lack of adequate in-depth knowledge about HIV.
HIV is adevelopmental and social issue and all must come together to fight stigma and discrimination to deal with the spread of HIV by strengthening counselling services and intensifyig education to address the nagative thought that HIV is contracted through promiscuity.
THE fact that HIV and AIDS continues to pose a major challenge to the economic development of Africa because its infection rate is about 70 per cent , is well- known by many people.
It is also common knowledgethat HIV continues to pose a developmental challenge to most countries in Sub-saharan Africa where 22.5 million out of the 33.2 million people are infected with the disease.
Furthermore, the fact that in Ghana the national response programme has made significant impact to the extent that the national prevalence rate is now 1.9 per cent and various interventions are working ;leading to a very high level of awareness creation, is also not new. Majority of the infections in the country, nearly 90 per cent are within the age group of 15-49 years ,with 58 per cent of infected people being women and girls.
According to the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), currently, awareness creation in the country is almost universal and 110 sites have been established to offer anti- retroviral treatment (ART), while prevention of mother to child transmission centres (PMTCT) have been established in most hospitals to cater for pregnant women.
Condom usage has also increased from 28 to 33.4 per cent in women and from 44 to 52 per cent in men.
Despite these significant achievements, the Director General of the GAC Prof Sakyi Awuku-Amoah, contends that the nation is still confronted with many challenges that call for effective media involvement in the fight against the HIV pandemic.
He mentioned some of these challenges in his opening remarks at a workshop for journalists in Accra as the need to disseminate information to reduce high risk behaviour and personal risk exposures, stigma reduction, increasing ART therapy, since a large number of persons living with HIV (PLWAs) are not going for the anti- retroviral therapy, to help them manage the disease and prolong their life span.
He therefore charged the media to change their ‘sit-and-look attitude’ and assume a proactive role to addressing HIV and AIDS and help to showcase HIV and AIDS prevention interventions at all levels.
The workshop was organised by the GAC to build the capacity of participants in the ethics in order to give accurate reporting on HIV and AIDS, as part of this year’s World AIDS Day celebration, which falls on December 3. This year’s celebration is under the theme “Leadership: Reducing stigma and Discrimination.
Stigma and discrimination have greatly affected the fight against HIV and AIDS. This is because while only 10 per cent of the global population knew their HIV status, in Ghana, it was eight per cent.
This means that a lot of people do not know their status, while a large number of those who know their status and are in need of anti-retroviral treatment have refused to go for the treatment because of the fear of stigmatisation and discrimination. Consequently, only about 17,000 out of 71,000 PLWAs who need ART, go for medication. The question being asked is that why do we continue to stigmatise PLWAs to the extent that they refuse to go for their medication.
The opening remarks by the Prof Awuku-Amoah, and the presentations by Mr Cosmos Ohene-Adjei, a Sub-project Manager at the GAC and Mr Ato Amoaning of the League of HIV reporters set the tone for discussions.
Apart from the issue of PLWAs not accessing treatment as a result of stigmatisation, one of the issues that came up for discussion was whether prostitution should be legalised in view of the risk faced by commercial sex workers as a result of the HIV pandemic. Available reports indicate that a number of commercial sex workers are HIV-positive.
Conceding that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world which involves men, women, adults, children, the rich and the poor some participants indicated that some people engage in the business because of poverty, while other factors also make people to engage in prostitution, or seek the services of prostitutes.
Those who looked at the issue from the moral point of view contended that prostitution is a sin against God, since it involved the use of ones body, which is the temple of the Lord, for commercial sex purposes.
Others also said that the legalisation of prostitution would do more harm than good to the nation since it would encourage the youth to be promiscuous.
Some also debunked the argument that measures would be put in place to conduct a test on licensed prostitutes when it was legalised to ensure they operated without being infected with the virus, because nobody could be forced to undertake the HIV test since the test was voluntary.
In the light of these complexities and insecure formalities, they said legalisation of prostitution, which was a criminal act under the criminal Code 1960 (Act 29), had proved to be incapable of solving the HIV pandemic.
On the contrary, those in favour of the legalisation of prostitution maintained that, that action would provide structures to make sure that men and women or boys and girls who wanted to offer their bodies for sex for payment obtained license from an approved body and these prostitute shall be subjected to periodic HIV tests to make sure that none of them practised prostitution while infected.
T deal with low risk perception especially among the youth due to misconception and lack of adequate in-depth knowledge about HIV.
HIV is adevelopmental and social issue and all must come together to fight stigma and discrimination to deal with the spread of HIV by strengthening counselling services and intensifyig education to address the nagative thought that HIV is contracted through promiscuity.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Let’s identify exploitative child labour
Article: Salome Donkor
Over the past few years the issue of what constitutes child labour in the cocoa production chain has generated arguments in some quarters.
There is one school of thought that maintains that the issue of child labour does not arise when a child accompanies his or her parents/guardians to the farm, while another asserts that children who do this at the expense of their education or health face some form of exploitative child labour.
There is another group that also questions the stage at which child labour occurs in the 28 steps involved in the cocoa production chain.
To find answers to these questions and in response to concerns and negative reports in the international media on Ghana in respect of the existence of the worst forms of child labour within the cocoa production sector, the National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC) was instituted.
The primary goal of the programme is to encourage more organisations to fit their activities into the framework of the programme to ensure that Ghana meets its medium-term target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector by 2011.
Since its inception in 2006, the NPECLC has consciously worked towards the attainment of its strategic objectives with the institution of plans and programmes to propel the nation to achieve its goals.
These include promotion of universal basic education, enhancement of the knowledge base of the Worst Form of Child Labour (WFCL) in cocoa production, strengthening of the legal framework for dealing with WFCL and community mobilisation for action against WFCL.
The programme is also geared towards the development and implementation of interventions to eliminate WFCL in cocoa and the development of measures to reduce the need for child labour in cocoa.
The programme was established with initial funds and technical support from the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment in collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the World Cocoa Foundation. Donor agencies, including the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Danish Embassy, provided assistance.
Ghana has a lot to talk about in relation to the enactment of laws, ratification of international treaties and the establishment of rules and procedures for enforcing rights of the child and parental obligations, care and protection of children.
Chapter 5 of the country’s constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, various articles deal specifically with children’s rights.
In 1998, Parliament passed the Children's Act (Act 560) which provided a list of enforceable children's rights and the obligations of parents towards their wards.
The Children’s Act is an embodiment of all the various conventions and policies that protect children’s rights in Ghana and to ensure that every child of school-going age enrols in school, the government instituted the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (F-CUBE) Programme.
In addition to this, the School Feeding Programme, free bus rides for children to and from school and district-based interventions were also put in place to encourage the education of the Ghanaian child.
Training programmes such as the Skills Training and Employment Programme (STEP), which has been transformed into the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), and several other initiatives have been introduced. These are targeted at ensuring a safe future for Ghanaian children.
Some children are, however, not benefiting from many of these interventions because they are busily engaged in the worst forms of child labour in the mining sector, while others are forced to work in the fishing industry at tender ages; engaged in farming activities and do other jobs which are hazardous and exploitative to their welfare.
Even though initially, the Worst Form of Child Labour (WFCL) in Ghana’s cocoa sector was not recognised, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the West Africa Cocoa/Commercial Agriculture Project (WACAP) that run from 2003 to 2006 revealed that the phenomenon did exist in the country on a smaller scale.
Speaking at the sixth Partners’ Forum organised by NPECLC for partners to develop a framework for co-ordination of activities towards elimination of worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector, Mrs Rita Owusu-Amankwah, the National Programme Manager of NPECLC, said this year, the programme undertook the second survey on child labour practices in the cocoa sector.
She said the pilot survey was completed in April 2007 and covered six districts in three cocoa growing regions of the country, while the scale-up survey, which covered 15 districts was completed in June 2008, adding that the two surveys were funded by the World Cocoa Foundation, and supported by COCOBOD.
According to the programme manager, findings of the pilot survey led to a better understanding of the nature and extent of the occurrence of WFCL in the cocoa sector, including the complications of child labour with child socialisation or upbringing by parents.
She said the scale-up survey also led to the discovery of the fact that children generally take part in cocoa farm activities and work alongside their parents or guardians mainly on weekends and holidays and that work is allotted to children, based on their age.
It revealed that majority of children (99 per cent) who were engaged in work within the cocoa sector actually lived with their parents or close relations and 91 per cent were enrolled in school, while 71 per cent attend school regularly and they did not work for wages.
Mrs Owusu-Amankwah stated that the survey report that was made public in June, this year revealed that 29.4 per cent of the respondents were involved in hazardous work, while 20.9 per cent of children work without adequate protective clothing and the majority of injuries happen at home and school, not on the farm.
She said implications of some of the key findings call for intensive efforts to ensure 100 per cent school enrolment of children in cocoa-growing areas, while children of school-going age need more support to participate fully in school. Also, more attention needs to be given to the improvement of the quality of education in cocoa-growing communities.
Ms Patience Dapaah, Programme Communication Officer of the NEPCLC, who briefed the forum on the outcome of a meeting organised by the International Cocoa Initiative hosted by child labour experts in London, in April, this year, called for the co-ordination of activities among partners to ensure that the varied interventions taking place in cocoa-growing areas meet the national goal.
In his contribution, a participant, Mr Tony Dogbe of Participatory Development Associates, said there was the need to clearly define the context within which child labour occurs in the cocoa-growing areas and that must be clearly supported with facts to enhance a better understanding of the issue.
There is the need for us as a nation to gain the understanding and acceptance of partners on the issue, fight the root causes of exploitative child labour, and help children gain access to education and opportunities for development. Denying the extent of the problem means postponing the right to protect vulnerable children.
Over the past few years the issue of what constitutes child labour in the cocoa production chain has generated arguments in some quarters.
There is one school of thought that maintains that the issue of child labour does not arise when a child accompanies his or her parents/guardians to the farm, while another asserts that children who do this at the expense of their education or health face some form of exploitative child labour.
There is another group that also questions the stage at which child labour occurs in the 28 steps involved in the cocoa production chain.
To find answers to these questions and in response to concerns and negative reports in the international media on Ghana in respect of the existence of the worst forms of child labour within the cocoa production sector, the National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa (NPECLC) was instituted.
The primary goal of the programme is to encourage more organisations to fit their activities into the framework of the programme to ensure that Ghana meets its medium-term target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector by 2011.
Since its inception in 2006, the NPECLC has consciously worked towards the attainment of its strategic objectives with the institution of plans and programmes to propel the nation to achieve its goals.
These include promotion of universal basic education, enhancement of the knowledge base of the Worst Form of Child Labour (WFCL) in cocoa production, strengthening of the legal framework for dealing with WFCL and community mobilisation for action against WFCL.
The programme is also geared towards the development and implementation of interventions to eliminate WFCL in cocoa and the development of measures to reduce the need for child labour in cocoa.
The programme was established with initial funds and technical support from the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment in collaboration with the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and the World Cocoa Foundation. Donor agencies, including the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Danish Embassy, provided assistance.
Ghana has a lot to talk about in relation to the enactment of laws, ratification of international treaties and the establishment of rules and procedures for enforcing rights of the child and parental obligations, care and protection of children.
Chapter 5 of the country’s constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, various articles deal specifically with children’s rights.
In 1998, Parliament passed the Children's Act (Act 560) which provided a list of enforceable children's rights and the obligations of parents towards their wards.
The Children’s Act is an embodiment of all the various conventions and policies that protect children’s rights in Ghana and to ensure that every child of school-going age enrols in school, the government instituted the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (F-CUBE) Programme.
In addition to this, the School Feeding Programme, free bus rides for children to and from school and district-based interventions were also put in place to encourage the education of the Ghanaian child.
Training programmes such as the Skills Training and Employment Programme (STEP), which has been transformed into the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), and several other initiatives have been introduced. These are targeted at ensuring a safe future for Ghanaian children.
Some children are, however, not benefiting from many of these interventions because they are busily engaged in the worst forms of child labour in the mining sector, while others are forced to work in the fishing industry at tender ages; engaged in farming activities and do other jobs which are hazardous and exploitative to their welfare.
Even though initially, the Worst Form of Child Labour (WFCL) in Ghana’s cocoa sector was not recognised, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) and the West Africa Cocoa/Commercial Agriculture Project (WACAP) that run from 2003 to 2006 revealed that the phenomenon did exist in the country on a smaller scale.
Speaking at the sixth Partners’ Forum organised by NPECLC for partners to develop a framework for co-ordination of activities towards elimination of worst forms of child labour in the cocoa sector, Mrs Rita Owusu-Amankwah, the National Programme Manager of NPECLC, said this year, the programme undertook the second survey on child labour practices in the cocoa sector.
She said the pilot survey was completed in April 2007 and covered six districts in three cocoa growing regions of the country, while the scale-up survey, which covered 15 districts was completed in June 2008, adding that the two surveys were funded by the World Cocoa Foundation, and supported by COCOBOD.
According to the programme manager, findings of the pilot survey led to a better understanding of the nature and extent of the occurrence of WFCL in the cocoa sector, including the complications of child labour with child socialisation or upbringing by parents.
She said the scale-up survey also led to the discovery of the fact that children generally take part in cocoa farm activities and work alongside their parents or guardians mainly on weekends and holidays and that work is allotted to children, based on their age.
It revealed that majority of children (99 per cent) who were engaged in work within the cocoa sector actually lived with their parents or close relations and 91 per cent were enrolled in school, while 71 per cent attend school regularly and they did not work for wages.
Mrs Owusu-Amankwah stated that the survey report that was made public in June, this year revealed that 29.4 per cent of the respondents were involved in hazardous work, while 20.9 per cent of children work without adequate protective clothing and the majority of injuries happen at home and school, not on the farm.
She said implications of some of the key findings call for intensive efforts to ensure 100 per cent school enrolment of children in cocoa-growing areas, while children of school-going age need more support to participate fully in school. Also, more attention needs to be given to the improvement of the quality of education in cocoa-growing communities.
Ms Patience Dapaah, Programme Communication Officer of the NEPCLC, who briefed the forum on the outcome of a meeting organised by the International Cocoa Initiative hosted by child labour experts in London, in April, this year, called for the co-ordination of activities among partners to ensure that the varied interventions taking place in cocoa-growing areas meet the national goal.
In his contribution, a participant, Mr Tony Dogbe of Participatory Development Associates, said there was the need to clearly define the context within which child labour occurs in the cocoa-growing areas and that must be clearly supported with facts to enhance a better understanding of the issue.
There is the need for us as a nation to gain the understanding and acceptance of partners on the issue, fight the root causes of exploitative child labour, and help children gain access to education and opportunities for development. Denying the extent of the problem means postponing the right to protect vulnerable children.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Female teachers make women proud (Daily Graphic, Gender & Children’s Page 16/10/08)
Article: Salome Donkor & George Earnest Asare
The enviable feat accomplished by Ms Charlotte Azurago, the then 28-year old teacher at Lwanga in Zebilla in the Upper East Region, who was adjudged the first female overall National Best Teacher at the 2004 World Teachers’ Day in Wa, seems to have opened a new chapter in the lives of some female teachers.
Madam Doris Naana Marfo, an English Language teacher and Assistant Headmistress of the Sunyani Senior High School (SHS) in the Brong Ahafo Region and Faustina Gyeketey, a teacher of the Obokrom-Kumasi District Assembly (D/A) Junior High School (JHS) in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region, won the enviable prize in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
This achievement was repeated this year with two female teachers being adjudged the first and second runners-up to the 2008 best teacher award at the 14th edition of the National Best Teacher Award Ceremony held in Sunyani, the Brongh Ahafo Regional capital recently.
They are Mrs Magdalene Mensah,a teacher of French at the Opoku Ware Senior High School (SHC) in Kumasi and Mrs Alice Dzifa Gligui-Denueme, Head of Department of Home Economics at the Awudome SHC at Tsito, who emerged the first and second runners-up of the 2008 best teacher award respectively.
Sharing their joy and excitement with the Daily Graphic in separate interviews in Kumasi and Accra, Mrs Mensah said she felt elated for the honour bestowed on her by the state in recognition of her hard work for consistently teaching for over two decades in the country, while Mrs Gligui-Denueme attributed her success to discipline and hard work.
Mrs Mensah described the award as timely, stressing that it would further motivate her to work harder than before, in order to serve as a role model for the youth, especially the girl child.
She said “I am very happy for my chosen career. This is because over the years I have been able to help develop the knowledge of students who knew next to nothing about the French language when they entered school, but left school very much enlightened, contributing in diverse ways to sustainable socio-economic development”.
Mrs Mensah said she won the award when she participated in prestigious teacher award scheme for the first time, adding that she was encouraged by her headmaster, fellow teachers, past and present students who had benefited from her quality scheme of work, as well as members from her immediate community.
The award winner, who holds a Masters Degree in French, said her encouragement stemmed from the fact that she did not only spend adequate time in preparing her notes after conducting in-depth research, but also took much time in her presentation, assigning and accessing students to give them the confidence they needed to pass their examination very well.
On how she went through the series of interviews at the district, regional and national levels, Mrs Mensah said as a teacher, she had gone through promotion interviews before " so I knew what was expected of me, but at the national level of the teachers award, I knew that I was going to face a tougher panel, so I got myself prepared very well and it paid off".
" I made sure that my notes were standard, dummy teaching was masterful, answered all their questions with confidence and left an impression on them, so I was sure that I would win something but not to this magnitude. " She explained further.
She said that after meeting the panel at the national level, a special field team followed up to Opoku ware School, where they checked on her style of teachings, supervision, mode of assignments and some extra curricula activities as well as her contribution to the immediate community. She said she later got a message from the regional co-ordinator informing her that she had been nominated for a national award, but she did not know the category of award and that put her in a state of suspense until the 11th hour.
She said the reception accorded her moments after she returned from Sunyani with her prizes was overwhelming and expressed her gratitude to God for the spiritual guidance and also to the headmaster of Opoku Ware SHS and the staff for their support.
Mrs Mensah, who is a mother of two, advised the youth, especially the girl-child, to be serious with their academic work to be able to achieve their heart desires, adding that "The sky is our limit, and we should also not be discouraged in our activities but persevere to make it.
Fo her part, the second runner-up, started receiving honours at the OLA Senior Secondary School where she was the schools prefect. The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and management honoured her for being the well-behaved and a serious student.
From there she won the 1996 District Best Teacher Award for Gushiegu-Karaga when she was teaching at the Gushiegu-Karaga Local Authority Junior Secondary School and then the Northern Regional Best Teacher in 2001.
The award winner said she then proceeded to the University of Education, Wineba to study Home Economics and was posted to Tamale Islamic SSS after she graduated in 2005. She was transferred to Taviese-Deme Roman Catholic JSS in 2007, where she taught Science and then was posted to Awudome Tsito SSS early this year where she teaches Home Economics and also serves as head of that department.
She said she had remained committed to her work and performed her duties with dedication and pointed out that she had projected her school with the honour, and expressed optimism that it would greatly impact positively on her personal life, as well as that of her students and the community in which she lived.
Mrs Gligui-Denueme, who is married to Dr Saviour Denueme, a Vertinary Surgeon, with three children, advised the girl child to study hard and serve as role models in their respective areas.
She advised students to disabuse their minds of the notion that Home Economics is for those who do not do well, adding that all subjects are equally important in the national development programme.
She appealed to the government to provide schools with the needed materials and create the conducive atmosphere for effective teaching and learning. She also said there was the need to improve the conditions of service of teachers and motivate them to give their best.
To her, discipline, determination and hard work form the basis of everything, adding that she is from a disciplined home and that accounts for her academic exploits.
The enviable feat accomplished by Ms Charlotte Azurago, the then 28-year old teacher at Lwanga in Zebilla in the Upper East Region, who was adjudged the first female overall National Best Teacher at the 2004 World Teachers’ Day in Wa, seems to have opened a new chapter in the lives of some female teachers.
Madam Doris Naana Marfo, an English Language teacher and Assistant Headmistress of the Sunyani Senior High School (SHS) in the Brong Ahafo Region and Faustina Gyeketey, a teacher of the Obokrom-Kumasi District Assembly (D/A) Junior High School (JHS) in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region, won the enviable prize in 2005 and 2007 respectively.
This achievement was repeated this year with two female teachers being adjudged the first and second runners-up to the 2008 best teacher award at the 14th edition of the National Best Teacher Award Ceremony held in Sunyani, the Brongh Ahafo Regional capital recently.
They are Mrs Magdalene Mensah,a teacher of French at the Opoku Ware Senior High School (SHC) in Kumasi and Mrs Alice Dzifa Gligui-Denueme, Head of Department of Home Economics at the Awudome SHC at Tsito, who emerged the first and second runners-up of the 2008 best teacher award respectively.
Sharing their joy and excitement with the Daily Graphic in separate interviews in Kumasi and Accra, Mrs Mensah said she felt elated for the honour bestowed on her by the state in recognition of her hard work for consistently teaching for over two decades in the country, while Mrs Gligui-Denueme attributed her success to discipline and hard work.
Mrs Mensah described the award as timely, stressing that it would further motivate her to work harder than before, in order to serve as a role model for the youth, especially the girl child.
She said “I am very happy for my chosen career. This is because over the years I have been able to help develop the knowledge of students who knew next to nothing about the French language when they entered school, but left school very much enlightened, contributing in diverse ways to sustainable socio-economic development”.
Mrs Mensah said she won the award when she participated in prestigious teacher award scheme for the first time, adding that she was encouraged by her headmaster, fellow teachers, past and present students who had benefited from her quality scheme of work, as well as members from her immediate community.
The award winner, who holds a Masters Degree in French, said her encouragement stemmed from the fact that she did not only spend adequate time in preparing her notes after conducting in-depth research, but also took much time in her presentation, assigning and accessing students to give them the confidence they needed to pass their examination very well.
On how she went through the series of interviews at the district, regional and national levels, Mrs Mensah said as a teacher, she had gone through promotion interviews before " so I knew what was expected of me, but at the national level of the teachers award, I knew that I was going to face a tougher panel, so I got myself prepared very well and it paid off".
" I made sure that my notes were standard, dummy teaching was masterful, answered all their questions with confidence and left an impression on them, so I was sure that I would win something but not to this magnitude. " She explained further.
She said that after meeting the panel at the national level, a special field team followed up to Opoku ware School, where they checked on her style of teachings, supervision, mode of assignments and some extra curricula activities as well as her contribution to the immediate community. She said she later got a message from the regional co-ordinator informing her that she had been nominated for a national award, but she did not know the category of award and that put her in a state of suspense until the 11th hour.
She said the reception accorded her moments after she returned from Sunyani with her prizes was overwhelming and expressed her gratitude to God for the spiritual guidance and also to the headmaster of Opoku Ware SHS and the staff for their support.
Mrs Mensah, who is a mother of two, advised the youth, especially the girl-child, to be serious with their academic work to be able to achieve their heart desires, adding that "The sky is our limit, and we should also not be discouraged in our activities but persevere to make it.
Fo her part, the second runner-up, started receiving honours at the OLA Senior Secondary School where she was the schools prefect. The school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and management honoured her for being the well-behaved and a serious student.
From there she won the 1996 District Best Teacher Award for Gushiegu-Karaga when she was teaching at the Gushiegu-Karaga Local Authority Junior Secondary School and then the Northern Regional Best Teacher in 2001.
The award winner said she then proceeded to the University of Education, Wineba to study Home Economics and was posted to Tamale Islamic SSS after she graduated in 2005. She was transferred to Taviese-Deme Roman Catholic JSS in 2007, where she taught Science and then was posted to Awudome Tsito SSS early this year where she teaches Home Economics and also serves as head of that department.
She said she had remained committed to her work and performed her duties with dedication and pointed out that she had projected her school with the honour, and expressed optimism that it would greatly impact positively on her personal life, as well as that of her students and the community in which she lived.
Mrs Gligui-Denueme, who is married to Dr Saviour Denueme, a Vertinary Surgeon, with three children, advised the girl child to study hard and serve as role models in their respective areas.
She advised students to disabuse their minds of the notion that Home Economics is for those who do not do well, adding that all subjects are equally important in the national development programme.
She appealed to the government to provide schools with the needed materials and create the conducive atmosphere for effective teaching and learning. She also said there was the need to improve the conditions of service of teachers and motivate them to give their best.
To her, discipline, determination and hard work form the basis of everything, adding that she is from a disciplined home and that accounts for her academic exploits.
Rural Women’s Day marked in Azizanya (Daily Graphic, 18/10/08. Gender and Childre’s Page)
Article: Salome Donkor
Wednesday, October 15, was observed as World Rural Women’s Day. The idea of the event, which is devoted each year to honour rural women, began at the United Nations Conference for Women in Beijing in September 1995.
The theme for this year’s celebration was, “Climate Change: Rural Women Are Part of the Solution”, while that for 2007 was “The right to food: Rural women produce and provide”
The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), Network of African Rural Women Associations (NARWA) and the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) were the main proponents of the day.
Online information indicate that rural women, mainly farmers, are at least 1.6 billion and represent more than a quarter of the total world population. Women produce on average more than half of all the food that is grown: Up to 8O per cent in Africa, 6O per cent in Asia, between 3O and 4O per cent in Latin America and Western countries.
Despite these women own only two per cent of the land, and receive only one per cent of all agricultural credit, while only five per cent of all agricultural extension resources are directed to women.
In Ghana, records at the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that women constitute 52 per cent of the agricultural labour force and produce 70 per cent of subsistence crops and play major roles in production and distribution.
The event was therefore considered a practical way of obtaining recognition and support for the multiple roles of rural women who are mostly farmers and small entrepreneurs.
Because of their key role in food production and food security, it was decided that the World Rural Women's Day fall on the October 15 - the day before World Food Day.
The purpose of the day is to provide rural women and their organisations with a focal point to raise the profile of rural women, sensitise both governments and the public to their crucial, yet largely unrecognised roles, and promote action in their support.
As part of this year’s celebration in Ghana, the Foundation for Female Photojournalists (FFP), a non-profit making organisation, organised a programme with women in Azizanya in Ada to discuss how best to address the issue of coastal erosion confronting the community. During the meeting, the women resolved to initiate a programme that will harness their efforts to support each other during critical times of the coastal erosion.
They also appealed to the government to engage with the traditional authorities to give them a parcel of land which they will collectively develop as a long term means of providing sustainable and affordable housing.
The women noted that their communities, environment, industries, services and workplaces were facing rapid changes. Drought, climate change, and water issues have increased the cost of doing business. The prices of imputs such as fuel and fishing nets are challenging their very livelihoods.
The women in Azizanya also affirmed that vast distances and lack of infrastructure did not only isolate them, but also stifled growth, innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptive capacity, which threatens Ghana's economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability and prosperity.
In a welcome address, the Executive Director of FFP, Ms Mardey Ohui Ofoe, said this year's theme was crucial because over the past years, rural women had played significant roles in communities affected by drought, coastal land erosion and ongoing climate change. In these circumstances women in rural communities take on critical roles spanning family, business and the community development.
The rural women and climate change initiative is about local women working together and exploring partnerships that improve their family situations and community's well-being.
In a goodwill message read on his behalf, the Chief of Azizanya, Nene Akrofi Kabu, expressed his profound gratitude to the FFP for the programme and expressed the hope that the conversation would produce lessons that would help the people of Azizanya to address their own climatic change problems.
The chairperson for the programme, Madam Ghananye, admonished the women to take seriously the issues discussed to mobilise themselves to ensure that they maximised the knowledge gained to the benefit of all. She said when the sea eroded the land, women lost property, got displaced, thereby exposing them to diseases and severe poverty.
The Assembly Member of the Azizanya Electoral Area, Hon. Paul T. Amegavie, said women and children were the major victims of the Ada sea erosion because it took over their households and properties.
Wednesday, October 15, was observed as World Rural Women’s Day. The idea of the event, which is devoted each year to honour rural women, began at the United Nations Conference for Women in Beijing in September 1995.
The theme for this year’s celebration was, “Climate Change: Rural Women Are Part of the Solution”, while that for 2007 was “The right to food: Rural women produce and provide”
The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW), Network of African Rural Women Associations (NARWA) and the Women's World Summit Foundation (WWSF) were the main proponents of the day.
Online information indicate that rural women, mainly farmers, are at least 1.6 billion and represent more than a quarter of the total world population. Women produce on average more than half of all the food that is grown: Up to 8O per cent in Africa, 6O per cent in Asia, between 3O and 4O per cent in Latin America and Western countries.
Despite these women own only two per cent of the land, and receive only one per cent of all agricultural credit, while only five per cent of all agricultural extension resources are directed to women.
In Ghana, records at the Ministry of Agriculture indicate that women constitute 52 per cent of the agricultural labour force and produce 70 per cent of subsistence crops and play major roles in production and distribution.
The event was therefore considered a practical way of obtaining recognition and support for the multiple roles of rural women who are mostly farmers and small entrepreneurs.
Because of their key role in food production and food security, it was decided that the World Rural Women's Day fall on the October 15 - the day before World Food Day.
The purpose of the day is to provide rural women and their organisations with a focal point to raise the profile of rural women, sensitise both governments and the public to their crucial, yet largely unrecognised roles, and promote action in their support.
As part of this year’s celebration in Ghana, the Foundation for Female Photojournalists (FFP), a non-profit making organisation, organised a programme with women in Azizanya in Ada to discuss how best to address the issue of coastal erosion confronting the community. During the meeting, the women resolved to initiate a programme that will harness their efforts to support each other during critical times of the coastal erosion.
They also appealed to the government to engage with the traditional authorities to give them a parcel of land which they will collectively develop as a long term means of providing sustainable and affordable housing.
The women noted that their communities, environment, industries, services and workplaces were facing rapid changes. Drought, climate change, and water issues have increased the cost of doing business. The prices of imputs such as fuel and fishing nets are challenging their very livelihoods.
The women in Azizanya also affirmed that vast distances and lack of infrastructure did not only isolate them, but also stifled growth, innovation, entrepreneurship and adaptive capacity, which threatens Ghana's economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability and prosperity.
In a welcome address, the Executive Director of FFP, Ms Mardey Ohui Ofoe, said this year's theme was crucial because over the past years, rural women had played significant roles in communities affected by drought, coastal land erosion and ongoing climate change. In these circumstances women in rural communities take on critical roles spanning family, business and the community development.
The rural women and climate change initiative is about local women working together and exploring partnerships that improve their family situations and community's well-being.
In a goodwill message read on his behalf, the Chief of Azizanya, Nene Akrofi Kabu, expressed his profound gratitude to the FFP for the programme and expressed the hope that the conversation would produce lessons that would help the people of Azizanya to address their own climatic change problems.
The chairperson for the programme, Madam Ghananye, admonished the women to take seriously the issues discussed to mobilise themselves to ensure that they maximised the knowledge gained to the benefit of all. She said when the sea eroded the land, women lost property, got displaced, thereby exposing them to diseases and severe poverty.
The Assembly Member of the Azizanya Electoral Area, Hon. Paul T. Amegavie, said women and children were the major victims of the Ada sea erosion because it took over their households and properties.
Ministry commends Okyenhene - For supporting fight against FGM
Story: Salome Donkor
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) has stated that it is continuously seeking the support and collaboration of all stakeholders in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM).
It described the call by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin for the prosecution of traditional rulers found to be promoting the negative cultural practice as very welcome and commended the chief for his support towards the fight against the abolition of the practice.
A statement issued from the Public Relations Unit of MOWAC, dated October 14, 2008 made reference to the Okyenhene’s call made at a durbar organised to mark the ninth anniversary of his enstoolment as Okyenehe and said the chief’s support for women’s empowerment and child education, is laudable.
The statement said under its responsibility for advancing the welfare of women and children, the ministry has taken note of the call and pointed out that the ministry since its establishment has championed the fight against FGM as part of its mandate of protecting the rights of women and children.
It said a lot of activities, including advocacy and sensitisation workshops have been undertaken in areas where FGM is practised to sensitise communities, community leaders and traditional authorities on the dangers of the practice and the fact that it infringes on the human rights if its victims and these interventions, have helped to reduce FGM considerably.
Health experts say FGM is an invasive and painful surgical procedure that is often performed without anaesthetic on girls before puberty.
Various sources estimate that from about 60 to 140 million women in the world have been circumcised. Globally, an average of about four girls a minute continue to suffer from the practice.
The result is that sexual feelings are either inhibited or terminated. Sexual intercourse is often extremely painful for the woman. Childbirth often involves a Caesarian section .
FGM has been a social custom in Northern Africa and is occasionally performed in North America and Europe on girls of families who have immigrated from countries where FGM is common
In Ghana, although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
A BBC news carried in the October 17, edition of the Daily Graphic indicated that a community in eastern Uganda has banned the deeply rooted practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
It quoted an official from the
Kapchorwa District chairman Nelson Chelimo as saying that it was an "outmoded" custom and "not useful" for the community's women.
Some of the side effects of the cultural practice can include, hemorrhage, shock, painful scars, keloid formation, labial adherence, clitoral cysts, chronic urinary infection, and chronic pelvic infections. Later in life, it can cause kidney stones, sterility, sexual dysfunction, depression, and various gynaecological and obstetric problems.
The FGM Education and Networking Project, which maintains a regularly updated list of countries, population groups, and the types of operation performed estimates that 90 per cent or more of the girls in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan (North) have undergone the practice.
The same source indicates that over 50 per cent of the girls in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria and Togo have also undergone FGM.
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) has stated that it is continuously seeking the support and collaboration of all stakeholders in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM).
It described the call by the Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin for the prosecution of traditional rulers found to be promoting the negative cultural practice as very welcome and commended the chief for his support towards the fight against the abolition of the practice.
A statement issued from the Public Relations Unit of MOWAC, dated October 14, 2008 made reference to the Okyenhene’s call made at a durbar organised to mark the ninth anniversary of his enstoolment as Okyenehe and said the chief’s support for women’s empowerment and child education, is laudable.
The statement said under its responsibility for advancing the welfare of women and children, the ministry has taken note of the call and pointed out that the ministry since its establishment has championed the fight against FGM as part of its mandate of protecting the rights of women and children.
It said a lot of activities, including advocacy and sensitisation workshops have been undertaken in areas where FGM is practised to sensitise communities, community leaders and traditional authorities on the dangers of the practice and the fact that it infringes on the human rights if its victims and these interventions, have helped to reduce FGM considerably.
Health experts say FGM is an invasive and painful surgical procedure that is often performed without anaesthetic on girls before puberty.
Various sources estimate that from about 60 to 140 million women in the world have been circumcised. Globally, an average of about four girls a minute continue to suffer from the practice.
The result is that sexual feelings are either inhibited or terminated. Sexual intercourse is often extremely painful for the woman. Childbirth often involves a Caesarian section .
FGM has been a social custom in Northern Africa and is occasionally performed in North America and Europe on girls of families who have immigrated from countries where FGM is common
In Ghana, although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
A BBC news carried in the October 17, edition of the Daily Graphic indicated that a community in eastern Uganda has banned the deeply rooted practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).
It quoted an official from the
Kapchorwa District chairman Nelson Chelimo as saying that it was an "outmoded" custom and "not useful" for the community's women.
Some of the side effects of the cultural practice can include, hemorrhage, shock, painful scars, keloid formation, labial adherence, clitoral cysts, chronic urinary infection, and chronic pelvic infections. Later in life, it can cause kidney stones, sterility, sexual dysfunction, depression, and various gynaecological and obstetric problems.
The FGM Education and Networking Project, which maintains a regularly updated list of countries, population groups, and the types of operation performed estimates that 90 per cent or more of the girls in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan (North) have undergone the practice.
The same source indicates that over 50 per cent of the girls in Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria and Togo have also undergone FGM.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Reporting on HIV and AIDS- Highlight concerns of vulnerable groups (Daily Graphic page 11, 04/10/08)
Article: Salome Donkor
The story told by a 31-year-old HIV positive woman at a three-day workshop on “Effective reporting on women and HIV and AIDS” at Dodowa, touched the hearts of participants.
The woman (name withheld) was infected with the virus by her partner (now deceased), who never disclosed his status to her when he tested positive.
Following persistent illness, the woman was tested for HIV and when she disclosed the results to her partner, he became offended and threw her out of their home.
The woes of the woman were compounded when she lost her job at the time that she was sick and also became homeless, but thanks to the support of public-spirited individuals and organisations, she is now living a positive life and has become an HIV and AIDS advocate.
More pathetic was the story of a 14-year-old orphan who has lost both parents through AIDS and is also living with the virus.
She is being catered for by a relative but things have been very rough for her, and sometimes she is unable to take her antiretroviral therapy because there was no food for her, while money for the payment of her school fees and for the procurement of other educational needs is difficult.
These may just be two examples of the difficulties encountered by thousands of HIV sufferers, who apart from facing personal and societal stigmatisation are confronted with financial constraints and find it difficult to make ends meet to lead positive lives.
The workshop, organised by the Women Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmental organisation, with sponsorship from the African Women Development Fund, was attended by female journalists from both the private and state-owned media organisations. It was aimed at sharpening their skills to promote effective use of the media to report on HIV and AIDS.
A presentation by Dr Oliver Commey of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on the topic, “Women’s vulnerability to HIV and AIDS”, gave a number of reasons that buttressed the point that women greatly bear the brunt of HIV and AIDS.
This, he explained, was in view of the fact that women were commonly blamed for bringing the infection home. They are rejected, demonised and stigmatised and also suffer health-related stress, as well as lost time from economic activities.
HIV positive women are also concerned about the issues of marriage, fertility, stigma, disclosure, security in marriage, harassment and access to treatment and care.
Dr Commey said statistics indicated that globally, only 10 per cent of people living with HIV knew their status and in Ghana it was eight per cent.
He said this meant that more people did not know their status, while 77 per cent of the 17.5 million women living with HIV and AIDS were in sub-Saharan Africa.
He said it was necessary for everybody to check his or her HIV status to ensure good health.
He also advised rape victims, who may have been exposed to the HIV infection, to report for treatment within 48 hours. Such victims, he said, could receive a post exposure prophylactics treatment at the 93 HIV counselling and treatment units and regional hospitals to stop the infection.
Mrs Bernice Heloo, International President of the Society of Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA), said the organisation, funded in 1988, was operating in 41 African countries to champion the cause of women and children who were affected and infected with the disease.
She said more women were vulnerable to HIV infection due to biological, social, economic, social-cultural practices, wife inheritance, as well as the low level of education of women and the patriarchal nature of society, adding that HIV had worsened the plight of a number of women.
She said women should be concerned and critically look at the factors that fuelled the spread of the virus and “conspire to make women more vulnerable to the disease”, stressing that key players needed to look beyond the current approaches of preaching abstinence, being faithful and condom use to underlying social and cultural factors that made women vulnerable to the virus.
A lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Mr Tim Quashiegah, said reporters should educate themselves on the dynamics of HIV and AIDS and write on the topic with precision and clarity, exhibiting creativity, with a resolve to make a difference in their reportage.
The resource persons urged the media to write stories to address the misconception that HIV was a disease of the poor and write about HIV positive people who had made it in life and also talk about the social needs of people living with the virus, which include shelter, good food and employment.
They said the media needed to educate the public to know that there were facilities accessible in every regional hospital and a lot of other health facilities totalling 93 sites in all parts of the country, where full ART were being offered for people living with the virus at a cost of GH¢5.00 a month.
The public also need to be informed that testing HIV positive is not a death sentence but the ART, in combinations of three or more drugs that do not cure HIV infection, prevent the development of AIDS and prolong the lives of HIV sufferers.
The media also need to gather, analyse and disseminate accurate information on HIV and AIDS and keep authorities on their toes.
The story told by a 31-year-old HIV positive woman at a three-day workshop on “Effective reporting on women and HIV and AIDS” at Dodowa, touched the hearts of participants.
The woman (name withheld) was infected with the virus by her partner (now deceased), who never disclosed his status to her when he tested positive.
Following persistent illness, the woman was tested for HIV and when she disclosed the results to her partner, he became offended and threw her out of their home.
The woes of the woman were compounded when she lost her job at the time that she was sick and also became homeless, but thanks to the support of public-spirited individuals and organisations, she is now living a positive life and has become an HIV and AIDS advocate.
More pathetic was the story of a 14-year-old orphan who has lost both parents through AIDS and is also living with the virus.
She is being catered for by a relative but things have been very rough for her, and sometimes she is unable to take her antiretroviral therapy because there was no food for her, while money for the payment of her school fees and for the procurement of other educational needs is difficult.
These may just be two examples of the difficulties encountered by thousands of HIV sufferers, who apart from facing personal and societal stigmatisation are confronted with financial constraints and find it difficult to make ends meet to lead positive lives.
The workshop, organised by the Women Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmental organisation, with sponsorship from the African Women Development Fund, was attended by female journalists from both the private and state-owned media organisations. It was aimed at sharpening their skills to promote effective use of the media to report on HIV and AIDS.
A presentation by Dr Oliver Commey of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on the topic, “Women’s vulnerability to HIV and AIDS”, gave a number of reasons that buttressed the point that women greatly bear the brunt of HIV and AIDS.
This, he explained, was in view of the fact that women were commonly blamed for bringing the infection home. They are rejected, demonised and stigmatised and also suffer health-related stress, as well as lost time from economic activities.
HIV positive women are also concerned about the issues of marriage, fertility, stigma, disclosure, security in marriage, harassment and access to treatment and care.
Dr Commey said statistics indicated that globally, only 10 per cent of people living with HIV knew their status and in Ghana it was eight per cent.
He said this meant that more people did not know their status, while 77 per cent of the 17.5 million women living with HIV and AIDS were in sub-Saharan Africa.
He said it was necessary for everybody to check his or her HIV status to ensure good health.
He also advised rape victims, who may have been exposed to the HIV infection, to report for treatment within 48 hours. Such victims, he said, could receive a post exposure prophylactics treatment at the 93 HIV counselling and treatment units and regional hospitals to stop the infection.
Mrs Bernice Heloo, International President of the Society of Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA), said the organisation, funded in 1988, was operating in 41 African countries to champion the cause of women and children who were affected and infected with the disease.
She said more women were vulnerable to HIV infection due to biological, social, economic, social-cultural practices, wife inheritance, as well as the low level of education of women and the patriarchal nature of society, adding that HIV had worsened the plight of a number of women.
She said women should be concerned and critically look at the factors that fuelled the spread of the virus and “conspire to make women more vulnerable to the disease”, stressing that key players needed to look beyond the current approaches of preaching abstinence, being faithful and condom use to underlying social and cultural factors that made women vulnerable to the virus.
A lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Mr Tim Quashiegah, said reporters should educate themselves on the dynamics of HIV and AIDS and write on the topic with precision and clarity, exhibiting creativity, with a resolve to make a difference in their reportage.
The resource persons urged the media to write stories to address the misconception that HIV was a disease of the poor and write about HIV positive people who had made it in life and also talk about the social needs of people living with the virus, which include shelter, good food and employment.
They said the media needed to educate the public to know that there were facilities accessible in every regional hospital and a lot of other health facilities totalling 93 sites in all parts of the country, where full ART were being offered for people living with the virus at a cost of GH¢5.00 a month.
The public also need to be informed that testing HIV positive is not a death sentence but the ART, in combinations of three or more drugs that do not cure HIV infection, prevent the development of AIDS and prolong the lives of HIV sufferers.
The media also need to gather, analyse and disseminate accurate information on HIV and AIDS and keep authorities on their toes.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Women to march for peaceful elections
Story: Salome Donkor
Sunday, September 21 would be observed as the International Day of Peace. The day was instituted in September 2001 when the Member States of the United Nations unanimously adopted the first-ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence Peace Day. This was after the United Nations General Assembly had passed Resolution 36/67 declaring an International Day of Peace in 1981.
In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new Resolution 55/282 declaring September 21 of each year as the International Day of Peace.
The resolution declares that: “The International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day...”
As part of activities marking the day in Ghana, the Africa Regional Desk of the Women Peacemakers Programme (WPP), in collaboration with Mothers for Active Non-violence (MOFAN-V) will organise a march for peaceful elections in Accra tomorrow (September 19).
The march, dubbed “Women March for Peaceful Elections”, is to be participated by both men and women from identifiable groups and organisations who will commence the event at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra through Ring Road to the International Press Centre, where a peace rally and a news conference would be held.
The overall goal of the march is to support public education on the need for political parties in particular and Ghanaians in general to commit themselves to peaceful elections.
It is also to raise awareness on the need for Ghanaians to stand up for peace during and after the elections and to get women actively involved in public peace education.
Ms Euphemia Akos Dzathor, Africa Regional Co-ordinator of the Africa Regional Desk of the Women Peacemakers Programme, said the organisation was committed to peace and advised women to help promote a peaceful election by talking to their husbands, brothers, uncles and friends to watch out for issues that could trigger conflicts and speak out against violent behaviours.
She advised women not to think that elections were only for men, because invariably, women and children were those who bore the brunt of problems emanating from conflict situations that result from violent elections.
Mrs Becky Adda-Dontoh, a gender advocate and President of Mothers for Active Non-violence, said the march was intended to support public education for peaceful election and get women to stand up in support of that cause.
She said by their God-given talents, women were the nurturers of peace and urged more women to get involved in the peace day event.
The world body invites all Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental organisations and individuals to commemorate the event in an appropriate manner, through education and public awareness, and to co-operate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.
Globally, member countries will hold the International Day of Peace Vigil in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world to encourage the observation of a worldwide peace and non-violence.
Around the world, people will be planting Peace Poles, re-dedicate their Peace Poles, conducting World Peace Prayer Ceremonies, participating in community service projects, and observing the International Day of Peace in service and prayer for peace.
The World Peace Prayer Society encourages participation by all individuals, organisations and schools to commemorate the day in whatever way they feel appropriate, whether that means organising a large programme with thousands of others, or silently taking a moment for peace by yourself. Remember to include the prayer ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’.
Sunday, September 21 would be observed as the International Day of Peace. The day was instituted in September 2001 when the Member States of the United Nations unanimously adopted the first-ever annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence Peace Day. This was after the United Nations General Assembly had passed Resolution 36/67 declaring an International Day of Peace in 1981.
In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new Resolution 55/282 declaring September 21 of each year as the International Day of Peace.
The resolution declares that: “The International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the Day...”
As part of activities marking the day in Ghana, the Africa Regional Desk of the Women Peacemakers Programme (WPP), in collaboration with Mothers for Active Non-violence (MOFAN-V) will organise a march for peaceful elections in Accra tomorrow (September 19).
The march, dubbed “Women March for Peaceful Elections”, is to be participated by both men and women from identifiable groups and organisations who will commence the event at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra through Ring Road to the International Press Centre, where a peace rally and a news conference would be held.
The overall goal of the march is to support public education on the need for political parties in particular and Ghanaians in general to commit themselves to peaceful elections.
It is also to raise awareness on the need for Ghanaians to stand up for peace during and after the elections and to get women actively involved in public peace education.
Ms Euphemia Akos Dzathor, Africa Regional Co-ordinator of the Africa Regional Desk of the Women Peacemakers Programme, said the organisation was committed to peace and advised women to help promote a peaceful election by talking to their husbands, brothers, uncles and friends to watch out for issues that could trigger conflicts and speak out against violent behaviours.
She advised women not to think that elections were only for men, because invariably, women and children were those who bore the brunt of problems emanating from conflict situations that result from violent elections.
Mrs Becky Adda-Dontoh, a gender advocate and President of Mothers for Active Non-violence, said the march was intended to support public education for peaceful election and get women to stand up in support of that cause.
She said by their God-given talents, women were the nurturers of peace and urged more women to get involved in the peace day event.
The world body invites all Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, and non-governmental organisations and individuals to commemorate the event in an appropriate manner, through education and public awareness, and to co-operate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.
Globally, member countries will hold the International Day of Peace Vigil in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world to encourage the observation of a worldwide peace and non-violence.
Around the world, people will be planting Peace Poles, re-dedicate their Peace Poles, conducting World Peace Prayer Ceremonies, participating in community service projects, and observing the International Day of Peace in service and prayer for peace.
The World Peace Prayer Society encourages participation by all individuals, organisations and schools to commemorate the day in whatever way they feel appropriate, whether that means organising a large programme with thousands of others, or silently taking a moment for peace by yourself. Remember to include the prayer ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Dealing with conflicts in marriages (Daily Graphic, 09/11/08. Gender & Children’s Page
Article: Salome Donkor
Marriage is about love, pleasure, commitment, understanding and excitement. Life is a bed of roses at the beginning of married life, irrespective of whether it resulted from a love affair or is an arranged marriage.
One begins to notice the subtle changes when the first baby arrives. Marital satisfaction among some couples hits a new low with the arrival of a baby, but it is necessary for couples to understand that this is a normal development that most couples go through and just hang on till it passes.
It is not as if all successful marriages are perfect marriages. Like all other human institutions, conflicts and disagreements are all part of any marriage. A successful marriage is often an indicator of how correctly the couple have handled their conflicts. Everything hinges on how well these conflicts are handled and how soon one is able to solve issues without allowing them to escalate.
A few examples of some recent media reports demonstrate that misunderstandings in marriages and relationships can degenerate into bloody conflicts if not properly handled with care and compassion.
A report in the August 16 edition of the Ghanaian Times said Saul Kofi Campbell, also known as Kofi Carpenter, a coffin-maker, went to the house of his girlfriend, Serbian Amoh, 32, who decided to end their two-year-old relationship and woke her up from sleep under the pretext of discussing an important issue with her. Sabina, a seamstress, was found dead in a pool of blood at a refuse dump.
On August 29, the Daily Graphic carried another chilling story resulting from a marital feud between a woman and her husband.
Ekua Tawiah, the woman who set herself and family ablaze, killing her husband and seven-year-old son, was reported to have refused food and medicine at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital where she later died after her admission.
The report further indicated that co-tenants revealed that the couple had serious disagreements in the past few months and indeed, just before his death at the hospital, John Mesu, Ekua’s husband, confirmed this to a reporter but said he did not anticipate the action from his wife.
On Saturday August 30, 2008, an Accra Daily published that a man had allegedly killed his wife because he was suspicion of the calls she had been getting on her mobile telephone.
Kofi Mensah, a palm wine tapper, allegedly cut the throat of his wife, Janet Afu, 35, with a cutlass on their farm and then committed suicide by hanging.
The incident happened at Praso, near Tanoodumase in the Atwima-Mponua District of Ashanti Region. The police said the couple had been married for about seven years and had been having some misunderstanding for some time now following Mensah’s suspicion that Janet had been having extra-marital affairs.
One can go on enumerating horrific examples of conflicts in marriages and other relationships that have turned bloody leading to the injury or death of a spouse.
‘Real love in Marriage’, an online journal, identifies the issue of low sex drive verses high sex drive among couples and the tendency of some spouses not to forgive each other, as some of the possible causes of conflicts in marriage.
It also says the root cause of most disagreements leading to a divorce is the desire by a partner in a relationship to show authority, which can cloud a person's judgement so badly that it leads him/her to make irrational decisions which he/she might otherwise not have made.
Conflicts in marriages can result in bitterness that causes pain or grief, such as bitter remarks or the actions of bitter enemies.
Health experts say that most of the problems that cause mental illness in women include depression, anxiety, sexual abuse and abuses that occur in relationships or marriages.
A marriage counsellor and resident Pastor of the Atomic Hills Estate Presbyterian Church, Reverend Dei Awuku, said two issues need to be considered when discussing conflicts in marriages.
He said there are some husbands who for several years stomach a whole lot of problems they encounter in their marriages, because they think that their peers will taunt them when they discuss their marital problems with them.
When they can no longer contain the situation, there is an explosion.
He also said lack of communication among marriage couples also results in conflicts which are difficult to handle.
He stressed the need to make counselling services available to would-be, as well as married couples, who are both in religious marriages and under customary marriage to enhance understanding and peaceful resolution of conflicts in marriages.
Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Convenor of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), said over the years, because most societies are structured in a patriarchal way, women were trained right from infancy to acquire certain attributes to be a good wife, while husbands were regarded as superior to their wives because they were perceived as the main breadwinners.
She said with education and societal changes, some women are performing roles that used to be performed by their husbands and the notion that men are the sole breadwinner is no longer tenable, consequently, some men feel threatened.
Dr Mensah-Kutin, who is also the African Regional Co-ordinator of ABANTU for Development, said there was the need for married couples to recognise these societal changes and integrate the new things happening in the society into their marriages, while wives also need to help their husbands overcome their chauvinism in order to live in peace.
Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, a Member of the Council of State and the National Prayer Director of Women’s Aglow International, said the rampant conflicts in some marriages indicate that “ the Agape love as enumerated in the Bible is missing in relationships”.
She said First Corinthians Chapter 13 says love is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs, “but most of us keep records of the wrongs in our relationships and we don’t forgive one another”.
She also said love protects and trusts and it behoves people in relationships to protect and trust one another.
She advised partners to engage in dialogue and persevere when there are problems and practicalise what God says about love.
Another online journal, ‘The Women’s News’, has some tips on dealing with the situation.
It advises couples never to allow what begins as an argument to become a major disagreement and try to solve the problem when it is still at the first stage.
It is not as if every argument or issue can be amicably solved. In fact, some issues may never be resolved even over a period of time – some of the common ones being in-law problems, money and even issues involving the kids. Learning to live with the differences and adjusting to each other will help bind the marriage.
Simple skills when practised regularly can help to stabilise your marriage. Share whatever you like and appreciate about your partner. Learn to share all your hopes and dreams and make him part of your life in every sense. Discuss any changes in plans and situations and keep him in the loop always.
Never let misunderstandings fester or suspicions linger unnecessarily. Clear up the air as soon as possible. If there is something you don’t like, be open and tell him about how you would like to have it done instead of just criticising him.
Fortunately, the cause of conflict in marriage is not a mystery. Couples all over the world are applying the principles of Real Love and discovering a level of happiness they had never before thought possible.
Marriage is about love, pleasure, commitment, understanding and excitement. Life is a bed of roses at the beginning of married life, irrespective of whether it resulted from a love affair or is an arranged marriage.
One begins to notice the subtle changes when the first baby arrives. Marital satisfaction among some couples hits a new low with the arrival of a baby, but it is necessary for couples to understand that this is a normal development that most couples go through and just hang on till it passes.
It is not as if all successful marriages are perfect marriages. Like all other human institutions, conflicts and disagreements are all part of any marriage. A successful marriage is often an indicator of how correctly the couple have handled their conflicts. Everything hinges on how well these conflicts are handled and how soon one is able to solve issues without allowing them to escalate.
A few examples of some recent media reports demonstrate that misunderstandings in marriages and relationships can degenerate into bloody conflicts if not properly handled with care and compassion.
A report in the August 16 edition of the Ghanaian Times said Saul Kofi Campbell, also known as Kofi Carpenter, a coffin-maker, went to the house of his girlfriend, Serbian Amoh, 32, who decided to end their two-year-old relationship and woke her up from sleep under the pretext of discussing an important issue with her. Sabina, a seamstress, was found dead in a pool of blood at a refuse dump.
On August 29, the Daily Graphic carried another chilling story resulting from a marital feud between a woman and her husband.
Ekua Tawiah, the woman who set herself and family ablaze, killing her husband and seven-year-old son, was reported to have refused food and medicine at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital where she later died after her admission.
The report further indicated that co-tenants revealed that the couple had serious disagreements in the past few months and indeed, just before his death at the hospital, John Mesu, Ekua’s husband, confirmed this to a reporter but said he did not anticipate the action from his wife.
On Saturday August 30, 2008, an Accra Daily published that a man had allegedly killed his wife because he was suspicion of the calls she had been getting on her mobile telephone.
Kofi Mensah, a palm wine tapper, allegedly cut the throat of his wife, Janet Afu, 35, with a cutlass on their farm and then committed suicide by hanging.
The incident happened at Praso, near Tanoodumase in the Atwima-Mponua District of Ashanti Region. The police said the couple had been married for about seven years and had been having some misunderstanding for some time now following Mensah’s suspicion that Janet had been having extra-marital affairs.
One can go on enumerating horrific examples of conflicts in marriages and other relationships that have turned bloody leading to the injury or death of a spouse.
‘Real love in Marriage’, an online journal, identifies the issue of low sex drive verses high sex drive among couples and the tendency of some spouses not to forgive each other, as some of the possible causes of conflicts in marriage.
It also says the root cause of most disagreements leading to a divorce is the desire by a partner in a relationship to show authority, which can cloud a person's judgement so badly that it leads him/her to make irrational decisions which he/she might otherwise not have made.
Conflicts in marriages can result in bitterness that causes pain or grief, such as bitter remarks or the actions of bitter enemies.
Health experts say that most of the problems that cause mental illness in women include depression, anxiety, sexual abuse and abuses that occur in relationships or marriages.
A marriage counsellor and resident Pastor of the Atomic Hills Estate Presbyterian Church, Reverend Dei Awuku, said two issues need to be considered when discussing conflicts in marriages.
He said there are some husbands who for several years stomach a whole lot of problems they encounter in their marriages, because they think that their peers will taunt them when they discuss their marital problems with them.
When they can no longer contain the situation, there is an explosion.
He also said lack of communication among marriage couples also results in conflicts which are difficult to handle.
He stressed the need to make counselling services available to would-be, as well as married couples, who are both in religious marriages and under customary marriage to enhance understanding and peaceful resolution of conflicts in marriages.
Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, Convenor of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), said over the years, because most societies are structured in a patriarchal way, women were trained right from infancy to acquire certain attributes to be a good wife, while husbands were regarded as superior to their wives because they were perceived as the main breadwinners.
She said with education and societal changes, some women are performing roles that used to be performed by their husbands and the notion that men are the sole breadwinner is no longer tenable, consequently, some men feel threatened.
Dr Mensah-Kutin, who is also the African Regional Co-ordinator of ABANTU for Development, said there was the need for married couples to recognise these societal changes and integrate the new things happening in the society into their marriages, while wives also need to help their husbands overcome their chauvinism in order to live in peace.
Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, a Member of the Council of State and the National Prayer Director of Women’s Aglow International, said the rampant conflicts in some marriages indicate that “ the Agape love as enumerated in the Bible is missing in relationships”.
She said First Corinthians Chapter 13 says love is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs, “but most of us keep records of the wrongs in our relationships and we don’t forgive one another”.
She also said love protects and trusts and it behoves people in relationships to protect and trust one another.
She advised partners to engage in dialogue and persevere when there are problems and practicalise what God says about love.
Another online journal, ‘The Women’s News’, has some tips on dealing with the situation.
It advises couples never to allow what begins as an argument to become a major disagreement and try to solve the problem when it is still at the first stage.
It is not as if every argument or issue can be amicably solved. In fact, some issues may never be resolved even over a period of time – some of the common ones being in-law problems, money and even issues involving the kids. Learning to live with the differences and adjusting to each other will help bind the marriage.
Simple skills when practised regularly can help to stabilise your marriage. Share whatever you like and appreciate about your partner. Learn to share all your hopes and dreams and make him part of your life in every sense. Discuss any changes in plans and situations and keep him in the loop always.
Never let misunderstandings fester or suspicions linger unnecessarily. Clear up the air as soon as possible. If there is something you don’t like, be open and tell him about how you would like to have it done instead of just criticising him.
Fortunately, the cause of conflict in marriage is not a mystery. Couples all over the world are applying the principles of Real Love and discovering a level of happiness they had never before thought possible.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Looking at the status of women
Article: Salome Donkor
Ghana has a lot to talk about in relation to the enactment of laws, ratification of international treaties and the establishment of rules and procedures for enforcing rights of the child and parental obligations, care and protection of children, as well as the adjudication of judicial and quasi-judicial matters affecting children.
In 1998, Parliament passed the Children's Act (ACT 560) which provided a list of enforceable children's rights and obligations of parents towards their wards.
The United Nations declared 1979 as the International Year of the Child, which was referred to as the 1979 Declaration. The declaration called upon countries, local authorities, civil society organisations and parents to recognise and strive for the protection of the rights of children.
The declaration also influenced the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Ghana responded positively to the initiatives of the United Nations in being the first country to ratify the UN CRC.
An Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) Decree was passed on August 26, 1979 to establish the Ghana National Commission on Children (which is now known as the Department of Children) and August 31 was declared as the National Children's Day.
The commission is to see to the general welfare and development of children and co-ordinate all essential services for children in the country, with the view to promoting the rights of the child.
The first National Programme of Action dubbed, ‘the Child Cannot Wait’, was developed with set goals that gave a focus to the work by government and civil society organisations to enhance the progress for children in their survival, protection, participation and development.
To protect children against harmful traditional practices the 1992 Constitution included a whole chapter on the rights of a child.
With the passage of the Children's Act, the Ghana National Commission on Children and other public and private stakeholders have the legal backing to fight for the cause of children in Ghana.
Two important events pertaining to the welfare of children were observed in the country at the end of August. Ghana joined the international community to mark the International Day of the Child and the ceremony coincided with the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Children's Act. The 10th anniversary on the Children’s Act is on the theme: "Children at the Centre of the Children's Act (Act 560)."
The National Children's Day has the objective of creating a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on pertinent issues concerning children and strengthening partnership with child-related agencies to address the concerns of children.
Other policies and programmes backed by legislative frameworks that offer strategies for the protection, survival and development of children in the country include, the 1960 Criminal Code (Act 29), Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), Juvenile Justice Act 2003 (Act 653), Education Act 1961 that brought into being the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme and the Human Trafficking Act 2005 (Act 694).
To protect children against the six childhood killer diseases, National Immunisation Days (NID) have been instituted, while free medical care that existed for children under five, has been strengthened by the National Health Insurance Scheme and the free medical care for pregnant women, which took off in July, form part of measures to cater for the health needs of children.
Despite these laudable commitments by various governments to protect the rights and welfare of its children as well as develop its future human resource needs for the country's development, the challenges facing the Ghanaian child are still enormous.
A number of children have no shelter; they live dangerously on the streets and engage in hazardous work such hawking, illegal mining, stone quarrying and carry loads to earn income to fend for themselves. Some parents also engage in child trafficking despite legislations banning the practice while some cultural practices are inimical to the rights and protection of children.
The Director for International Desk (Children) of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOW), Mrs Marilyn Amponsah Annan, says she believes that the government is doing its best to ensure that children’s rights are protected and indicated that parents and guardians need to support the government’s efforts to make these efforts a success.
She said the government has improved infrastructural facilities in schools and also introduced the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme in some schools to lessen the burden of the cost of education to parents and indicated that parents need to play their part by taking their children off the streets and sending them to school stop the children from working to earn income to support the upkeep of the home.
According to Mrs Annan, various programmes have been organised by MOWAC, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare to sensitise parents and guardians to their rights and responsibilities, while a micro-credit scheme is being provided to support unemployed women to empower them economically.
Mr Bright Appiah, a child’s right activist, looked at four areas when asked to assess the 10 years of the operation of the Children’s Act in four areas.
He said in the area of protection, it is true that the law was enacted to protect children but indicated that a lot had not been done to protect children who come into contact with the law and mentioned in particular, lack of adequate protection for children who are defiled and inadequate measures to rehabilitate them
Mr Appiah said in the area of child mortality, the NID is yielding positive results and pointed out that since 2003, no child has died of polio but pointed out that there was the need to put in place measures to protect children with special needs, as well as orphaned and vulnerable children.
He said in relation to the issue of participation, more needs to be done to make children take part in initiation and implementation of decisions that affected their interest.
Mr Appiah pointed out that in looking at the operation of the Children’s Act after 10 years, “we have to look at actualisation of the law with the adoption of comprehensive institutional and administrative arrangements that facilitate effective sharing of ideas and information aimed at ensuring the total development, growth and protection of children.
Ghana has a lot to talk about in relation to the enactment of laws, ratification of international treaties and the establishment of rules and procedures for enforcing rights of the child and parental obligations, care and protection of children, as well as the adjudication of judicial and quasi-judicial matters affecting children.
In 1998, Parliament passed the Children's Act (ACT 560) which provided a list of enforceable children's rights and obligations of parents towards their wards.
The United Nations declared 1979 as the International Year of the Child, which was referred to as the 1979 Declaration. The declaration called upon countries, local authorities, civil society organisations and parents to recognise and strive for the protection of the rights of children.
The declaration also influenced the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Ghana responded positively to the initiatives of the United Nations in being the first country to ratify the UN CRC.
An Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) Decree was passed on August 26, 1979 to establish the Ghana National Commission on Children (which is now known as the Department of Children) and August 31 was declared as the National Children's Day.
The commission is to see to the general welfare and development of children and co-ordinate all essential services for children in the country, with the view to promoting the rights of the child.
The first National Programme of Action dubbed, ‘the Child Cannot Wait’, was developed with set goals that gave a focus to the work by government and civil society organisations to enhance the progress for children in their survival, protection, participation and development.
To protect children against harmful traditional practices the 1992 Constitution included a whole chapter on the rights of a child.
With the passage of the Children's Act, the Ghana National Commission on Children and other public and private stakeholders have the legal backing to fight for the cause of children in Ghana.
Two important events pertaining to the welfare of children were observed in the country at the end of August. Ghana joined the international community to mark the International Day of the Child and the ceremony coincided with the 10th anniversary of the enactment of the Children's Act. The 10th anniversary on the Children’s Act is on the theme: "Children at the Centre of the Children's Act (Act 560)."
The National Children's Day has the objective of creating a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on pertinent issues concerning children and strengthening partnership with child-related agencies to address the concerns of children.
Other policies and programmes backed by legislative frameworks that offer strategies for the protection, survival and development of children in the country include, the 1960 Criminal Code (Act 29), Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), Juvenile Justice Act 2003 (Act 653), Education Act 1961 that brought into being the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme and the Human Trafficking Act 2005 (Act 694).
To protect children against the six childhood killer diseases, National Immunisation Days (NID) have been instituted, while free medical care that existed for children under five, has been strengthened by the National Health Insurance Scheme and the free medical care for pregnant women, which took off in July, form part of measures to cater for the health needs of children.
Despite these laudable commitments by various governments to protect the rights and welfare of its children as well as develop its future human resource needs for the country's development, the challenges facing the Ghanaian child are still enormous.
A number of children have no shelter; they live dangerously on the streets and engage in hazardous work such hawking, illegal mining, stone quarrying and carry loads to earn income to fend for themselves. Some parents also engage in child trafficking despite legislations banning the practice while some cultural practices are inimical to the rights and protection of children.
The Director for International Desk (Children) of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOW), Mrs Marilyn Amponsah Annan, says she believes that the government is doing its best to ensure that children’s rights are protected and indicated that parents and guardians need to support the government’s efforts to make these efforts a success.
She said the government has improved infrastructural facilities in schools and also introduced the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme in some schools to lessen the burden of the cost of education to parents and indicated that parents need to play their part by taking their children off the streets and sending them to school stop the children from working to earn income to support the upkeep of the home.
According to Mrs Annan, various programmes have been organised by MOWAC, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare to sensitise parents and guardians to their rights and responsibilities, while a micro-credit scheme is being provided to support unemployed women to empower them economically.
Mr Bright Appiah, a child’s right activist, looked at four areas when asked to assess the 10 years of the operation of the Children’s Act in four areas.
He said in the area of protection, it is true that the law was enacted to protect children but indicated that a lot had not been done to protect children who come into contact with the law and mentioned in particular, lack of adequate protection for children who are defiled and inadequate measures to rehabilitate them
Mr Appiah said in the area of child mortality, the NID is yielding positive results and pointed out that since 2003, no child has died of polio but pointed out that there was the need to put in place measures to protect children with special needs, as well as orphaned and vulnerable children.
He said in relation to the issue of participation, more needs to be done to make children take part in initiation and implementation of decisions that affected their interest.
Mr Appiah pointed out that in looking at the operation of the Children’s Act after 10 years, “we have to look at actualisation of the law with the adoption of comprehensive institutional and administrative arrangements that facilitate effective sharing of ideas and information aimed at ensuring the total development, growth and protection of children.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Female graduates undergo training
Article: Salome Donkor
The story of Florence Adjokatcher, a young female graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), who took to frying yam, while schooling at the GIJ, is quite intriguing.
While schooling at the GIJ, Florence combined her education with frying yams opposite her school, to offer her colleague students, something to bite while on break.
With focus, perseverance and a sense of direction, Florence undertook the business, which did not only make her fulfil her desire to pursue her own ideas, but she also received financial reward for the service being rendered.
The young entrepreneur shared her experience with a group of 20 participants who attended a two-day workshop to equip them with entrepreneurial skills. The workshop, dubbed “Women on the Move”, was organised with support from Vital Voices Global Partnership of the United States of America (USA).
The participants were made up of unemployed graduates who hold Higher National Diploma (HND) from various tertiary institutions.
The programme was the initiative of Ms Hillary Gbedemah, a former legal awareness officer of the Volta Regional Office of the Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), Ghana.
Taking the participants through ‘introduction to entreprenuership’, a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Captain Sam Addae (retd), said entreprenuership is a world-wide phenomenon and is the driving force behind small businesses.
He said while an inventor creates something new, an entrepreneur puts the resources together for the invention and sets up a viable business.
Capt Addae (retd) said entrepreneurs are creative, put useful ideas into practice and are willing to take risks, which he described as “calculated risk”.
He also spoke about the three reasons why people want to become entrepreneurs and mentioned the desire to be their own bosses, pursue their own ideas and financial rewards which, he said, come as a result of services being rendered.
He said entrepreneurs have a responsibility not to themselves but to the society and mentioned passion for business, product customer focus, tenacity despite failure and execution intelligence as the four steps for successful entrepreneur.
Ms Gbedemah said she undertook the programme as a result of her resolve to work in pursuit of promoting gender mainstreaming, which requires total commitment and adherence to policies and programmes that will promote investing in policies and programmes to empower women and promote gender equality.
She said the programme was designed to help unemployed young women aged between 22 and 30 to identify their potential and obstacles to achieving their goals.
Ms Gbedemah, who presently works with the Law Institute, said she had been involved in issues related to women’s rights for many years and had found out that a lot of women were in a ‘tight corner’ because of lack of empowerment.
“I observed that a number of unemployed women only needed to be assisted to develop business plans and ideas to go into small-scale businesses,” she said, adding that “these women want jobs but they lack the ability to do the small things they can do as entrepreneurs”.
She said the training programme was an opportunity for participants to learn how to draw business plans that were feasible and types of businesses that were viable, and acquire start-up capital, as well as get enlightened on the advantages of record keeping.
The participants were also taken through the legal framework of business, business arrangements and registration, purchasing and registration of property, sample tenancy agreements, basic finance and developing business plans.
The story of Florence Adjokatcher, a young female graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), who took to frying yam, while schooling at the GIJ, is quite intriguing.
While schooling at the GIJ, Florence combined her education with frying yams opposite her school, to offer her colleague students, something to bite while on break.
With focus, perseverance and a sense of direction, Florence undertook the business, which did not only make her fulfil her desire to pursue her own ideas, but she also received financial reward for the service being rendered.
The young entrepreneur shared her experience with a group of 20 participants who attended a two-day workshop to equip them with entrepreneurial skills. The workshop, dubbed “Women on the Move”, was organised with support from Vital Voices Global Partnership of the United States of America (USA).
The participants were made up of unemployed graduates who hold Higher National Diploma (HND) from various tertiary institutions.
The programme was the initiative of Ms Hillary Gbedemah, a former legal awareness officer of the Volta Regional Office of the Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), Ghana.
Taking the participants through ‘introduction to entreprenuership’, a lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Captain Sam Addae (retd), said entreprenuership is a world-wide phenomenon and is the driving force behind small businesses.
He said while an inventor creates something new, an entrepreneur puts the resources together for the invention and sets up a viable business.
Capt Addae (retd) said entrepreneurs are creative, put useful ideas into practice and are willing to take risks, which he described as “calculated risk”.
He also spoke about the three reasons why people want to become entrepreneurs and mentioned the desire to be their own bosses, pursue their own ideas and financial rewards which, he said, come as a result of services being rendered.
He said entrepreneurs have a responsibility not to themselves but to the society and mentioned passion for business, product customer focus, tenacity despite failure and execution intelligence as the four steps for successful entrepreneur.
Ms Gbedemah said she undertook the programme as a result of her resolve to work in pursuit of promoting gender mainstreaming, which requires total commitment and adherence to policies and programmes that will promote investing in policies and programmes to empower women and promote gender equality.
She said the programme was designed to help unemployed young women aged between 22 and 30 to identify their potential and obstacles to achieving their goals.
Ms Gbedemah, who presently works with the Law Institute, said she had been involved in issues related to women’s rights for many years and had found out that a lot of women were in a ‘tight corner’ because of lack of empowerment.
“I observed that a number of unemployed women only needed to be assisted to develop business plans and ideas to go into small-scale businesses,” she said, adding that “these women want jobs but they lack the ability to do the small things they can do as entrepreneurs”.
She said the training programme was an opportunity for participants to learn how to draw business plans that were feasible and types of businesses that were viable, and acquire start-up capital, as well as get enlightened on the advantages of record keeping.
The participants were also taken through the legal framework of business, business arrangements and registration, purchasing and registration of property, sample tenancy agreements, basic finance and developing business plans.
Making international aid gender-sensitive- The EC/UN Partnership (Daily Graphic, 08/19/08. Page 11)
Story: Salome Donkor
Between September 2 and 4 this year, ministers from over 100 countries and heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, donor organisations, and civil society organisations from around the world will assemble in Accra for the third High-Level Forum on aid effectiveness.
The conference is being held in recognition of the need to reform the process of development assistance to make it more responsive to the needs of developing countries and marginalised people in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented.
The move towards a more equitable and gender responsiveness in the aid agenda over the years resulted in a conscious effort by the international community to reform the ways through which aid is delivered and managed.
They recognised that while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve these goals, aid effectiveness must increase significantly, as well as support partner country efforts to strengthen governance and improve development performance. This is aimed at increasing the impact of aid in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity and accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The commitment to achieve improved aid effectiveness and results was concretised in the late 1990s, when donors/aid agencies, in particular, began working with each other, and with partner countries, to harmonise these approaches and requirements.
The movement picked up steam in 2002 at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, and the last five years have been marked by a number of initiatives towards establishing a new aid architecture.
This culminated in a High-Level Forum on Harmonisation in Paris in March 2005, attended by heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions, who resolved to take positive steps to reform ways to aid delivery and management.
The High-Level Forum followed up on the adoption of a Declaration that has come to be known as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The declaration is grounded on five mutually reinforcing principles: Ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
As part of a programme to enhance the knowledge of the media in understanding the issues concerned with aid effectiveness, the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) have launched the EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace.
The partnership is to support stronger action on gender equality and women’s human rights in national development process and in co-operation programmes supported by the EC.
Consequently, a one-day training workshop was organised for journalists in Accra, to provide the opportunity for participants to interact and share ideas on international aid and development issues and to break down the technical terms of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The participants, made up of representatives from both the print and electronic media, maintained that no country could attain accelerated development if a segment of the population was not involved in the planning and implementation of the development process.
They said it was necessary to ensure that women, who constitute more than half of the population of a number of countries, were involved in development plans, while aid was implemented to meet the different needs of men, women, children and people with special needs.
Ms Afua B. Ansere, the National Programme Co-ordinator UNIFEM said aid effectiveness would be attained if monies flowing into a country as aid were more co-ordinated and used for the intended purpose, while recipients were more accountable for the aid received.
She said for Ghana to attain a middle-income status by 2015, and to make aid effectiveness more relevance to the country, it was important to link the international aid received by the country to gender equality and women empowerment, while looking at the proportion of money that was channelled into health, education and youth training, as well as reproductive health and maternal health care, water and sanitation and the provision of other social services.
Mrs Charity Binka, a member of the EC/UN Partnership, who made a presentation on the concepts of gender equality and women empowerment, said basically women were seen to perform reproductive roles, while men performed productive roles.
She, however, indicated that gender was not a consequence of sex and did not mean that one group was better than the other, adding that “it involves the roles that we play in our homes, the society, the church and in our communities”.
She said gender equality meant that men and women had the same rights, status and fair treatment regardless of their sex.
The Accra forum will among others review progress in improving aid effectiveness, broaden the dialogue to newer actors and chart a course for continuing international action on aid effectiveness.
The conference will conclude high-level discussions and negotiations around key issues, culminating in the endorsement of a ministerial statement — The Accra Agenda for Action — that aims to deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration.
Between September 2 and 4 this year, ministers from over 100 countries and heads of bilateral and multilateral development agencies, donor organisations, and civil society organisations from around the world will assemble in Accra for the third High-Level Forum on aid effectiveness.
The conference is being held in recognition of the need to reform the process of development assistance to make it more responsive to the needs of developing countries and marginalised people in their fight against poverty by making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented.
The move towards a more equitable and gender responsiveness in the aid agenda over the years resulted in a conscious effort by the international community to reform the ways through which aid is delivered and managed.
They recognised that while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve these goals, aid effectiveness must increase significantly, as well as support partner country efforts to strengthen governance and improve development performance. This is aimed at increasing the impact of aid in reducing poverty and inequality, increasing growth, building capacity and accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The commitment to achieve improved aid effectiveness and results was concretised in the late 1990s, when donors/aid agencies, in particular, began working with each other, and with partner countries, to harmonise these approaches and requirements.
The movement picked up steam in 2002 at the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, and the last five years have been marked by a number of initiatives towards establishing a new aid architecture.
This culminated in a High-Level Forum on Harmonisation in Paris in March 2005, attended by heads of multilateral and bilateral development institutions, who resolved to take positive steps to reform ways to aid delivery and management.
The High-Level Forum followed up on the adoption of a Declaration that has come to be known as the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The declaration is grounded on five mutually reinforcing principles: Ownership, alignment, harmonisation, managing for results and mutual accountability.
As part of a programme to enhance the knowledge of the media in understanding the issues concerned with aid effectiveness, the European Commission (EC), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation (ITC-ILO) have launched the EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace.
The partnership is to support stronger action on gender equality and women’s human rights in national development process and in co-operation programmes supported by the EC.
Consequently, a one-day training workshop was organised for journalists in Accra, to provide the opportunity for participants to interact and share ideas on international aid and development issues and to break down the technical terms of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The participants, made up of representatives from both the print and electronic media, maintained that no country could attain accelerated development if a segment of the population was not involved in the planning and implementation of the development process.
They said it was necessary to ensure that women, who constitute more than half of the population of a number of countries, were involved in development plans, while aid was implemented to meet the different needs of men, women, children and people with special needs.
Ms Afua B. Ansere, the National Programme Co-ordinator UNIFEM said aid effectiveness would be attained if monies flowing into a country as aid were more co-ordinated and used for the intended purpose, while recipients were more accountable for the aid received.
She said for Ghana to attain a middle-income status by 2015, and to make aid effectiveness more relevance to the country, it was important to link the international aid received by the country to gender equality and women empowerment, while looking at the proportion of money that was channelled into health, education and youth training, as well as reproductive health and maternal health care, water and sanitation and the provision of other social services.
Mrs Charity Binka, a member of the EC/UN Partnership, who made a presentation on the concepts of gender equality and women empowerment, said basically women were seen to perform reproductive roles, while men performed productive roles.
She, however, indicated that gender was not a consequence of sex and did not mean that one group was better than the other, adding that “it involves the roles that we play in our homes, the society, the church and in our communities”.
She said gender equality meant that men and women had the same rights, status and fair treatment regardless of their sex.
The Accra forum will among others review progress in improving aid effectiveness, broaden the dialogue to newer actors and chart a course for continuing international action on aid effectiveness.
The conference will conclude high-level discussions and negotiations around key issues, culminating in the endorsement of a ministerial statement — The Accra Agenda for Action — that aims to deepen implementation of the Paris Declaration.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Free maternal care - matters arising
Article: Salome Donkor (daily Graphic, page 11. 12th August, 2008)
THE recent grant received from the British government to provide free maternal care was hailed from various quarters as a positive step to ensure that all pregnant women in the country would pass through pregnancy and delivery safely.
The grant brought about the introduction of a policy of free medical care for pregnant women under the National Health Insurance Scheme, which started in July, this year.
The policy was announced by President J. A. Kufuor after a trip to the United Kingdom, where the British government pledged £42.5 million to support efforts at reducing maternal mortality as envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A visit to some health facilities in the Greater Accra Region ,barely 10 days into the implementation of the free access to maternal health services in the country, indicated sharp increase in the number of pregnant women registering with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in some major hospitals.
At the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a total of 780 women had registered with the scheme, 398 at the Tema General Hospital while 64 at the Prampram Healthcare Centre, when the NHIS team visited these facilities.
At its 4th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Tamale between July 25 and July 27, 2008, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), reportedly added its voice to commend the government for introducing free medical care for pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality.
The maternal mortality ratio indicates the risk of death a woman faces with each pregnancy. In settings with high fertility, such as sub-Saharan Africa, women face this risk many times in their lifetime. In Ghana, the maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be between 214 and 540 per 100,000 live births annually.
As such more women have realised the need to access available health facilities in order to have safe delivery . Health experts enumerate causes of maternal mortality in Ghana as bleeding before and after delivery, hypertension and fits in pregnancy, miscarriage and serious infection, among others.
It is therefore a little wonder that reports from various health facilities across the country indicate that the facilities have been crowded with pregnant women, following the implementation of the free ante-natal care delivery policy.
At his turn at the meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra recently, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Ras Boateng, was reported to have said that figures received from some of the districts indicated that the Ashanti Region was leading with 12,164 pregnant women who have registered under the scheme, followed by the Greater Accra Region with 8,211; the Central Region, 6, 843; the Eastern Region, 5,870; and the Western Region, 5,012.
The rest are the Upper West Region, 3,608; Northern Region, 2,720; Upper East Region, 2,473; Brong Ahafo Region, 2,434; and the Volta Region, 1,589.
The CEO was reported to have stated that there was the possibility that many of those women would not have gone for ante-natal care if the policy was not introduced. This is quite valid considering the fact that, before the introduction of the policy, some women who could not pay for the costs of their delivery were detained by the hospitals.
Under this programme pregnant women would benefit from the ante-natal period to three months after delivery, while emergencies during delivery and all other medical problems that would arise within this period would be covered.
Reports from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s premiere hospital indicate that following the implementation of the free ante-natal care, the number of delivery cases each day has increased to about eight times and also there is also 12 to 50 caesarian sections each day.
Inaugurating a second theatre for the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Prof Enyonam Yao Kwawukume ,was reported to have said that the implementation of the free ante-natal care had increased the attendance of pregnant women to the hospital.
He explained that consequently, hospital staff had to work extra hard to attend to the increased number of patients, some of whom needed emergency obstetric and gynaecological care.
It is obvious that a measure needs to be put in place to address the expected upsurge in the number of maternal cases at hospitals following the introduction of the government’s free delivery services to enable the country to achieve the desired objective.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the Ghana Medical Association , Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful and the General Secretary, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, spoke about the need for other factors to be considered to making the project meaningful and mentioned some of the factors as inadequate number of health professionals, lack of health facilities and low level motivation for health professionals in the face of increased client-load and responsibilities.
The report by the GMA which called on the government to invest resources both in the training of health professionals and the provision of basic equipment to the maternity units of the country’s health facilities to enable them to deliver efficient services, is quite timely.
Yaa Yaa, a 30-year old woman who delivered recently at the Korlebu Teaching hospital, spoke about inadequate facilities, such as beds and serious congestion at the Maternity Ward. She said the health staff are also overwhelmed by the increasing number of expectant mothers who must be attended to at the wards.
The recent opening of a second theatre for the Obstetric and Gynaecology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is a step in the right direction since the department used to have only one theatre that was operative.
Realising the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which commits the international community to reducing, by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality rate in all developing countries, is an arduous task.
There is the need for the government and benevolent organisations and individuals to help realise this goal.
We are in the political season and all those who have the interest of women at heart, expect those aspiring for political positions to present their health policies as contained in their manifestos to the people and outline measures they intend to put in place to realise the MDGs with particular reference to reducing maternal mortality.
Men also have equal roles to play to live up to their parental responsibility to support government’s efforts of providing a universal access to reproductive health services.
THE recent grant received from the British government to provide free maternal care was hailed from various quarters as a positive step to ensure that all pregnant women in the country would pass through pregnancy and delivery safely.
The grant brought about the introduction of a policy of free medical care for pregnant women under the National Health Insurance Scheme, which started in July, this year.
The policy was announced by President J. A. Kufuor after a trip to the United Kingdom, where the British government pledged £42.5 million to support efforts at reducing maternal mortality as envisaged in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
A visit to some health facilities in the Greater Accra Region ,barely 10 days into the implementation of the free access to maternal health services in the country, indicated sharp increase in the number of pregnant women registering with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in some major hospitals.
At the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, a total of 780 women had registered with the scheme, 398 at the Tema General Hospital while 64 at the Prampram Healthcare Centre, when the NHIS team visited these facilities.
At its 4th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Tamale between July 25 and July 27, 2008, the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), reportedly added its voice to commend the government for introducing free medical care for pregnant women to reduce maternal mortality.
The maternal mortality ratio indicates the risk of death a woman faces with each pregnancy. In settings with high fertility, such as sub-Saharan Africa, women face this risk many times in their lifetime. In Ghana, the maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be between 214 and 540 per 100,000 live births annually.
As such more women have realised the need to access available health facilities in order to have safe delivery . Health experts enumerate causes of maternal mortality in Ghana as bleeding before and after delivery, hypertension and fits in pregnancy, miscarriage and serious infection, among others.
It is therefore a little wonder that reports from various health facilities across the country indicate that the facilities have been crowded with pregnant women, following the implementation of the free ante-natal care delivery policy.
At his turn at the meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in Accra recently, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Ras Boateng, was reported to have said that figures received from some of the districts indicated that the Ashanti Region was leading with 12,164 pregnant women who have registered under the scheme, followed by the Greater Accra Region with 8,211; the Central Region, 6, 843; the Eastern Region, 5,870; and the Western Region, 5,012.
The rest are the Upper West Region, 3,608; Northern Region, 2,720; Upper East Region, 2,473; Brong Ahafo Region, 2,434; and the Volta Region, 1,589.
The CEO was reported to have stated that there was the possibility that many of those women would not have gone for ante-natal care if the policy was not introduced. This is quite valid considering the fact that, before the introduction of the policy, some women who could not pay for the costs of their delivery were detained by the hospitals.
Under this programme pregnant women would benefit from the ante-natal period to three months after delivery, while emergencies during delivery and all other medical problems that would arise within this period would be covered.
Reports from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the nation’s premiere hospital indicate that following the implementation of the free ante-natal care, the number of delivery cases each day has increased to about eight times and also there is also 12 to 50 caesarian sections each day.
Inaugurating a second theatre for the hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department, Prof Enyonam Yao Kwawukume ,was reported to have said that the implementation of the free ante-natal care had increased the attendance of pregnant women to the hospital.
He explained that consequently, hospital staff had to work extra hard to attend to the increased number of patients, some of whom needed emergency obstetric and gynaecological care.
It is obvious that a measure needs to be put in place to address the expected upsurge in the number of maternal cases at hospitals following the introduction of the government’s free delivery services to enable the country to achieve the desired objective.
A statement jointly signed by the President of the Ghana Medical Association , Dr Emmanuel Adom Winful and the General Secretary, Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, spoke about the need for other factors to be considered to making the project meaningful and mentioned some of the factors as inadequate number of health professionals, lack of health facilities and low level motivation for health professionals in the face of increased client-load and responsibilities.
The report by the GMA which called on the government to invest resources both in the training of health professionals and the provision of basic equipment to the maternity units of the country’s health facilities to enable them to deliver efficient services, is quite timely.
Yaa Yaa, a 30-year old woman who delivered recently at the Korlebu Teaching hospital, spoke about inadequate facilities, such as beds and serious congestion at the Maternity Ward. She said the health staff are also overwhelmed by the increasing number of expectant mothers who must be attended to at the wards.
The recent opening of a second theatre for the Obstetric and Gynaecology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital is a step in the right direction since the department used to have only one theatre that was operative.
Realising the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which commits the international community to reducing, by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality rate in all developing countries, is an arduous task.
There is the need for the government and benevolent organisations and individuals to help realise this goal.
We are in the political season and all those who have the interest of women at heart, expect those aspiring for political positions to present their health policies as contained in their manifestos to the people and outline measures they intend to put in place to realise the MDGs with particular reference to reducing maternal mortality.
Men also have equal roles to play to live up to their parental responsibility to support government’s efforts of providing a universal access to reproductive health services.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Enhancing the status of women
Article: Salome Donkor (Daily Graphic, 07/08/08. Page 11)
THE launch of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Combined Reports on Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in Accra, recently provided a forum for the enumeration of measures taken over the years to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in the country.
The reports cover the period 1993 to 2003 and highlight progress made over the decade in achieving gender equality, as well as challenges and efforts being made by the government towards the realisation of women’s empowerment, equality, equity and sustainable development.
It is being disseminated to all stakeholders who have a role in the implementation of the Convention.
The first section of the reports provides an update on Ghana’s socio-economic and political environment. It also discusses the position and status of women in Ghana since the submission of the first and second reports in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
The reports further evaluates what was achieved with regards to the implementation of the “ Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for Promoting the Advancement of Women”, and “ The Platform For Action” adopted after the Beijing Conference.
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) submitted the combined report, which was considered by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in August 2006.
State parties are enjoined under provisions of CEDAW to submit periodic reports to the committee on the elimination of discrimination against women and the three reports provided additional information on questions and issues raised in the report and offers a lot of issues for discussion.
The compilation of the report and other related documents of Ghana’s implementation of CEDAW has been made possible through the support and inputs from ministries, departments and agencies and civil society organisations in conjunction with development partners namely, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provided financial and administrative support.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides a framework for equality of all persons and outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender/sex. It promises to protect and promote all human rights and also prohibits all harmful customary practices.
Chapter 5 of the constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, articles 22 and 27 deal specifically with women’s rights.
The Minister for Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC), Hajia Alima Mahama rightly pointed out during the launch of the reports that Ghana has made giant strides in the fulfilment of its national, regional and international commitment adding that Ghana demonstrated its commitment and political will by not only signing the convention, but also through the implementation of various strategies with the view of empowering women.
She was reported to have observed that the government and the people of Ghana had demonstrated their commitment to the tenets of the convention by ensuring that the Constitution and other policies and legislation were consistent with CEDAW.
She said sections of the 1992 Constitution, which guaranteed the fundamental human rights of every Ghanaian irrespective of race, place of origin, gender and freedom from discrimination, which she said were conformity with provisions of CEDAW.
In addition to these, the setting up of the National Council on Women and Development, now the Department of Women, after the 1975 Conference on Women, as a national machinery for women, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in 2001 with a cabinet status, the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill and the setting up of the Women and Juvenile Unit, now the Domestic Violence and victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, are all positive steps adopted over the past decade to enhance the status of women.
The report points to progress made in women’s health, education and economic empowerment, covering the period under review during which Ghana has seen three consecutive terms of constitutional rule.
Despite these achievements the reports assert that some challenges remain in the area of politics, administration and medium and large-scale industrial development, while the percentage of illiterate women remains high, as compared to men.
Although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
For instance the reports mention that one of the thorny issues that needs to be dealt with is polygamy, which it said was an entrenched socio-cultural and religious practice that remained a big challenge to legislators and policy makers.
Nana Oye Lithur, the African Regional Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHI) said polygamy was still an issue and explained that sometimes it was difficult to determine who was the wife in a polygamous marriage after the husband with multiple wives, died intestate. She said that also raised a lot of issues in relation to property rights.Nana Oye also said although there had been a lot of interventions since 2006 when the reports were submitted, to address issues of maternal health, mentioning, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the recent introduction of free medical care for pregnant women, the issue of unsafe abortion was still outstanding.
She said people needed to be informed and provided with a comprehensive care to ensure that those who qualified under the law, had safe abortion.
She also mentioned the issue of witch camps in some parts of the country and explained that although it had traditional ramifications, efforts must be made to ensure that women perceived as witches, enjoyed their fundamental human rights, stipulated under the constitution.
Ms Gloria Ofori Boadu, President of the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA) pointed out that women must be sensitised to encourage and support fellow women who aspire for positions in decision-making.
Ms Ofori Boadu, who contested and lost the Abuakwa South Constituency primaries on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, indicated that although there were no laws in Ghana that bar women from participating in politics or in other areas of economic and social life;the cultural perception of women as inferior to men has been a major hinderance to women in politics and public life.
She said after all these years of advocacy, it was unfortunate for some people to think that women who got to decision-making positions would relegate their traditional roles to the background.
She said there was still the need for increased women’s participation in decision-making at the district level, ministries, department and agencies since they formed about 52 per cent of the country’s population.
The reports also mentioned financial constraints to ensure wide publicity of the convention, for example, translation of articles of the convention into local dialects and incorporation of articles on the convention into the laws of Ghana.
They therefore stressed on the need for all stakeholders, as well as the international community to do more to support the implementation of all articles of the convention to enable the nation achieve the aspirations of gender equality, development and peace.
THE launch of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Combined Reports on Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), in Accra, recently provided a forum for the enumeration of measures taken over the years to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in the country.
The reports cover the period 1993 to 2003 and highlight progress made over the decade in achieving gender equality, as well as challenges and efforts being made by the government towards the realisation of women’s empowerment, equality, equity and sustainable development.
It is being disseminated to all stakeholders who have a role in the implementation of the Convention.
The first section of the reports provides an update on Ghana’s socio-economic and political environment. It also discusses the position and status of women in Ghana since the submission of the first and second reports in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
The reports further evaluates what was achieved with regards to the implementation of the “ Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for Promoting the Advancement of Women”, and “ The Platform For Action” adopted after the Beijing Conference.
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) submitted the combined report, which was considered by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in August 2006.
State parties are enjoined under provisions of CEDAW to submit periodic reports to the committee on the elimination of discrimination against women and the three reports provided additional information on questions and issues raised in the report and offers a lot of issues for discussion.
The compilation of the report and other related documents of Ghana’s implementation of CEDAW has been made possible through the support and inputs from ministries, departments and agencies and civil society organisations in conjunction with development partners namely, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) which provided financial and administrative support.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana provides a framework for equality of all persons and outlaws discrimination on the basis of gender/sex. It promises to protect and promote all human rights and also prohibits all harmful customary practices.
Chapter 5 of the constitution deals with fundamental human rights and freedoms which conform to the international human rights framework. In addition, to the rights accorded to all persons, articles 22 and 27 deal specifically with women’s rights.
The Minister for Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC), Hajia Alima Mahama rightly pointed out during the launch of the reports that Ghana has made giant strides in the fulfilment of its national, regional and international commitment adding that Ghana demonstrated its commitment and political will by not only signing the convention, but also through the implementation of various strategies with the view of empowering women.
She was reported to have observed that the government and the people of Ghana had demonstrated their commitment to the tenets of the convention by ensuring that the Constitution and other policies and legislation were consistent with CEDAW.
She said sections of the 1992 Constitution, which guaranteed the fundamental human rights of every Ghanaian irrespective of race, place of origin, gender and freedom from discrimination, which she said were conformity with provisions of CEDAW.
In addition to these, the setting up of the National Council on Women and Development, now the Department of Women, after the 1975 Conference on Women, as a national machinery for women, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in 2001 with a cabinet status, the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill and the setting up of the Women and Juvenile Unit, now the Domestic Violence and victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, are all positive steps adopted over the past decade to enhance the status of women.
The report points to progress made in women’s health, education and economic empowerment, covering the period under review during which Ghana has seen three consecutive terms of constitutional rule.
Despite these achievements the reports assert that some challenges remain in the area of politics, administration and medium and large-scale industrial development, while the percentage of illiterate women remains high, as compared to men.
Although some harmful traditional practices, such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation have been criminalised under the Criminal Code Amendment Act 1998 (Act 554), women are still a long way from achieving equality and these practices persist in some communities due to existing stereotyped conceptions of women caused by socio-cultural factors which perpetuate discrimination based on sex.
For instance the reports mention that one of the thorny issues that needs to be dealt with is polygamy, which it said was an entrenched socio-cultural and religious practice that remained a big challenge to legislators and policy makers.
Nana Oye Lithur, the African Regional Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHI) said polygamy was still an issue and explained that sometimes it was difficult to determine who was the wife in a polygamous marriage after the husband with multiple wives, died intestate. She said that also raised a lot of issues in relation to property rights.Nana Oye also said although there had been a lot of interventions since 2006 when the reports were submitted, to address issues of maternal health, mentioning, the National Health Insurance Scheme and the recent introduction of free medical care for pregnant women, the issue of unsafe abortion was still outstanding.
She said people needed to be informed and provided with a comprehensive care to ensure that those who qualified under the law, had safe abortion.
She also mentioned the issue of witch camps in some parts of the country and explained that although it had traditional ramifications, efforts must be made to ensure that women perceived as witches, enjoyed their fundamental human rights, stipulated under the constitution.
Ms Gloria Ofori Boadu, President of the Women Assistance and Business Association (WABA) pointed out that women must be sensitised to encourage and support fellow women who aspire for positions in decision-making.
Ms Ofori Boadu, who contested and lost the Abuakwa South Constituency primaries on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, indicated that although there were no laws in Ghana that bar women from participating in politics or in other areas of economic and social life;the cultural perception of women as inferior to men has been a major hinderance to women in politics and public life.
She said after all these years of advocacy, it was unfortunate for some people to think that women who got to decision-making positions would relegate their traditional roles to the background.
She said there was still the need for increased women’s participation in decision-making at the district level, ministries, department and agencies since they formed about 52 per cent of the country’s population.
The reports also mentioned financial constraints to ensure wide publicity of the convention, for example, translation of articles of the convention into local dialects and incorporation of articles on the convention into the laws of Ghana.
They therefore stressed on the need for all stakeholders, as well as the international community to do more to support the implementation of all articles of the convention to enable the nation achieve the aspirations of gender equality, development and peace.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Fighting child labour- Are we losing the battle?
Article: Salome Donkor (7th June, 2008)
While on my way home one evening around 8.00pm, I spotted two girls around the Airport Traffic Lights. One was selling plantain chips and the other sachet water.
The red light came on so they moved towards the vehicles that had stopped to market their wares. Out of curiosity, I asked of their ages when they got close to my car and both of them were aged 8 years and in primary two.
The conversation ended there because the green light came on and I had to move on, but while driving home I could not stop thinking about my two friends, who I will call Abena and Akosua. I felt scared for the two little girls who were moving on the road, walking close to moving vehicles to sell their wares at that time of the night.
My friends Abena and Akosua are not the only children who are engaged in hawking at the various traffic intersections on the streets of Accra, which puts their lives at risk. There are others who also carry loads at lorry stations for a fee, who are popularly referred to as ‘Kayayee.’
In mining areas like Akwatia and Obuasi, children abandon school to engage in ‘galamsey’, while in some areas, children are engaged in stone quarrying.
Some children also climb tall trees to harvest forest products, mix and handle pesticides without adequate protection, dive into deep oceans to untangle fishing nets, use sharp tools and dangerous machinery.
Children engaged in the agricultural sector operate in poor and dangerous conditions and are harshly exploited with little or no pay. They are deprived of their childhood, adequate education and self-development. A large number of these children are exposed to unsafe and risky working conditions.
Many of the jobs they carry out are hazardous - causing physical and mental injuries and sometimes even costing them their lives. In the worst forms of child labour, children are exploited, abused and denied any education, thus compromising their future livelihood.
The Fourth Republican Constitution and the Children’s Act, 1998, Act 560 have clear provisions that protect children against these hazardous conditions, but the practice persists.
When the United Nations adopted the water-shed Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the ILO was poised to provide direct assistance to countries to tackle child labour.
The results of a Child Labour Survey conducted in 2003 estimates that more than 242,000 children are engaged in hazardous labour, while over one million children under 15 years were estimated to be working in Ghana.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of them work long hours, often in dangerous conditions.
Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other educational expenditure and, therefore, depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income; they tend to place more importance on that than their education.
In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted. It included the elimination of child labour as one of the four fundamental principles which the ILO members pledged to respect, regardless of whether they had ratified the relevant Conventions. In 1999, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
The ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a platform for highlighting the global extent of child labour and focusing attention on global action to eliminate child labour. Each year the day is celebrated on June 12, to link governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as civil society groups and others such as schools and the media, in the campaign against child labour, through advocacy and solidarity.
This year the World Day against Child Labour will be marked around the world with activities to raise awareness that education is the right response to child labour, on the theme “Education: The right response to Child Labour”.
Consequently, emphasis will be focused on educational policies to address child labour by providing properly resourced education and skills training and to promote awareness on the need to tackle child labour.
Child rights advocate, Mr Bright Appiah, states that in the Ghanaian cultural setting where it is believed that children can do something to support the family, it is really difficult to get people to understand that children who work to contribute economically to the house are engaged in child labour.
He said it was important to look at what labour is and how it pertains in the country’s cultural set-up. He explained that anything a child will do depends on his/her strength, age and health, adding that child labour occurs when any of these factors are negatively affected.
He said it was important to look at which was supreme; the law or culture, and pointed out that although the law was supreme, its implementation was inhibited by the cultural environment. Mr Appiah, however pointed out that situations where children do all kinds of jobs for money under hazardous conditions, are not in consonance with the proper growth and development of children and must be critically looked at.
Recognising the role of the media in the national fight against child labour and to enhance the commitment of journalists to the promotion of the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) organised an interaction attended by a delegation from UNICEF Ghana, led by Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Country Representative, and representatives from the Ghanaian media to explore ways of strengthening collaboration between the UN specialised agency on children and the media in Ghana, on how to promote greater coverage of children issues.
Dr Ali Haque pointed out that the enforcement of the laws that protect children was paramount and the media had a role to play in areas where much had not been done.
She said there was the need for adults to be accountable to children and create forums where children’s voices could be heard and their concerns addressed.
A hand-out that outlined guidelines for reporting children advised the media not to publish stories or images which might put the children, their siblings or peers at risk even when their identities were changed, obscured or not used.
It also advised the media to avoid questions, attitudes or comments that were judgmental or insensitive to cultural values and that put children in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivates a child’s pain and grief from traumatic events.
It also advised media practitioners to avoid categorisations or descriptions that expose children to negative reprisals, including additional physical or psychological harm, or to lifelong abuse, discrimination or rejection by their local communities.
Children are more prone to exploitation than adults. Some employers actually prefer to employ children because they are easier to control and do not know or demand their rights.
For biological and developmental reasons, children who are exposed to dangerous chemicals, machinery, sharp tools and heavy loads are more susceptible to long-term health problems.
Work situations that interfere with their health, education, and mental and physical growth compromise children’s future and there is the need for a concerted effort by all, parliamentarians, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities, consumers and the public in general, to focus on shaping a world fit for children.
While on my way home one evening around 8.00pm, I spotted two girls around the Airport Traffic Lights. One was selling plantain chips and the other sachet water.
The red light came on so they moved towards the vehicles that had stopped to market their wares. Out of curiosity, I asked of their ages when they got close to my car and both of them were aged 8 years and in primary two.
The conversation ended there because the green light came on and I had to move on, but while driving home I could not stop thinking about my two friends, who I will call Abena and Akosua. I felt scared for the two little girls who were moving on the road, walking close to moving vehicles to sell their wares at that time of the night.
My friends Abena and Akosua are not the only children who are engaged in hawking at the various traffic intersections on the streets of Accra, which puts their lives at risk. There are others who also carry loads at lorry stations for a fee, who are popularly referred to as ‘Kayayee.’
In mining areas like Akwatia and Obuasi, children abandon school to engage in ‘galamsey’, while in some areas, children are engaged in stone quarrying.
Some children also climb tall trees to harvest forest products, mix and handle pesticides without adequate protection, dive into deep oceans to untangle fishing nets, use sharp tools and dangerous machinery.
Children engaged in the agricultural sector operate in poor and dangerous conditions and are harshly exploited with little or no pay. They are deprived of their childhood, adequate education and self-development. A large number of these children are exposed to unsafe and risky working conditions.
Many of the jobs they carry out are hazardous - causing physical and mental injuries and sometimes even costing them their lives. In the worst forms of child labour, children are exploited, abused and denied any education, thus compromising their future livelihood.
The Fourth Republican Constitution and the Children’s Act, 1998, Act 560 have clear provisions that protect children against these hazardous conditions, but the practice persists.
When the United Nations adopted the water-shed Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the ILO was poised to provide direct assistance to countries to tackle child labour.
The results of a Child Labour Survey conducted in 2003 estimates that more than 242,000 children are engaged in hazardous labour, while over one million children under 15 years were estimated to be working in Ghana.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that some 165 million children between the ages of five and 14 are involved in child labour. Many of them work long hours, often in dangerous conditions.
Child labour is closely associated with poverty. Many poor families are unable to afford school fees or other educational expenditure and, therefore, depend on the contribution that a working child makes to the household’s income; they tend to place more importance on that than their education.
In 1998, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work was adopted. It included the elimination of child labour as one of the four fundamental principles which the ILO members pledged to respect, regardless of whether they had ratified the relevant Conventions. In 1999, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (No. 182).
The ILO launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 as a platform for highlighting the global extent of child labour and focusing attention on global action to eliminate child labour. Each year the day is celebrated on June 12, to link governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as civil society groups and others such as schools and the media, in the campaign against child labour, through advocacy and solidarity.
This year the World Day against Child Labour will be marked around the world with activities to raise awareness that education is the right response to child labour, on the theme “Education: The right response to Child Labour”.
Consequently, emphasis will be focused on educational policies to address child labour by providing properly resourced education and skills training and to promote awareness on the need to tackle child labour.
Child rights advocate, Mr Bright Appiah, states that in the Ghanaian cultural setting where it is believed that children can do something to support the family, it is really difficult to get people to understand that children who work to contribute economically to the house are engaged in child labour.
He said it was important to look at what labour is and how it pertains in the country’s cultural set-up. He explained that anything a child will do depends on his/her strength, age and health, adding that child labour occurs when any of these factors are negatively affected.
He said it was important to look at which was supreme; the law or culture, and pointed out that although the law was supreme, its implementation was inhibited by the cultural environment. Mr Appiah, however pointed out that situations where children do all kinds of jobs for money under hazardous conditions, are not in consonance with the proper growth and development of children and must be critically looked at.
Recognising the role of the media in the national fight against child labour and to enhance the commitment of journalists to the promotion of the enjoyment of the constitutional rights of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) organised an interaction attended by a delegation from UNICEF Ghana, led by Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, UNICEF Country Representative, and representatives from the Ghanaian media to explore ways of strengthening collaboration between the UN specialised agency on children and the media in Ghana, on how to promote greater coverage of children issues.
Dr Ali Haque pointed out that the enforcement of the laws that protect children was paramount and the media had a role to play in areas where much had not been done.
She said there was the need for adults to be accountable to children and create forums where children’s voices could be heard and their concerns addressed.
A hand-out that outlined guidelines for reporting children advised the media not to publish stories or images which might put the children, their siblings or peers at risk even when their identities were changed, obscured or not used.
It also advised the media to avoid questions, attitudes or comments that were judgmental or insensitive to cultural values and that put children in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivates a child’s pain and grief from traumatic events.
It also advised media practitioners to avoid categorisations or descriptions that expose children to negative reprisals, including additional physical or psychological harm, or to lifelong abuse, discrimination or rejection by their local communities.
Children are more prone to exploitation than adults. Some employers actually prefer to employ children because they are easier to control and do not know or demand their rights.
For biological and developmental reasons, children who are exposed to dangerous chemicals, machinery, sharp tools and heavy loads are more susceptible to long-term health problems.
Work situations that interfere with their health, education, and mental and physical growth compromise children’s future and there is the need for a concerted effort by all, parliamentarians, non-governmental organisations, and local authorities, consumers and the public in general, to focus on shaping a world fit for children.
Monday, July 28, 2008
WOMEN ON THE MOVE ...Training women in employable skills (GRAPHIC, JULY 26, PAGE 11)
Article: Salome Donkor
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has a positive corporate strategy to integrate women’s empowerment and equality issues into the organisation’s core business. The organisation does this by enhancing opportunities for women in self-employment through gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming was defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1997 as 'a strategy for making women's concerns and experiences and those of men an integral dimension of the policies and programmes in the political, economic and social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated'.
This means that gender mainstreaming should be everyone's job – not the responsibility of a small number of specialists.
Investing in policies and programmes to empower women and promote gender equality is seen as an important step towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This requires total commitment and adherence to policies and programmes that will promote this objective.
One woman who has resolved to work in pursuit of this strategy is Ms Hillary Gbedemah, a former legal awareness officer of the Volta Regional Office of the Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), Ghana.
Through her initiative, a programme dubbed “Women on the Move” is to be organised with support from Vital Voices Global Partnership of the United States of America (USA), to equip young women with entrepreneurial skills to empower them economically.
An initial training programme, which is designed to help unemployed young women identify their potential and obstacles to achieving their goals, is scheduled to take place in Accra on August 22 and 23, this year. It seeks to accept applications from women aged 22 to 30 who wish to participate in the upcoming training programme.
Elaborating on the programme, Ms Gbedemah, who presently works with the Law Institute, said she had been involved in issues related to women’s rights for many years and had found out that a lot of women were in a ‘tight corner’ because of lack of empowerment.
“I observed that a number of unemployed women only needed to be assisted to develop business plans and ideas to go into small-scale businesses,” she said, adding that “these women want jobs but they lack the ability to do the small things they can do as entrepreneurs”.
Consequently, she approached Vital Voices Global Partnership of the USA to find out what could be done to help unemployed young women develop their entrepreneurial skills, and that yielded a positive response.
She said the training programme was an opportunity for participants to learn how to draw business plans that were feasible and types of businesses that were viable, and acquire start-up capital, as well as get enlightened on the advantages of record keeping.
She also indicated that their backgrounds would be studied and they would be attached to mentors to mentor and track them for six months, after which a follow-up programme would be organised to monitor their performance.
Asked about other assistance that would be offered the participants apart from training, she said depending on their business plans, those who needed funding would be supported to explore sources of funding currently available, adding that efforts would be made to look elsewhere when these available sources were exhausted.
Ms Gbedemah indicated that another programme would be organised for students in Ho, who have formed business clubs, to inculcate in them the spirit of business initiative for them to go into small-scale businesses like petty trading, while on holidays.
She was optimistic that unemployed young women would take advantage of the programme to sharpen their business skills to enhance their living standards.
THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has a positive corporate strategy to integrate women’s empowerment and equality issues into the organisation’s core business. The organisation does this by enhancing opportunities for women in self-employment through gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming was defined by the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1997 as 'a strategy for making women's concerns and experiences and those of men an integral dimension of the policies and programmes in the political, economic and social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated'.
This means that gender mainstreaming should be everyone's job – not the responsibility of a small number of specialists.
Investing in policies and programmes to empower women and promote gender equality is seen as an important step towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This requires total commitment and adherence to policies and programmes that will promote this objective.
One woman who has resolved to work in pursuit of this strategy is Ms Hillary Gbedemah, a former legal awareness officer of the Volta Regional Office of the Women in Law and Development (WiLDAF), Ghana.
Through her initiative, a programme dubbed “Women on the Move” is to be organised with support from Vital Voices Global Partnership of the United States of America (USA), to equip young women with entrepreneurial skills to empower them economically.
An initial training programme, which is designed to help unemployed young women identify their potential and obstacles to achieving their goals, is scheduled to take place in Accra on August 22 and 23, this year. It seeks to accept applications from women aged 22 to 30 who wish to participate in the upcoming training programme.
Elaborating on the programme, Ms Gbedemah, who presently works with the Law Institute, said she had been involved in issues related to women’s rights for many years and had found out that a lot of women were in a ‘tight corner’ because of lack of empowerment.
“I observed that a number of unemployed women only needed to be assisted to develop business plans and ideas to go into small-scale businesses,” she said, adding that “these women want jobs but they lack the ability to do the small things they can do as entrepreneurs”.
Consequently, she approached Vital Voices Global Partnership of the USA to find out what could be done to help unemployed young women develop their entrepreneurial skills, and that yielded a positive response.
She said the training programme was an opportunity for participants to learn how to draw business plans that were feasible and types of businesses that were viable, and acquire start-up capital, as well as get enlightened on the advantages of record keeping.
She also indicated that their backgrounds would be studied and they would be attached to mentors to mentor and track them for six months, after which a follow-up programme would be organised to monitor their performance.
Asked about other assistance that would be offered the participants apart from training, she said depending on their business plans, those who needed funding would be supported to explore sources of funding currently available, adding that efforts would be made to look elsewhere when these available sources were exhausted.
Ms Gbedemah indicated that another programme would be organised for students in Ho, who have formed business clubs, to inculcate in them the spirit of business initiative for them to go into small-scale businesses like petty trading, while on holidays.
She was optimistic that unemployed young women would take advantage of the programme to sharpen their business skills to enhance their living standards.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Free medical care for pregnant women- A welcome support
Article: Salome Donkor
BEING pregnant could be exciting for every child-bearing woman. But some cannot forget the traumatic experience they go through either before childbirth, during labour, or soon after delivery.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth every year - that's one death every minute and in Africa, this means one woman in 16 dies.
In Ghana when a woman delivers safely, we wish her well and in Akan, we say “wo tri nkwa” to her which literally means "well done you have survived". Women who have gone through childbirth will agree that this is because childbirth is a matter of life or death for women in Ghana and other developing countries.
Although maternal deaths are rare in the West, yet countries like Ghana records 500 deaths per 100,000 live births each year due to maternal related causes.
Some of the mothers die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, not because there are no health facilities, but simply because they could not afford the cost of health care.
Even though the country operates a health insurance scheme, most of the women have not registered with the scheme, while delay to reach the service delivery centre, due to poor roads, delay at the service delivery centre due to shortage of personnel as a result of mass exodus of qualified health personnel and lack of materials, have compounded the problem.
Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, by 2015 are some of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which form a blueprint agreed on by all the world’s countries and the world’s leading development institutions at the United Nations Conference in New York in 2000.
Other goals are achieving universal primary education, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
Working towards the attainment of these goals has necessitated calls on various governments to take practical steps such as equipping hospitals, providing maternal health services, training more health personnel and educating our men and women to make informed choices in relation to reproductive health, to reduce maternal deaths .
It is for this reason that a number of women from all walks of life comprising women’s groups drawn from the financial sector, educational institutions, security services, as well as health services and religious and civil service groups from all parts of the country, led by the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, thronged the Castle recently to express their gratitude to President J.A Kufuor.
This was as a result of the President’s role of securing a grant from the British Government for the operation of a free medical policy for pregnant women in the country.
The policy was supported by a pledge from the British Government to donate £42.5 million to support the health sector.
The pledge was made following bilateral talks held by the President with the British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, about the country’s high maternal mortality rates, during an international conference on public and private sector co-operation for the attainment of the MDGs in London, attended by President Kufuor.
The Press Secretary to the President Mr Andrew Awuni, who briefed newsmen on behalf of President Kufuor, shortly after his arrival in Accra was reported to have said that the free medical care for pregnant women represented part of the government’s effort to reduce maternal mortality and achieve targets set by the MDGs.
Consequently, President J.A. Kufuor has directed the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to work out the modalities for the effective implementation of the programme.
When contacted to elaborate on the policy, the Government Spokesperson on Social Service, Mr Kofi Amponsah Bediako said although a free medical care for pregnant women and children below age five had been in operation over the years, lack of funds constrained the implementation of the policy.
He said the system, which was initially operated in the three northern regions and the Central Region and then extended to all parts of the country, had not been very effective, adding that the British grant will enable health facilities to provide free medical care for pregnant women for 14 years.
Mr Amponsah Bediako indicated that the money would be disbursed to primary and secondary health institutions in the country under the Ghana Health Service (GHS), as well as the Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.
He said the GHS would design modalities for the implementation of the policy to pregnant women who went to these health facilities, enjoy free anti-natal, post-natal and delivery care.
The Convenor of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said although the British grant for free medical care for pregnant women is laudable, it is necessary to critically examine the government’s current policy on reproductive health.
She said there is the need for an effective reproductive health policy for all women, especially, the most poor in the rural areas who have difficulty accessing health care in the rural areas and to also cater for the special needs of disabled women.
Dr Mensah-Kutin said there were many components of women’s reproductive health and called for a comprehensive and accessible health care delivery system that will address issues of safe motherhood, adolescent reproductive health and maternal and infant health.
A Community Health Nurse in a Rural community in the Eastern Region, Madam Nora Kwapong, said maternal deaths can be prevented if women were able to plan well for their pregnancy - to get physically fit and have medical check-ups in advance.
She said expectant women must be educated on their health, nutrition, hygiene, family planning and birth control to enable them space their children to allow them to regain their strength after each childbirth.
Speaking at the celebrated this year’s International Nurses Day of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association in Accra recently, the President of the association, Mrs Alice Darkoa Asare-Allotey rightly acknowledged that the health care sector had been bedevilled with challenges.
She mentioned such some of the challenges as poverty, increased globalization, climate change, food shortage and political unrest all of which affected health and service planning.
She further touched on critical challenges such as rising cost of health care, increasing consumer expectations and demands, changing demographic and ageing populations, the surge in chronic diseases and shortage of nurses and other health workers.
While providing free health care for expectant mothers, there is the need to educate women to ensure that they make informed decisions on when to seek help without waiting endlessly for the man to come back from work before the woman is taken to the hospital.
Secondly, services like good roads, clean hospitals and trained hospital staff can also help. Health care providers also need to critically re-examine their ways and forge new partnerships and methods for meeting the challenges of building their professional capacities for the improvement of the health sector.
BEING pregnant could be exciting for every child-bearing woman. But some cannot forget the traumatic experience they go through either before childbirth, during labour, or soon after delivery.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth every year - that's one death every minute and in Africa, this means one woman in 16 dies.
In Ghana when a woman delivers safely, we wish her well and in Akan, we say “wo tri nkwa” to her which literally means "well done you have survived". Women who have gone through childbirth will agree that this is because childbirth is a matter of life or death for women in Ghana and other developing countries.
Although maternal deaths are rare in the West, yet countries like Ghana records 500 deaths per 100,000 live births each year due to maternal related causes.
Some of the mothers die from complications in pregnancy or childbirth, not because there are no health facilities, but simply because they could not afford the cost of health care.
Even though the country operates a health insurance scheme, most of the women have not registered with the scheme, while delay to reach the service delivery centre, due to poor roads, delay at the service delivery centre due to shortage of personnel as a result of mass exodus of qualified health personnel and lack of materials, have compounded the problem.
Reducing child mortality and improving maternal health and eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, by 2015 are some of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which form a blueprint agreed on by all the world’s countries and the world’s leading development institutions at the United Nations Conference in New York in 2000.
Other goals are achieving universal primary education, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for development.
Working towards the attainment of these goals has necessitated calls on various governments to take practical steps such as equipping hospitals, providing maternal health services, training more health personnel and educating our men and women to make informed choices in relation to reproductive health, to reduce maternal deaths .
It is for this reason that a number of women from all walks of life comprising women’s groups drawn from the financial sector, educational institutions, security services, as well as health services and religious and civil service groups from all parts of the country, led by the Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Hajia Alima Mahama, thronged the Castle recently to express their gratitude to President J.A Kufuor.
This was as a result of the President’s role of securing a grant from the British Government for the operation of a free medical policy for pregnant women in the country.
The policy was supported by a pledge from the British Government to donate £42.5 million to support the health sector.
The pledge was made following bilateral talks held by the President with the British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, about the country’s high maternal mortality rates, during an international conference on public and private sector co-operation for the attainment of the MDGs in London, attended by President Kufuor.
The Press Secretary to the President Mr Andrew Awuni, who briefed newsmen on behalf of President Kufuor, shortly after his arrival in Accra was reported to have said that the free medical care for pregnant women represented part of the government’s effort to reduce maternal mortality and achieve targets set by the MDGs.
Consequently, President J.A. Kufuor has directed the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to work out the modalities for the effective implementation of the programme.
When contacted to elaborate on the policy, the Government Spokesperson on Social Service, Mr Kofi Amponsah Bediako said although a free medical care for pregnant women and children below age five had been in operation over the years, lack of funds constrained the implementation of the policy.
He said the system, which was initially operated in the three northern regions and the Central Region and then extended to all parts of the country, had not been very effective, adding that the British grant will enable health facilities to provide free medical care for pregnant women for 14 years.
Mr Amponsah Bediako indicated that the money would be disbursed to primary and secondary health institutions in the country under the Ghana Health Service (GHS), as well as the Korle Bu and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospitals.
He said the GHS would design modalities for the implementation of the policy to pregnant women who went to these health facilities, enjoy free anti-natal, post-natal and delivery care.
The Convenor of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said although the British grant for free medical care for pregnant women is laudable, it is necessary to critically examine the government’s current policy on reproductive health.
She said there is the need for an effective reproductive health policy for all women, especially, the most poor in the rural areas who have difficulty accessing health care in the rural areas and to also cater for the special needs of disabled women.
Dr Mensah-Kutin said there were many components of women’s reproductive health and called for a comprehensive and accessible health care delivery system that will address issues of safe motherhood, adolescent reproductive health and maternal and infant health.
A Community Health Nurse in a Rural community in the Eastern Region, Madam Nora Kwapong, said maternal deaths can be prevented if women were able to plan well for their pregnancy - to get physically fit and have medical check-ups in advance.
She said expectant women must be educated on their health, nutrition, hygiene, family planning and birth control to enable them space their children to allow them to regain their strength after each childbirth.
Speaking at the celebrated this year’s International Nurses Day of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association in Accra recently, the President of the association, Mrs Alice Darkoa Asare-Allotey rightly acknowledged that the health care sector had been bedevilled with challenges.
She mentioned such some of the challenges as poverty, increased globalization, climate change, food shortage and political unrest all of which affected health and service planning.
She further touched on critical challenges such as rising cost of health care, increasing consumer expectations and demands, changing demographic and ageing populations, the surge in chronic diseases and shortage of nurses and other health workers.
While providing free health care for expectant mothers, there is the need to educate women to ensure that they make informed decisions on when to seek help without waiting endlessly for the man to come back from work before the woman is taken to the hospital.
Secondly, services like good roads, clean hospitals and trained hospital staff can also help. Health care providers also need to critically re-examine their ways and forge new partnerships and methods for meeting the challenges of building their professional capacities for the improvement of the health sector.
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