Antenatal Clinic for Sickle Cell Patients @ Korle Bu
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri
KORLE-BU Teaching Hospital is set to start a special antenatal clinic for pregnant women with Sickle Cell disorders.
The clinic will be opened on Wednesdays to treat patients at the Obstetrics OPD starting from today, Wednesday, July 20, 2011.
A statement signed by Mustapha Salifu, Public Relations Officer of the hospital noted the sickle cell Clinic for pregnant women was one of the specialized clinics that the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology used to run in the 80s but was suspended.
He therefore observed that all pregnant women with sickle cell disorders who wish to be seen for expert management should first get the necessary referral before coming to the clinic.
“We hope patients and their relatives will co-operate and support the hospital to make this special clinic attain the purpose of its re-introduction,” the statement said.

Kente Weavers Urged to Patent Their Designs
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri & Dominic Kojo Blay

Kente weavers have been advised to register their designs to avoid duplication by other players in the industry.
The authority in charge of culture has therefore been tasked to get a national copyright for the numerous kente designs.
Dr. Hannah Bissiw, Deputy Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, said this at the inaugural celebration of the 1st National Kente week in Accra themed: “Celebrating our Kente heritage; a majestic new boost for sustaining the Ghanaian economy and maintaining the tradition in the 21st century.”
She observed that kente is the pride and heritage of Ghanaians, noting, “We must protect the uniqueness of our kente.”
Dr. Bissiw also noted that some factories both home and abroad are imitating the kente designs.
“It is Ghana’s pride to keep the quality and design of our kente,” she said.
The Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Alexander Asum-Ahensah noted that the kente cloth is a symbol of unity in the country.
“All Ghanaians recognize and cherish the kente cloth, even in the Diaspora the kente cloth has become an African fraternity.”
He stressed the need for the industry to be sustained for future generations.
“I therefore appeal to the very experienced weavers to make time for the youth to acquire the needed technical skills,” he added.
The sector minister asked the general public to be part of the week-long celebration.
Nana Abena Konadu, a representative of Royal Protocol Services, organizers of the event, said the celebration was aimed at boosting and sustaining the Ghanaian kente industry.
She explained that the event is also to project the kente heritage, which is gradually collapsing due to low patronage.
Activities lined up the celebration include kente weaving competition, kente ‘what do you know’ contest, kente fashion show and the kente dinner dance, which will be held at the State Banquet Hall on August 6, 2011.
Kenteman Nii Laryea Sowah, Media Co-ordinator of the event, said the fund-raising dinner dance will create a seed fund to assist players in the kente weaving business that are facing financial challenges.
He said invited guests that will grace the occasion include ministers of state with Professor Akilakpa Sawyer being the guest speaker.
“Tobge Afede XIV, the Abgobgomefia of the Ho traditional area will co-chair the occasion with a representative of the Asantehene,” he said.
Tickets for the event are selling at GH¢100.00 for a person and GH¢150.00 for double at Koala, Joy FM and shoprite- Accra Mall, and 37 Maxi Mart.

Cases of Deafness Hit 2.2 million
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

REPORTED CASES of nerve deafness, a common hearing problem have reached an alarming estimate of 2.2 million nationwide.
The medical problem which is caused by the inability of the nerve (a fine organ in the inner ear) to receive specific sound frequencies, affects the daily lives of patients as they are unable to communicate because they cannot hear properly.
Dr. E.D Kitcher, head of the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) said the major cause of the medical condition is exposure to loud noise at social gathering as well as the effects of herbal medication though that is not well tested.
Dr. Kitcher who was speaking during the presentation of medical equipment to the hospital’s ENT Unit by Tigo Ghana said when people are exposed to loud sounds, the nerve in the inner ear which has receptors for sound, generates sensitivity problems causing it to lose its ability to hear high frequencies.
The telecommunication’s company donated two kinds of hearing assessment equipment and a cash amount of $7,500 to the unit.
“The ear receptors are marked by frequencies just like the keyboard in the piano which has frequencies for high notes and frequencies for low notes. People who have nerve deafness cannot perceive high tone frequencies therefore they miss out when you use consonants.”
He further stated that people with nerve deafness experience difficulty in discriminating between sounds when a person is speaking via phone. “The person who has a problem with his ears can hear but cannot make any meaning of what is being said,” he added
During the presentation he expressed the need for private organisations to support the unit by providing more testing equipment and hearing aids for patients adding that the donation will go a long way in re-equipping the facility after a fire outbreak destroyed the testing equipments there three years ago.
Ama Daaku, Solutions Manager of Tigo Ghana said Tigo Ghana was touched by the destruction of the unit’s equipment due to the fire outbreak and consequently resolved to support it “as a way of recognizing not only its efforts but also its service to the Ghanaian community.”
She further noted that the presentation is in fulfillment of Tigo’s promise to the unit three years ago stressing, “We believe in the individual’s right to hear, understand and speak back.”

Caption: Ama Daaku presenting the equipment to Prof. Nii Otu Nartey, Chief Executive Officer of KBTH as Dr. E.D Kitcher (right) looks on.

Emergency Committee Reborn
By Michael Ciaglo & Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

Health Minister Joseph Yieleh Chireh on Tuesday inaugurated members of the Emergency Services Committee to improve handling of medical emergencies in the country.

Currently the health care system focuses on the prevention of illness as its primary health objective, rather than time-sensitive injuries and sicknesses.

“The provision of timely treatment during life-threatening emergencies is not a priority for many health systems in developing countries, and, I think, ours is not an exception,” Mr. Chireh stated.

The minister also observed that the response to medical emergencies by medical professionals is one of the least addressed issues by the health sector.

“It is in this light that, I, the minister of health, have requested for the reconstitution of this committee to oversee emergency services in Ghana,” Mr. Chireh said.

The sector minister also stated that recognizing improved organizations and planning for provision of trauma and emergency care is an essential part of integrated health care delivery.

This, he said, plays an important role in the preparation for, and response to, mass-casualty incidents which can lower mortality, reduce disability and prevent other adverse health outcomes arising from the burden of everyday injuries.

Therefore, acting on the requests of the director-general of the World Health Organization to strengthen emergency and rehabilitation services and to improve systems for treating trauma victims, Mr. Chireh tasked the 28 member Emergency Services Committee with advancing these services.

“The purpose of the Committee is to develop and/or strengthen Emergency Medical Care Systems in Ghana with the ultimate aim of improving the health of the population and meeting expectations for access to emergency care,” Mr. Chireh said.

The Emergency Services Committee is comprised of three sub-committees: Care in the Community/First Responders, Pre-Hospital Emergency Services and Emergency Services in Heath Institutions.

“The reason of the minister in creating these three sub-committees is to assure that as a country we look at emergency care holistically right from the community, to the health institutions,” said Committee Chairman Dr. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah. “And once we are resourced enough and supported to weight, we can guarantee adequate emergency care in the country.”

Dr. Ahmed Nuhu Zakariah addresses the newly inaugurated emergency services committee.

Ghana Partners US In Medical Exercise
By Juliet Buntuguh & Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

The United States and the Ghana Armed Forces have launched a ten-day medical assistance training exercise for military medical personnel in Accra.
The exercise, which is being facilitated by the Medical Field Logistics Assistance Group (MEDFLAG), is aimed at promoting interoperability in addition to increasing medical capacity in the Ghanaian army.
At the opening ceremony, the leader of the US team, Lt. Col. Boyd explained that MEDFLAG creates a platform for the two armies to build and expand their medical capabilities, as well as foster mutually-beneficial relationships.
He stressed that the exercise was also to build and expand the deplorable medical capability of the Ghana Armed Forces as well as enhance the readiness of both countries’ medical personnel through a variety of disciplines including classroom instructions, three humanitarian civil assistance events in local areas, and a scenario demonstration.
Lt. Col Boyd noted that the annual bilateral exercise will facilitate the exchange of medical information and techniques within the two armies.
“We are going to learn how to exchange and use information,” he added.
He expressed hope that both armies will leave the exercise stronger and more experienced than before as they provide medical, dental and veterinary services to civilians.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. P. A Blay, stated at the ceremony that, apart from the numerous benefits the exercise will bring, “more importantly, it will foster the community relations of the Ghana Armed Forces through the humanitarian civil assistance.”
He therefore asked participants to put all their energies and time into the exercise as this would not only benefit them but also help extend support to less privileged civilians who avail themselves for the Humanitarian Assistance Programme.
“We expect each and every participant to have learned enough to improve his or her field of expertise after the exercise,” Lt Gen. Blay said in conclusion.

University of Ghana Breaks New Grounds
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri and Michael Ciaglo

The University of Ghana has launched a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme in economics for post-graduate students.
It also cut the sod for the construction of a building for the Department of Economics, funded by the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, said the initiative to start the PhD programme forms part of the university’s plan to enhance the department of economics in the coming years.
The programme, designed to accommodate 20 of the current 70 M Phil students, has the possibility to elevate the department.
Mr. Aryeetey stated that with the support of the economics department “we will take our first batch of 20 students studying for their PhD in economics and pair them with lecturers from Connell, Yale, Ellisdon and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) next year.”
He expressed the hope that the PhD programme will “create an enabling intellectual environment for training and research and will eventually elevate the department to the status of a School of Economics.”
Mr. Aryeetey highlighted plans for the programme during the launch of the sod cutting ceremony.
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, noted that the PhD programme is “consistent with the Bank of Ghana’s corporate social responsibility, hence its decision to provide a grant of US$2,000,000 for completion of Phase 1 of the project.”

He said the increase in the number of students is affecting the facilities, adding that conditions are definitely not congenial for academic work.
Mr. Amissah-Arthur said with the increase in the number of students from about 400 in 1990 to 20, 000 in recent years, students have to pack themselves in the lecture block with some standing outside to listen to lectures.
However, he noted that in spite of the challenges confronting the department, it continues to contribute towards the training of economists.
He was optimistic that the project will be completed within budget and on time to “enable us meet next year to commission the building.”

Dr. Fritz A. Gockel, Head of the Department of Economics, said the new building will consist of an 890-seat main auditorium, 12 seminar rooms, a computer room and library that will allow the school to grow.

Though the department is still looking for more investors to complete the project, phase one is slated to be completed by July 2012.

Caption: from left: Alfred Langdon, project architect, Prof. Kwesi Yankeh, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, vice chancellor and Dr. Fritz Gockel, head of the Department of Economics look over the model of the new Economics Annex.

Minister Outdoors Committees
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri and Michael Ciaglo

THE MINISTER of Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, has inaugurated the allied health committee and the health awards planning committee as part of the ministry’s efforts to provide quality health services to Ghanaians.
Swearing in the nine-member allied health taskforce, the minister observed that with the increasing number of health related facilities in the country, there is a need to have a statutory body to regulate their operations in order to safeguard the health of the citizens.
He said unlike doctors, nurses, pharmacists and midwives whose work is regulated by an established authority, there is a large group of health professionals who fall under the umbrella of an allied health group.
This group’s work is not regulated because there is no established authority to monitor their work, hence the inauguration of the taskforce.
“Language and speech pathologists, paramedics, clinical psychologists, dieticians, cardiovascular technologists, radiologists, optometrists and medical assistants are all not under any authority so their work is not monitored,” Mr. Yieleh Chireh said.
He pledged his ministry’s support to the taskforce as outlined in their duties which are to “regulate the scope of practice for these professions, regulate the standard of professionals whose work has direct contact with the populace, ensure sustained standard of studies in institutions and monitor, inspect and facilitate continuous improvement in the [health] sector.”
In addition, he assured the taskforce that the ministry would “advise the ministry of health, conduct licensing examinations for those who have not had professional training, as well as help with the implementation of the allied health bill when it becomes a law.”
He indicated that this taskforce “will reduce the work of quacks and charlatans who pose as professionals and through their shabby work, reduce the good image of medical professionals.”
At the inauguration, the sector minister also established the health awards committee and urged the members to recognize the best medical professionals at institutional and agency levels to improve overall performance in the health sector.
This, he stated, will encourage the continuation of the good work some health workers are already practicing across the country.
“The time has come for us to change the trend and show practical appreciation for the efforts of health workers for their contributions to improve the health status of the people in Ghana,” he added.
The committee is also mandated to come up with guidelines to sustain the celebration of health professionals and make the selection processes fair across all medical professions.
In their acceptance speeches, the chairmen of the two committees, Dr. Samuel Opoku of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Ghana, and Dr. Sylvester Amemana of the Ghana Health Services both expressed a deep sense of appreciation for the creation of the two committees and vowed to deliver on their duties.