Bagbin tours the new Trauma and Specialist Hospital at Winneba Mr.

Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Minister of Health has toured the newly constructed Trauma and Specialist facility at the Winneba Hospital to ascertain the readiness of the facility and its human resources. The facility which would commence operations in June this year, would operate as a well resourced secondary referral hospital and centre of excellence, capable of providing comprehensive health care with facilities for medical training and research. Dr Richard Anongura, Acting Medical Director of the Hospital, who gave an overview of the facility said, construction started in June 2009 at an initial total cost of 18 million Euros and initially intended to serve as a 120-bed District Hospital for Winneba. He said it now had a 135-bed capacity, 150 professional staff of which four were specialists, two medical officers, 55 professional nurses and 77 auxiliary staff, including 35 national service personnel. The facility comprises of an administrative block, Out Patient Department, theatre, maternity, accident and emergency department, paediatric, male and female wards, laboratories, a gym for physiotherapy, laundry, kitchen and a mortuary. It has a stand-by power generator and several staff accommodation, most of which were still under construction. Dr Anongura said the hospital would ensure the promotion of good governance, introduction of high Information Technology systems to promote quality health care, minimise institutional maternal and infant mortalities to acceptable targets, and ensure high environmental sanitation and hygiene. He however appealed to the Ministry of Health (MOH) to provide seed capital to cover the initial operation costs of drugs and non-drugs, janitorial services, security and transport for its utility services and accreditation as a National Health Insurance Service provider. Dr Anongura said the management would organise regular in-house training for its staff on quality customer care to ensure high standard of service delivery. Mr Bagbin expressed satisfaction at the quality of work done and gave the assurance that the Ministry had taken cognisance of the remaining challenges of the hospital and would institute measures to address them as soon as possible to ensure its smooth operation. He noted that citing the facility on the western corridor which was often prone to traumatic and gory accidents was to help alleviate the suffering of the people of the area.

National Service personnel asked to ensure peace in December polls Mr. Awimbila Ali, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), has called on service personnel to promote peace in the region before, during and after the December polls. Mr. Ali, who was addressing the third delegates conference of Brong-Ahafo Chapter of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) in Sunyani, cautioned the personnel not to allow themselves be used by self-seeking politicians to achieve their parochial interest. He said next year, the regional office of the NSS would expand the Services agriculture project at Branam in Wenchi Municipality from 163 acres to 300 acres, to enable it to increase the production of yellow maize from 4000 bags to 8,000 bags. Mr. Ali said some of the maize produced was sold to schools and colleges, and the Ghana Nuts Company in Techiman as poultry feed. He said the NSS would establish more farms in other parts of the region and contact traditional authorities to make more land available for the project. Mr. Ali said the agriculture project would help the Scheme to accrue funds and equip the personnel with practical knowledge in agriculture. Mr. Obed Ofori Bangdome, Regional NASPA President, complained of delay in the payment of monthly allowances for service personnel since Governments adjustment of workers wages and salaries this year, and the issuing of identity cards to service personnel and lack of adequate accommodation for them.

Queenmothers urged to encourage pregnant women to go for HIV test Queen mothers in the country have been asked to encourage pregnant women to go for voluntary testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS. Ms Joyce Dzidor Mensah, a woman Living with HIV (PLHIV), who made the call, explained that hospitals could give anti-retroviral therapy and advice to pregnant women who would test positive to HIV/AIDS, to prevent the transmission of the virus to their babies. Ms Dzidor Mensah, an HIV Ambassador was speaking at a meeting of the Technical Support Unit of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), and the Eastern Region Queens Association, in Koforidua. The meeting was to solicit the support of traditional authorities in HIV prevention campaign. Ms Gifty Torkornu, a PLHIV and an HIV Ambassador of the GAC, appealed to Queen mothers to encourage parents to take good care of their children to prevent them from contacting HIV/AIDS. The Technical Director of the GAC, Dr Richard Amenya, appealed to the Queen mothers to support the campaign against the spread of HIV. He expressed worry that because of stigmatization and discrimination, many people were not undertaking voluntary testing and counseling to know their status and seek early treatment. Ms Golda Grace Asante, Technical Coordinator for GAC in-charge of the Eastern Region, appealed to the people to take advantage of Anti-retroviral Therapy Centers and the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission centres to prevent the spread of the disease. President of the Eastern Regional Queens Association, Nana Dokua of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, appealed to members of the group to share the knowledge they had acquired with members of their communities. She called on all women to join the campaign against the spread of the disease.

GES Council urges teachers to show more commitment The Chairman of the Ghana Education Service Council, Professor Agyewodzin AduGyamfi, has appealed to education stakeholders in the country to put in more efforts at improving the fallen standard of education. He said some teachers and educationists are more interested in their own welfare than helping to improve the declining standard of education in the country. He appealed to teachers to show more dedication and commitment towards uplifting the quality of education delivery for an accelerated national development. Agyewodzin Adu-Gyamfi said this at an education stakeholders meeting held in Fijai to discuss pressing issues affecting education delivery in the country. The Ghana Education Service Council is the highest decision-making body within the GES, and its members visit the various regions occasionally to solicit concerns and suggestions from stakeholders towards formulating holistic education policies in the country. Some education stakeholders that were at the meeting included Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools, Tertiary Education Workers Union, National Graduate Teachers Association and Ghana National Association of Teachers. The rest were GES District Directors, Association of Education Accountants, Conference of Basic Schools, Association of Internal Education Auditors, National Association of Retired Teachers and Association of Private Schools. Professor Agyewodzin Adu-Gyamfi said, declining moral and academic standards could also be attributed to shirking of parental responsibility. He said that parents these days focus more attention on amassing wealth and this had invariably contributed to their childrens poor performance at school.

Heart Patient receives support The Ajumako Enyan Essiam District Assembly in the Central Region has contributed to support a heart patient undergo a surgery at the National Cardiothoracic Center at the Korle- Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. Disclosing this at an Assembly sitting, the District Chief Executive (DCE) Peter Light Koomson said the patient, Eunice Quansah, 28, was scheduled to undergo an urgent surgery to save her life from a complicated heart problem. He said the patient was required to pay an amount of GHs 28,000.00 before she receives medical attention at the centre. According to him, the Ghana heart foundation however absorbed 50% of the total amount, whiles the patient was also asked to meet the balance of the remaining GHs 14,000.00. Due to this, Mr. Koomson said the assembly upon request by the Cape Coast Diocese of the Methodist Church donated GHs 5,000 to support the victim to successfully undergo the surgery. Meanwhile, the DCE has announced the Assemblys readiness to embark a crusade in fighting the increasing rate of maternal mortality cases in the area, adding that the assembly through the District Health Directorate has intensified its effort to ensure that the needed result is achieved. He further mentioned that the Center for Communication programme and the John Hopkins School of Public Health, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is supporting the Assembly to form a District Health Advocacy Team (DHAT) to champion behaviourial change to promote healthy living.

Regional Minister tours district The Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa-Doe has toured the Abura/Asebu/Kwamankese District to inspect and also commission some government projects executed in various communities of the district. Madame Benyiwah realized that the Atta Mills led NDC administration has performed creditably well in government after the four year term in office, thus implored Ghanaians to endorse President Mills for another term. Mrs. Benyiwa-Doe who commissioned a new water project at Abura Oboka noted that the project will ensure frequent supply of safe drinking water for residents of the area. However about 5 communities are also expected to benefit from this project. Also to boost quality education in the community, the Minister commissioned a new 6unit classroom block for the Abura-Oboka Junior High School (JHS) meant to migrate students who were previously occupying a temporal make-shift structure. The Minister therefore advised students to take their studies serious so as to become responsible adults to their families and the country as a whole. She said government was doing everything possible to ensure quality education in every part of the country, adding that the provisions of such educational facilities like the distribution of free uniforms, books, school feeding programme, capitation grant were all aimed towards this goal.

Interior Minister urges security agencies to be proactive and decisive Mr. William Kwaku Aboah, Minister of the Interior, has urged the security agencies to devise proactive strategies that will help to detect possible conflict situations and act swiftly to defuse them. He reminded them of the confrontations that characterized and nearly marred the biometric registration exercise in some constituencies saying, this is why they should have in place early warning systems. Mr. Aboah said this when addressing a cross section of security personnel under his Ministry at a durbar in Kumasi as part of his official visit to the Ashanti Region. Officers from the Ghana Immigration Service, the Police Service, Fire and the Prisons Service attended the event. The Minister said Ghana remained an oasis of peace in a turbulent sub-region and noted that sustained peace will depend on the continued diligence of the service personnel. He said government was committed to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in order to deepen the nations democracy and urged them to assist achieve just that. Mr. Aboah underlined the need for discipline and advised the personnel to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties. The Minister said the government would continue to provide the needed logistics to all the security agencies to enable them perform. Mr. Aboah commended security agencies in the region for their hard work and commitment which had led to a reduction in highway robbery and other criminal activities in the region. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Augustine Gyenning, Ashanti Regional Commander, expressed concern about the activities of illegal miners and Fulani herdsmen and called for a holistic national strategy to deal decisively with these activities. He appealed for logistical support to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.

Intemperate language suggests that violence is legitimate Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, Director of Research at the Kofi Annan International Peace Training Center (KAIPTC), has noted that political violence does not happen out of a vacuum and that intemperate language suggests that violence is legitimate. Talking at a press soiree organized by KAIPTC in Accra, Dr Aning said whenever there had been a "seemingly sudden" outburst of violence in a country, it was often the result of a gradual nurturing process which finally culminated into a sudden explosion. He said although it might not be obvious to some, there was presently a situation which to a large extent did not facilitate peace in the country. Dr Aning said the nature of discussions highlighted by the media, considering the fact that they were typified by insults and hostility was building a tense atmosphere politically which was not healthy for the stability and progress of the country. He said bad language builds the notion in the sub-conscious mind that violence is legitimate. Dr Aning said there was the need for key stake-holders in the nation's affairs to appreciate the fact that peace-building was only effective when it was done in a preventive manner. He said it was important to realize that what was fed into the psyche of the population politically played a strong part in determining the political stability of a nation. Brig. Gen, Benjamin Freeman Kusi, Deputy Commandant of the KAIPTC, commenting on some recent developments in the country, said it was important for the citizenry to realize that members of the armed forces and security agencies should under no circumstances be dragged into politics. He said the armed forces as well as other security agencies are only loyal to the state and this is what must be realized and appreciated by all. Brig. Gen. Kusi said the ability of the security agencies and the armed forces to remain responsive to their role of being responsible for the security of the state was key to ensuring the political stability of any nation.

Insurance capitation has cut down waste The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), has defended the insurance capitation system, insisting that, it has cut down waste. Mr Eric Ametorquame, the Deputy Director of Corporate Affairs, said it has stopped unnecessary claims payment. The capitation is being piloted in the Ashanti Region and has met some resistance from both service providers and the general public. A number of private health facilities have vowed not to be part of its implementation. Addressing a stakeholders forum at Nyinahin in the Atwima-Mponua District to help the people to have better understanding of the new payment system, Mr. Ametorquame said it has helped the authority to determine the number of patients attending a particular facility and how much to pay. He said they would continue to engage the stakeholders and find a common ground to address their concerns. Mr. Samid Baba, Atwima-Mponua Mutual Health Insurance Manager, said a total of 40,536 out of the 43,233 insurance card holders in the area have enrolled for the capitation.

ER Minister advises Public Servants to work hard Mr. Victor Smith, the Eastern Regional Minister, has appealed to government workers to support the governments efforts in accelerating the pace of national development. He said although it was the mandate of the government to bring development to the people, it would need the support of all stakeholders, including public and civil servants, to speed up the development of the country. Mr. Smith was interacting with heads of departments at the district level and chiefs at Asesewa in the Upper Manya Krobo District yesterday as part of his tour of the area. Mr. Smith said the government would do everything possible to fulfill its promises to the people by initiating more development projects. He said the Asesewa Junction Road to Sekesua had been added to the Eastern Corridor roads to be re-constructed. Mr. Smith later inspected the Asesewa Senior High School (SHS) dormitory block and Bormase Primary School,the Akohia and the Akateng roads as well as the Akateng Police Post

Clean birth crucial for reduction in maternal mortality- stakeholders Wendy Graham, a Professor of Maternal Health at the Aberdeen University has indicated that about one million women die every year in developing countries due to unhygienic environments and poor practices at the time of birth According to her, almost 100 per cent of these deaths are preventable and that effective and low-cost interventions can help prevent and manage delivery-related infections. Professor Graham was addressing a stakeholders meeting on clean delivery in Accra, to chart the way forward on delivery predicaments where there was consensus that maternal mortality was on the rise, hence efforts should be made to reduce it to the barest minimum. The meeting was part of efforts by Soapbox initiative supported by the Burnland Trust, to help save the lives of mothers and babies in the poorest countries of the world. Professor Graham, who is spear heading the initiative noted that, clean delivery should be universally available and that it was a basic human right. The initiative is therefore an effort to reduce deaths and ill-health from delivery-related infections which according to her was long overdue. Dr Sam Adjei, Executive Director of the Centre for Health and Social Services, noted that, Ghana was off target in relation to the Millennium Development Goal five and needed to re-strategise to accelerate the implementation of programmes to reduce maternal health. One area of concern, he said, was infection control during child delivery to ensure that mothers and babies experience clean birth in health facilities through the improvement of practices of health workers in facilities through awareness creation. According to Dr Adjei, it was crucial for cleaners and supervisors to be trained to understand the importance of cleanliness. He said one major challenge was the unavailability of water and that only 60 per cent of facilities had potable water; adding that, availability of detergents, soap, disposal of biological waste, implementation of nursing barrier, wearing of protective clothing continued to be a threat to clean birth.

Bank Managers should encourage Tellers acquire IT skills Mr. Edward Randolph-Koranteng, Special Assistant to Managing Director of UniBank, has called on Bank Managers to encourage their tellers to acquire Information Technology (IT) skills for them to improve on their duties in banking halls. He noted that tellers are expected to be fast and friendly transaction processors and would need such skills to perform their daily duties with a high degree of competence. Mr. Randolph-Koranteng was addressing the Mobile Money West Africa conference and exhibition held in Accra on the theme, Banking innovation for financial inclusion and service excellence. He said with IT knowledge, the Tellers will be able to issue in a couple of minutes credit and debit cards, ATM cards and also open saving and check accounts and other services. He further added that with IT knowledge, tellers will also be information gatherers and be responsible for updating and using the Banks customer data warehouses for marketing purposes. Mr Randolph-Koranteng said they can confidently adjust and even eliminate service fees to clinch a deal as the computer informs them of the profitability of the transaction.

Suu Kyi warns against 'reckless optimism' on Burma reforms Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has warned against ''reckless optimism'' over reforms in the country. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Bangkok, she said the process was not yet irreversible. She added that the parliament of which she recently became a member was still far from democratic. She also called on investors to meet the country's needs, saying that job creation and training was vital for Burma's young population. She added that when investment comes into the country, then it should not fuel corruption or inequality. She urged investors who are planning to put money into Burma to do so with an awareness of the need for improvement in the lives of ordinary Burmese people. Burma's military-backed civilian government has started a series of reforms to open up the country.

Syria blames rebels for Houla massacre A Syrian investigation into the Houla massacre has blamed the atrocities on rebels trying to provoke international intervention. The official in charge of the inquiry categorically denied any government role in last week's killings. Activists say Syrian troops or pro-government militia were behind the deaths of more than 100 people - many of them children. The US ambassador to the UN called the Syrian account "a blatant lie". Susan Rice said there is no factual evidence, including that provided by the UN observers that would substantiate that rendition of events. UN observers have said government forces were active in the area at the time. General Qassem Jamal Suleiman, who headed the Syrian government's commission of inquiry into the massacre, said hundreds of rebel gunmen carried out the slaughter after launching a co-ordinated attack on five security checkpoints. He told a news conference that the aim had been to implicate the government and to ignite sectarian strife in Syria.

Egypt state of emergency lifted after 31 years Egypt's state of emergency that gave security forces sweeping powers to detain suspects and try them in special courts, has ended after 31 years. It has been in place without interruption since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. Lifting the law was a key demand of activists in last year's uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt's military rulers, who took charge after the ousting of Mr Mubarak, indicated they would not renew the law. Some Egyptians had feared the country - preparing for a presidential election run-offwould be left in a power vacuum without the law, which expired at midnight on Thursday. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) issued a statement to reassure the country that it will "continue to carry its national responsibility in protecting the country until the transfer of power is over".

Venezuela bans private gun ownership Venezuela has brought a new gun law into effect which bans the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition. Until now, anyone with a gun permit could buy arms from a private company. Under the new law, only the army, police and certain groups like security companies will be able to buy arms from the state-owned weapons manufacturer and importer. The ban is the latest attempt by the government to improve security and cut crime ahead of elections in October Venezuela saw more than 18,000 murders last year and the capital, Caracas, is thought to be one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America.

Abducted German engineer 'killed in Nigeria' security sources say a German engineer abducted in January by gunmen in northern Nigeria has been killed during a failed rescue bid. Edgar Fritz Raupach was seized in the city of Kano. In March, a British and an Italian hostage were also killed during a similar attempt to free them by British and Nigerian forces. The latest developments came as the authorities said an Italian engineer had been kidnapped western Nigeria. Kidnappings are uncommon in the western state of Kwara. But oil workers are often targeted for ransom in the south, and Islamist militants are active in northern Nigeria. BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says that worryingly the Nigerian security forces do not seem able to prevent the abductions and have once again shown the danger of trying to intervene to rescue the hostages.

Mauritania slave activist Biram Ould Obeidi charged A prominent Mauritanian anti-slavery activist and six others have been charged with threatening state security. Biram Ould Obeidi had protested against slavery by burning religious books, sparking a wave of demonstrations. Mr Obeidi said he burned the religious texts because they promoted the use of slavery - and to highlight inaction over slavery in Mauritania. The West African state has outlawed slavery, but it is still practiced.