northernpodmedia

Equal Partnership At Household Level, Solution to Malnutrition In Ghana.

2006-08-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

Nutrition is a major component in the development of social fabric of every nation. Research has shown that nutrition and development are inseparable issues. Malnutrition makes people vulnerable to diseases and diminishes their ability to gain access to other assets in later life. Therefore since development begins from the household, the nutritional status of the family is paramount.

Research estimates that 26 percent of all children in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished. According to study, malnutrition and poverty are often related terms. It is therefore not surprising the three Northern regions in Ghana, ranked the poorest and most undernourished. Invariably, cultural and gender-related obstacles often constitute stumbling blocks to food security and access to nutrition in many households.

Women in the northern part of the country occupy a central position in the attainment of household food security, but adult males have traditionally been given priority in food allocations over women and children. The main source of livelihood for the people include yam and rice farming, picking of shea-nut and shea-butter extraction. For the women who farm, they basically engage in the cultivation of groundnut, soybean, maize, rice cowpea and millet often on small acreages ranging from one to three. The reasons why women engage in commercial activities include poverty and the need to support their husbands. Their source of capital is mainly from credit organizations and also funds generated by engaging in on-farm activities and sale of shea-nuts.

A research conducted by a nongovernmental organization, Foundation for Grass Roots in Africa (Grass Roots Africa) supported by World Bank on livelihood and Food Security of Women and Adolescent Girls in the three Northern regions (Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions) showed that, crops and proceeds from women’s farm are often used to support the upkeep of the household. According to the research the most nutritious part of the yield produced by women were sold and bought cheaply by middle women. The grains largely produced by the men, were rather kept for consumption at the household level which, invariably affect the nutritional status of the household.

In order to disseminate the research findings and sensitize the residents on the importance of nutrition and equal partnership for development, Grass Roots Africa has organized a social clinic through drama on nutrition and Gender at Gushie in the Savelugu Nanton district of the Northern region, one of the communities where the research was conducted in May 2005. Addressing the participants, Dr Yakubu Zakariya, Programmes and Development Co-ordinator of Grass Roots Africa stated that the forum aimed at generating feedback from the community for the purpose of developing intervention strategies that test current approaches to mainstreaming nutrition into the developing process.

The deleterious effects of malnutrition included increased reproductive and maternal health risks, stunted growth and reduction in learning potential. Nutrition is cross-cutting and complex issue which is interwoven with the environment, socio-cultural and traditional agricultural practices, gender-related constraints, level of awareness on the part of policy makers and civil society organizations and level of literacy among other factors. Therefore to address the issue of malnutrition, there is the need to tackle these factors and should begin from the household.

By Osman Dawda

Ghana Should Take Cue From Germany-Vice President

2006-08-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

The Vice President of Ghana Alhaji Aliu Mahama has urged all hosting cities for the CAN 2006 African Cup of Nations to take cue from performance of German cities during the just ended 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany. Ghana is slated to host the African Cup of Nations in 2008 and four cities namely Accra, Kumasi, Secondi and Tamale would play host to all teams and thousands of visitors from various African countries among others to the most enviable football tournament in Africa.

The Vice President advised residents of the host cities to prepare to receive great number of visitors and admonished them to improve their sanitary conditions before during and after the tournament since they would attract all kinds of visitors to their respective destinations. Vice President Mahama called on all to extend the best of courtesies and hospitality in order to create good and impressive image of themselves, the cities and the country as a whole.

In this direction, Alhaji Mahama announced that Tamale would soon benefit from a $4.6million World Bank Sanitation and Community Infrastructure Upgrading project, but did not mention exactly when. The project was aimed at improving both physical infrastructure and sanitation condition in the area in preparation for the CAN 2006 tournament. To give Tamale a facelift, the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the Tamale metropolitan Assembly would provide street lights across the Central Business District to brighten up the city.

Alhaji Mahama made the disclosure when he inaugurated a 46 units one storey market stores at Aboabo in Tamale. The project was jointly funded by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly from its share of Common Fund and the Canadian Assisted District Wide Assistance Project, valued at ¢1.7 billion.

He said sports was another form of tourism and has the potential of generating employment and creating wealth and therefore appealed to the people of Tamale to explore business opportunities the game would hold for them.

Touching on the 46 units stores, the Vice President urged the people to cultivate the culture of maintenance to ensure that the buildings lasted long. “ The stores should not be treated or regarded as nobody’s simply because they belong to the Assembly”, he cautioned.

The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mohammed Amin Adam Anta, on his part, stated that a major objective of his administration “is to make Tamale the industrial and commercial hub of not only the three northern regions but also most of the Sahelian countries”. To this effect, he noted, the Assembly was undertaking several activities to build the necessary infrastructure for the fulfillment of this vision.

The MCE lamented over the appalling conditions of the facilities at the two main markets in the metropolis, namely the Central market and Aboabo Market due to congestion, poor infrastructure and insecurity. He said the Tamale metropolitan Assembly has started fixing the urgent problems in the markets including provision of lockable gates security lights and gravelling the entire market, but pod media’s enquiries from the markets showed that work on the projects are yet to take off though the assembly is all geared up for the project.

A major impediment for the fulfillment of this dream is lack of funds. In view of this, while advising the people to pay their tax obligation, Mr Anta complained bitterly about allocation of resources from the Central government. He noted that as a metropolis and a regional capital for the Northern region, the allocation for Tamale is inadequate considering the fact that all pressures from the nook and cranny of the region bothers on the area. The MCE said: “if it is not possible to review the Common Fund allocation, then I would like to appeal to Central government to consider the peculiar circumstances of Tamale, though regrettable, and create a Special Rescue Fund for us especially as we are hosting CAN 2008.”

The Northern regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris called on the people to bury their political social and ethnic differences and support the government to bring more development projects to the poverty endemic metropolis.

By Osman Dawda

Ghana’s Northern Region abounds in investment opportunities

2006-08-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Iddris, Northern Regional Minister of Ghana, has said the region abounds in a lot of investment opportunities and potentials, which if properly exploited could turn the economic fortunes of the people and improve upon their living standards. He said some of the investment opportunities in the region included rich and vast fertile soils for agriculture production, a fast growing metropolitan market centre, cheap and strong labour force and a gateway to markets in the sub-region with a population of over 300 thousand people.

Alhaji Iddris was addressing the Regional Investment Promotion Forum organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) in Tamale to educate the public, particularly local investors and prospective investors on investment regulations, procedures and incentives.

He said agriculture alone provided great investment opportunities in the areas of commercial crops like rice, cotton, cashew, sunflower and cereals, as well as production of agricultural raw materials as a basis for agro-industrial companies and large tracts of land for animal husbandry.

Alhaji Iddris said the region also had a lot of tourist attractions that could be developed to generate revenue for the country, if the hospitality industry was fully developed and networked to include art and craft shops and the development of various tourist sites. He said the celebration of the country's 50th Independence Anniversary and the hosting of the CAN 2008 provided opportunities for investors to invest in the hospitality industry by building standard hotels and providing other facilities for recreational activities for the numerous visitors, who would throng the Metropolis.

Alhaji Iddris asked district assemblies in the region to try to construct five-star hotels in their areas before the CAN 2008 football fiesta to accommodate visitors to the region. He noted with regret that, the only thing that scared investors from investing in the region was the perception that the area was unstable and therefore appealed to the media to help change this negative image of the north.

Mr Kwadwo Filson, a Deputy Director of the GIPC said the Council organised the forum to educate assembly members, traditional rulers and other stakeholders on the investment opportunities in their localities. He said the nation’s socio-economic goal and investment drive had been strategically focused on encouraging the establishment of enterprises, which add value to local raw materials, export oriented or import substitution enterprises and enterprises which would create employment.

He called on investors to take advantage of the non-tax element involved in the establishment of agro-processing industries to invest in the Northern Region.

Ghana’s Vice President inaugurates Market stalls in Tamale

2006-08-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Alhaji Aliu Mahama, the Vice President, on Monday inaugurated a 1.76 billion-cedi 14 units single storey market stores at Aboabo in the Tamale Metropolis and urged the people to maintain the facility to enhance their economic activities. He said the facility was important as it would offer employment opportunities to the people and help to reduce poverty. The Vice President said though business seemed to be doing well, there were pockets of serious poverty not only in the metropolis but also in the entire region.

He said it was in this regard that the government initiated the Youth Employment Programme and the Millennium Challenge Account and called on the youth to take advantage of the programme to help reduce poverty and improve on their living conditions.

The Vice President urged the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly to use the resources from the Millennium Challenge Account to improve agriculture, water, sanitation, health facilities and small-credit schemes for the people.

He said a 4.6 million-dollar World Bank Sanitation and Community Infrastructure Upgrading Project would soon take off in the metropolis. It would be used to give Tamale a facelift while the Metropolitan Assembly is also collaborating with the Ministry of Energy to provide streetlights to the city.

Vice President Mahama reminded the people in the region, especially those in the Tamale Metropolis, to co-operate with the contractors building the sports stadium for the smooth completion of the project. "As a host city, we must prepare ourselves to receive a large number of foreigners who will visit our city to watch the matches. "We must extend the best of courtesies and hospitalities to the visitors so as to create a good and impressive image for ourselves, our city and the nation as a whole," he said.

Vice President Mahama expressed concern about the alarming prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the country and urged the youth to live disciplined and responsible lives to avoid being infested with the disease since it has become an obstacle to the socio-economic progress of the country.

The Vice President appealed to people in the three northern regions to give peace a chance to enable them to explore the opportunities that nature had bestowed on them to reduce poverty and deprivation He also called on people in the Northern Region in particular to strive to maintain the peaceful atmosphere that was currently prevailing in the area.

"We have come a long way and I hope we would jealously guard and build on the gains we have collectively made through compromise and self-sacrifice", he said.

Mr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, said the project was jointly funded through the assembly's share of the District Assemblies Common Fund and the Canadian Assisted District Wide Assistance Project (DWAP).

He said facilities in the two main markets in Tamale were appalling due to congestion, poor infrastructures and insecurity and that the assembly had started to provide lockable gates, security lights and is gravelling of them.

He said a new market would be built at Kukuo with funding from the Community Based Rural Development Project.

Mr Adam said the assembly had engaged in discussions with some private investors and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to complete the abandoned Aboabo multi-purpose market complex. He said the assembly was collaborating with the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to provide a modern Information and Communication Technology Centre in the metropolis to serve the business community.

Tamale Metro Chief Executive says resources from gov’t are inadequate

2006-08-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, the Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, has expressed concern about the inadequate allocation of resources from the government to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly.

He said despite Tamale being a metropolis, it received about 6 billion cedis from the government as its share of the District Assembly's Common Fund while Nanumba North and Karaga districts were allocated about 9 billion cedis and 8.7 billion cedis respectively from the same source.

Mr Adam raised the concern at the inauguration of 1.76 billion-cedi 14-unit single storey market stores at Aboabo in the Tamale Metropolis on Monday.

He said contrary to the expectations of many people, allocation of resources from the government did not favour the Metropolis. "The formula for sharing the national cake, although pro-poor, defies the principle of equity distribution of resources." "I would like to appeal to the government to consider the peculiar circumstances of Tamale, though regrettable, to create a Special Rescue Fund for us, especially as we are also hosting CAN 2008", he said. Mr Adam blamed the people in the metropolis for not paying their taxes and said the assembly was able to realise less than a billion cedis annually.

He said statistics indicated that it could generate 15 billion cedis annually from property rate alone if 70 per cent of its potentials were collected.

Mr Adam said the assembly would launch a comprehensive programme on revenue mobilization this month to raise resources to undertake development projects and warned that it would not spare anybody who faulted

Ghana to undertake Taxonomy Project

2006-08-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

Science and Technology Policy Research Institute (STEPRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of Ghana is to undertake a 12-month programme, which would enable people to scientifically apply the names to identify living organisms around them in conformity with the Convention on Biological Diversity. That could be achieved through conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of biological diversity and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Professor Alfred A. Oteng-Yeboah, a Deputy Director of CSIR in charge of Environment and Health, said in Accra at the opening of a four-day workshop on "Assessing Taxonomic Needs in Ghana". It is being done in collaboration with National History Museum, BioNET International, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, BioNET WAFRINET and the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs of United Kingdom.

Prof Oteng-Yeboah explained that Taxonomy was the science of classification, which involved the application of names to objects for those objects to be referred to.

He said; "the process of name application takes note of the characteristics of the object, so that when a name is given to it, that name is attached to it on the basis of those characters".

Prof Oteng-Yeboah said: "A lot of our local people are very familiar with the things around them and they can refer to them and talk about them to the people of the same language or experience."

He said before the appropriate taxonomic resources could be made available; there was the need to identify problems and gaps and to find solutions to them.

He said the minds of Ghanaians needed to be agitated on ways of acquiring information about the biological resources in the country. The process of name application was a basic human endeavour, which was meant for identification, association and recognition.

Prof Oteng-Yeboah said: 93The mode of name giving does not follow any order in the traditional systems and the names become known to only people with the same cultural background or experience.

He said: Consequently we have different names to the same object as we travel through the country. This difficulty in transferring local names to objects limits local taxonomy.

Prof Oteng-Yeboah said the scientific name application is always more preferred because it had wider application.

He said the project would facilitate the full implementation of Article 7 of the Convention on identification and monitoring and would enhance human resources and capacity development in taxonomy; infra-structural development in taxonomy, increase fundamental data on biological diversity in areas of priority for the country and generate the needed taxonomic data.

He said that would contribute to wealth creation and reduction of poverty because by empowering all stakeholders, who used the biological resources would serve as basis for decision-making in conservation and sustainable use of biological and genetic resources.

He asked all stakeholders to get involved in the project as it would bring about job creation and the reduction of poverty. Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, whose speech was read for him, expressed joy that Ghana was the first country in Africa to be selected by the United Kingdom for the Project.

Source:
GNA

100 DISABLED PERSONS IN NORTHERN GHANA TO CONTEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

2006-07-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

Over the years, a section of the public whose representation in the district assembly in Ghana has been insignificant were the disabled. In view of this, for this year, at least 100 disabled persons from the three Northern regions of the country have expressed bold interest to contest in the exercise. In order to encourage them never to look back, the Center for Democratic Development, CDD-Ghana, a nongovernmental think thank in collaboration with Action on Disability and Development has organized a workshop for the disabled in Tamale.

Statistics show that the disabled in Ghana constitute between eight and 10 percent of the country’s 20 million population. Due to their physical, sensory and other impairments, they have to struggle to their wits end so as to make it anywhere they find themselves. This usually makes them economically and physically disadvantaged and they therefore reluctantly resort to easy way like begging, in order to fend for themselves. Where the society is poor, they form the poorest of the poor due to marginalization, exclusion and deprivation. Their voices are hardly heard apparently because they lack ample representation in higher authorities. Their predicament is even worst at the local government and legislature level.

In order to encourage the disabled to be part of the country’s decision making process, CDD-Ghana in collaboration with Action on Disability and Development organized the first of series of workshops for a cross-section of the disabled from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West region in Tamale. Some 100 disabled in these areas have shown interest to contest in this year’s district assembly and unit committee elections.

Prominent among issues raised by the aspiring assembly members include district assemblies’ funding of the disabled to contest elections, but is any disabled person who approaches the assembly that has to be supported? Nicholas Halm, Advocacy Officer for Ghana Federation of the Disabled said only those who are competent should be financed and not all disabled persons. Other concerns expressed by the participants include the need for the society to desist from disparaging remarks against the disabled and giving them preferential treatment at polling stations.

A major issue bothering the disabled is the manner they are treated by the society. They urged the society to move from only the use of right terminologies on the disabled to treating them fairly since it is they the society that make them disabled. “Who makes them disabled? It is the society, if buildings are constructed without considering them, if their parents refuse to send them to school who makes them disabled,” Felix Dery, Country Director for Action on Disability and Development, a nongovernmental organization championing the course of the disabled said.

Unlike presidential and parliamentary elections that are supported by political parties, the assembly and unit committee elections are nonpolitical. This therefore means contestants have to struggle for themselves or seek support elsewhere to run their campaign in order to win the elections. But the most affected by this dilemma is the disabled, most of whom are economically not fit. To address their predicament, ADD has pledged to support all aspiring disabled persons to contest the district assembly and unit committee elections slated for September this year.

By Osman Dawda

2006-07-24T12:42:00.000-07:00

Forum for ICT and Social Accountability held in Tamale

As part of measures to hold duty-bearers accountable through the use of Information and Communication Technology, a forum has been organized for a cross-section of civil society groups and individuals to that effect in Tamale of the Northern region of Ghana. It was organized by Ghana Network for Knowledge sharing, GINKS, an NGO. The forum was under the theme, “ICT and Social Accountability” and attended by representatives of both print and electronic media, representatives of political parties, nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations among others.

Presenting a paper on General framework on social Accountability and How to Decentralise Accountability Checks using ICT as a policy alternative, Issifu Lampo of Institute for Policy Alternatives stated that ICT social accountability mechanism cannot be used when nations do not invest enough in telecommunication. According to him, the complexity of the information involved and the lack of education of the poor limit their involvement. For the way forward, Mr Lampo called for a policy designed towards bridging rural-urban divide and a vision aimed at full computerization and internet connectivity of all Junior Secondary schools across the country.

On “Why ICT should be used as a Tool to Enhance Social Accountability, Madam Rosemond Kumah of THE Integrated Social Development Centre, ISODEC, said ICT is the most effective modern tool to check duty bearers. But can only be achieved when the ICT capacity of majority of the people are built. She said social accountability facilitates tracking of public expenditure, promotes participation in budgeting, builds citizens voice and creates active participation. Madam Rosemond stated that to ensure effective social accountability, there is the need for society to have the right to information and special attention should be paid to the disadvantaged and the vulnerable in society.

An ICT consultant, Jonnie Akakpo took the participants through concrete examples and application of ICT tools. He mentioned Radio, television, telephone, websites and discussion groups as some of the available and emerging ICT tools for social accountability. Mr Akakpo outlined the Ghana ICT for AD policy, Senior Secondary schools placement and Selection System and DVLA online registration among others as some concrete examples with regards to application of ICT for social accountability.

Health Minister Visits Leading guinea worm Community in Ghana.

2006-07-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Statistics from the Ghana Guinea Worm Eradication Programme shows that between January and June this year, two thousand 474 cases of guinea worm cases have been recorded countrywide. During the same period last year, the Programme documented two thousand 669 cases, a reduction of only seven percent this year. A 22 percent reduction case by the end of this year is the Programme target, but only seven percent has been achieved by June ending. The top five endemic districts accounting for 78 percent of all cases across the country are in the Northern region.

To have first hand information of the situation Ghana’s Minister of Health, Major Retired Courage Quashiegah has visited Wantugu in the Tolon-Kumbungu district of the Northern region, which is the most guinea worm endemic community in the country. The Health Minister’s first point of call was office of the Tolon-Kumbungu district Chief Executive, Wahab Suhiyini Wumbei, where he was briefed about the guinea worm situation in the area.

Tolon Kumbungu is the second leading district of guinea worm cases across the country with 590 cases and Wantugu is the leading community with 193 cases recorded between January and June this year. Major retired Quarshiegah’s visit to Wantugu was met by the chief and people of the area. He was accompanied by the Northern regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, the regional Director of health, Dr Elias Sory and Chief Director of Ministry of Health Madam Sala, among other dignitaries.

The chief of the area Wantugu-Naa lamented over the fact that the community has the highest number of records in guinea worm disease and blamed it on lack of potable water in the area. He appealed for intervention in this direction to reverse the trend. The Community volunteers for the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme complained that they do not have vehicles to effectively discharge their duties. To address their predicament, the Health Minister pledged to dispatch a bicycle each for the 30 volunteers of the project and assured government’s unflinching effort to eradicate the disease. The Minister and his entourage later visited the chief and people of Chirifoyili, also in Tolon-Kumbungu district at their dam site. He advised them to filter their water before drinking in order to keep the guinea worm disease at bay.

In a related development, Major Quashiegah has cut sod for the construction of a seventeen million euro hospital project at Gushegu, also in the Northern region of Ghana. Out of the total amount, six million euros was sourced by the Ghana government as a grant. The project is funded by the Netherlands government, supervised by an Austrian construction company, Vamed Engineering and executed by Jescan Construction limited, a local construction firm. Addressing a gathering at the sod cutting ceremony, the Health Minister advised the people to leave a healthy lifestyle to avoid diseases so as to maximize productivity. The Northern regional Minister advised the people to continue to live in peace with one another to attract more of such development projects to the area. He said the employment opportunity that the project will provide should be devoid of favouritism based on political affiliation.

The MP for Gushegu, also Deputy Minister of Forestry Lands and Mines, Madam Rita Tani Iddi applauded the project saying the people will no longer travel for miles in search for intensive health care. The chief of the area, Gushie-Naa commended government for the institutionalization of the hospital in the district, saying it will enhance the health status of the people. The construction of the hospital is earmarked for completion in February 2008, furnished with modern facilities and is expected to accommodate at least 60 patients. The Health Minster was enskinned under the skin name, Malgu-Naa, meaning peace and development chief.

Media practitioners in Northern Ghana Undergo Training in Conflict Reporting and Democracy

2006-07-24T12:32:00.000-07:00

The Media in three northern regions of Ghana are often blamed for fanning the numerous conflicts in the area. Those who take brunt of the blame are radio stations operating in the area. In spite of their immense contribution to the dissolution of most conflicts in the area, in some instances they are asked by authorities to keep mute especially about issues bothering on chieftaincy, political and religious discussions. This was due to what analysts described generally as amateur, mediocre and nonprofessional way of handling the issues on air, which ostensibly aggravate the conflicts.

To help reverse this trend, a Tamale-based Nongovernmental Organisation, Rural Media Network, RUMNET, has organized a four-day workshop for journalists and other media practitioners in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. The workshop was under the theme, Media in Conflict and Democratic Reporting and funded by the UNDP. It was attended by 25 selected media practitioners in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana.

The participants were taken through Providing Voice to the Voiceless in conflict situation, Legal Media Regulatory Framework, Professional and Ethical Issues and Understanding conflict and its Resolution. The rest include responding to conflict and reporting peace, Broadcasting Standards and Peace Building through the Media. The workshop was a follow-up to an earlier one organised two years ago in the heat of the Dagbon crisis that resulted in the murder of the king of Dagbon Ya-Naa Yakubu Andani and 40 others.

CHILD HEALTH WEEK LAUNCHED IN NORTHERN GHANA

2006-05-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Northern region of Ghana unfortunately has some of the worst child health indicators in the country in spite of efforts by health workers in the area to contain the situation. According to statistics, of all regions in the country the Northern, rates second highest in under-five mortality with 154 deaths per one thousand live births. Malaria remains the highest cause of hospitalization and death among children yet only seven percent of the children sleep under insecticide treated mosquito net.

The 2003 Demographic and Health survey revealed that household consumption of iodised salt is below 10 percent in the northern region. Thirty-five percent of children in the region are underweight, while nearly 70 percent have moderate to severe anaemia. As part of activities to reverse the trend, the Northern regional health directorate has for this year’s Child Health Week, packaged a free comprehensive health services for children, mothers and pregnant women.

The services include counseling on family planning, births registration, vitamin A supplementation, treatment and re-treatment of insecticide mosquito net, immunization, promotion of iodised salt and awareness creation on HIV/AIDS and promotion of male and female condoms. The week-long activity was under the theme, “Healthy Environment, Healthy Children”.

Addressing a gathering at the launch of the programme, the Northern regional Director of Health Services, Dr Elias Sory lamented over the fact that the area still ranks high in guinea worm infestation. He advised the people on personal hygiene so as to keep especially water borne disease at bay. The Deputy Northern regional Minister Mohammed Amin Adam disclosed that government has allocated some 10 billion cedis to the Tamale metropolis for sanitation. He urged the people to keep their environment clean whiles calling on them to take precaution before they are attacked by disease and register with the Metropolitan Health Insurance Scheme.

The Assembly man for Fooshegu called on the metropolitan assembly to hasten the completion of a health centre in the area, saying it will ease the burden on the people who travel miles for health services. A drama was performed to educate the people on family planning.

GHANA'S NORTHERN REGIONAL NPP CHAIRMAN LAID TO REST

2006-04-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Mortal remains of the late Northern regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P have been laid to rest at the Tamale cemetery. the burial ceremony was heavily attended by a high powered government delegation and a cross-section of representatives of the various political parties in the country among others.

Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P, affectionately called Northern governor, passed away on Wednesday April 19, 2006 at the Korlebu Teaching hospital in Accra after short illness. His body was flown to Tamale for burial according to tenets of Islam. Prominent among those who attended the late Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P’s funeral were a high-powered government delegation led by Minister of Ports, Harbours and railways, Professor Christopher Ameyaw Ekumfi and Ministers of the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Greater Accra regions.

Also in attendance were the various District Chief Executives in the Northern region, the National Chairman of the NPP, Peter Mac Manu and his General Secretary, Ohene Ntow and Northern regional executive members and supporters of the party. The Northern regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress, Alhaji Sumani Zakari, former Northern regional Minister under NDC, Gilbert Iddi and representatives of the People National Convention and Convention People’s Party, party supporters and the general public were also there to pay their last respect to the late Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P. The leader of government delegation extended the President and Vice president’s condolences to the bereaved family. He described the late Northern regional Chairman of the NPP as a peaceful and great friend to all.

Professor Ekumfi expressed regret that the late Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P passed away at a time that the peace that he fought for is finally coming to fruition in Dagbon traditional area in the Northern region. The NPP National Chairman, on his part, described the departure of the late Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P as a great lost to the NPP. According to him, the late Northern regional NPP Chairman’s immense contribution to the party cannot be overemphasized describing him as a dedicated member of the Busia-Danquah tradition who preached peace and unity. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C Quaye in a solemn tone and quoting from the holy Quran, described the late Alhaji C.O.P as honest and straightforward person who said the truth without fear or favour. He urged all to be one another’s keeper in doing the right thing.

On behalf of the late Alhaji Abdul-Rahman C.O.P’s family, the GETFund Chairman, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris expressed gratitude to all those who mourned with them saying Allah will equally reward them. The late Alhaji C.O.P was a contractor and Northern regional Chairman of the NPP until his death on the 19th of this month after short illness. He died at 78-years and has left behind four wives, 10 children and seven grandchildren. .