Day: May 29, 2023

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Catholic Relief Services marks Community Day at Shekhinah Clinic

Tamale, Staff of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have undertaken their annual Community Day at Shekhinah Clinic in Tamale by cleaning the clinic’s various units, fixing broken windows and donating food items and drugs to the facility.

The gesture was to support the efforts of the Shekhinah Clinic at providing free health care to the poor and vulnerable in society.

The CRS’ Community Day is an annual event celebrated by CRS staff worldwide where they reach out in service to the communities where CRS offices are located, interact with people in the communities, build on existing relationships as well as begin new ones.

Mr Daniel Mumuni, Country Representative of CRS, who presented the items to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shekhinah Clinic after the clean-up exercise at the facility, praised the facility for continuing to render valuable services to the poor and the vulnerable in society.

Shekhinah Clinic is a private medical facility in Tamale, which offers free medical services and accommodation to the poor and destitute in the Northern Region.

The clinic, established in 1991 by the late Dr David Abdulai, also runs a feeding programme where it feeds the destitute in society.

Mr Mumuni said: ‘Every year, CRS undertakes Community Day where we serve the community, we work in. We serve different communities but where our office is, we try to do some social activity, so, this year, we chose this place for various reasons, but the main reason is to remember the life of Dr Abdulai, and also to render support to the place since his passing has also meant a bit of burden for the wife in managing the place.’

He added: ‘As an organisation, the values that we uphold, the values of service, integrity, selflessness, is what Dr Abdulai represented, and so we identify so much with what he represented, and so, that has drawn us to this place.’

Mrs Mariama David Abdulai, CEO of Shekhinah Clinic recounted the story of the clinic and said it would continue to provide free medical care to the public in keeping with the vision of its Founder.

She expressed gratitude to CRS for the support extended to the facility, indicating it was crucial to keep its work going on.

Meanwhile, the Accra office team of CRS also celebrated the CRS’ Community Day with the kindergarten pupils of La Wireless Cluster of Schools where they engaged in cleaning-up exercise, providing a touch of brightness to the classrooms, helping the pupils with their class and project works and donating books to them.

The La Wireless Cluster of Schools Kindergarten is one of the schools at La in the Greater Accra Region, which is helping to provide early childhood education as well as safe space for the children, while their parents and guardians go about their economic activities during the day.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Traditional authorities urged to abolish cultural practices against menstruation

Wa, (UW/R), The Global Communities (GC) has commemorated this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day (MHD) with a call on traditional authorities to abolish cultural practices that served as barriers against the social inclusion of young women and girls during their menstrual periods.

It said menstruation was a natural phenomenon embedded into females by God as a pre-requisite for childbirth and that menstruating women should be treated with the utmost divinity and respect they deserved.

Mr Alberto Wilde, the Country Director of GC, made the call in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Martin Sumbo, the Upper West Regional Coordinator of the GC, in Wa during an event to observe the MHD which focused on making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030.

The GC had been undertaking a week-long series of activities in the region including radio talk shows led by children from selected basic schools in Wa, in-school sensitisation and route march among others to create awareness on the need to prioritise menstrual hygiene.

‘Due to inadequate awareness and information about menstruation and its management, period or menstruation has been associated with negativity, shame, filth, and taboo, just to mention a few.

Some of our cultural practices have led to barriers around menstruation that result in some women and girls isolating themselves, missing school or work and even being excluded from taking part in certain activities in society’, Mr Sumbo explained.

He observed that young women and girls were faced with the challenge of accessing clean and hygienic menstrual hygiene materials, and private places for changing while in school or at home.

He said as part of efforts to help reduce those challenges, GC, in partnership with Be-Girl and the Ghana Education Service, had been implementing all-inclusive integrated and holistic MHM interventions for school children, their parents, and caregivers in target schools.

Mr Sumbo, therefore, encouraged the government, and civil society to promote good MHM by responding to the menstrual hygiene needs of young women and girls.

Madam Dimah Nandzo, the Wa Municipal Director of Education, said the many challenges associated with menstruation such as access to pads, the privacy to change when in school, and stigmatisation among others keep some girls out of school during their menstrual periods.

She added that despite the numerous menstrual hygiene educations for girls at home and in school, some girls still had challenges with their menstruation because ‘our system is not equipped well enough to take care of menstrual hygiene management efficiently.’

‘As a result of these challenges, we have some females refusing to come to school when they are menstruating throughout the period and in their absence lessons are taught which will not be repeated and it affects their learning outcome’, she explained.

Madam Nandzo observed that those challenges also led to some girls dropping out of school while others got into relationships with men to get sanitary pads which said was unfortunate.

She advocated a supportive environment in schools to ensure that girls were able to manage their blood flow in an environment they don’t feel embarrassed, stressing the need for requisite facilities in school including clean water and soap for menstruating girls to change while in school.

She appealed to the government to create pad banks in schools to support girls who genuinely could not afford sanitary pads when menstruating.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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South Korea warns North Korea against planned satellite launch

Seoul, South Korea has warned its neighbour North Korea, against a planned satellite launch.

If the launch does take place, North Korea will pay a price and face painful consequences, a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said on Monday.

The ministry accused the widely isolated neighbour of planning an illegal missile launch. It said the country must immediately withdraw the plan.

South Korea was reacting to information from the Japanese Coastguard, according to which it had been informed by North Korea of an imminent satellite launch. The launch is planned between May 31 and June 11.

Last month, North Korea’s state media reported that the development of its first Earth observation satellite for military purposes had been completed, and it could be launched on the planned date.

Tokyo suspects this will be the launch of a long-range ballistic missile.

Space and long-range missiles are largely based on the same technology. North Korea is prohibited from testing ballistic missiles by UN resolutions. Depending on their design, such missiles can be equipped with one or more nuclear warheads.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Death penalty possible for homosexuals after law signed in Uganda

Kampala, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has signed a law making homosexual acts illegal, according to Parliamentary Speaker Anita Annet Among.

The president’s office has also confirmed the signing, various media reports said.

The law provides, among other things, for the death penalty for homosexuals convicted of rape or of having sex with minors or disabled people.

Persons or groups who advocate for homosexuals, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activist groups, can be punished with up to 20 years in prison.

Just over a month ago, Museveni sent a first version of the bill back to parliament. The president had expressed concerns that the law could be legally vulnerable. In its original version, the law would also have criminalized homosexuals who voluntarily seek medical treatment. Parliament has now changed this aspect in a second version of the law.

According to Ugandan LGBT activist Sam Ganafa, the effects were felt even before the law was signed. Hospitals would turn away homosexuals because the facilities feared being harassed by the government.

‘It is sad news. Our people are going back to the closets,’ Ganafa told dpa on Monday.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Kiev also hit amid heavy Russian attacks on Ukraine

Kiev, More than 40 Russian missiles were fired over Kiev alone during the night, amid a fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital announced on Monday morning.

No one was killed or injured, it said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 29 combat drones and 37 cruise missiles were repelled throughout the country.

In the western Ukrainian region of Khmelnytskyi, a military airfield was fired upon, according to the local authorities. Five aircraft and a runway were damaged, they said.

In Odessa on the Black Sea, a fire broke out in the harbour after a drone strike but it is said to have since been extinguished.

The latest attacks follow the heaviest drone bombardment in months, with which Russia overran the neighbouring country at the weekend.

On Saturday night, Ukraine registered a record 54 kamikaze drones fired. There were deaths and injuries, including in Kiev.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Accomplishing menstrual hygiene in Cameroon, huge task

Much still has to be done in Cameroon to ensure that women and girls are able to overcome period poverty as well as understand how to manage their menstrual cycles.

The world celebrated menstrual hygiene day on May 28, with a focus on ways to stop discrimination towards girls and women.

According to Bihnwi Pamela in Douala, many women are still facing stigma and deprivation, as a result of menstruation.

“The knowledge of menstrual hygiene is still very far from most girls as they aren’t taught at home by their parents” Pamela points out.

“They don’t know what it means, how to manage the situation, or even how to communicate it. They don’t know about sanitary pads let alone having access to them.”

Besides creating awareness on World Menstrual Hygiene Day, Pamela highlights that knowledge on menstrual hygiene needs to be given wider attention.

“Parents should be encouraged to discuss it with their girl children at tender ages so that they know these things and have their minds ready, so that when the changes finally come they can better manage the situation and also talk about it freely.”

During this year’s celebration of the menstrual hygiene day on Sunday, May 28, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Natalia Kanem said “A girl’s first period should be a happy fact of life, a sign of coming of age with dignity.”

She added that “The girl should have access to everything necessary to understand and care for her body and attend school without stigma or shame.”

According to the Word Bank, at least 500 million women and girls across the world lack access to the facilities they need during their periods.

UN Women adds that more than 2.25 billion women and girls worldwide have no safe private toilet to go to.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

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PM Abiy Congratulates President Erdogan For Election Victory

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed congratulated President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his election victory.

“Congratulations to President Erdogan on your election victory. I look forward to further strengthening the relations between our two countries,” Abiy twitted.

President Erdogan while delivering remarks regarding the election results said: “we are not the only winners. Türkiye is the winner. Our nation with all its segments is the winner. Our democracy is the winner.”

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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African E-Trade Group Says Working To Enhance Digital Intra, Inter Trade in Africa

The African E-Trade Group ((Ae Trade) is working to enhance intra-and inter-trade in Africa.

The African E-Trade Group (AeTrade) is a multi-stakeholder group of African professionals and business people with a vision to develop and implement e-empowerment program that will enhance intra-and inter-African trade.

AeTrade Group organized a sensitization forum on Africa job creation today at the UNECA, under the theme ‘Accelerating Job Creation, Digital and Financial Inclusion in the implementation of the AfCFTA’.

Speaking on the occasion, AeTrade CEO, Mulualem Syoum, said the group brings together the public and private sector partners to develop projects that leverage the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the benefit of Africa’s present and future entrepreneurs.

Following the AU decision to accelerate digital and financial inclusions and work together with all stakeholders, the Africa diaspora initiative is helping to create one Africa market, he said.

He also said that digitalization is one of the fast tracking for growth as well us to boost intra African trade as well us to be part of the global trade.

Therefore, in partnership with the AU, AeT launched a digital market place, https://sokokuu.africa/ in 2020 , he said.

According to him, the website is designed to enable African producers throughout the continent to display and sell their produce online and boost intra African trade.

In less than seven years from now, some 95 percent of the global trade will be undertaken digitally, he said.

Therefore, the group will provide support to member states, and enable African SMEs to trade in digital platforms, he pointed out.

Trade is going to be knowledge based in the near future, he said, adding its platform will create enabling environment for SMEs where they can be able to know about the place of the surplus, and the shortage.

Creating affordable finance is also the goal of the group, he said, adding that doing all with partners and affiliates, within the next 15 years, our target is to create between 80 to 225 million jobs.

Speaking on his part, State Minister of Labor and Skills, Nigussu Tilahun, said the government of Ethiopia supports job creative initiative.

According to him, Ethiopia is making effort to create jobs for the young people.

‘We develop a national plan of action for job creations and commit ourselves to its implementation ‘ he said.

As part of our effort, we undertook two national job summits where we provide actors in the labor market the ecosystem and a platform to come together discuss the challenges and provide innovative solution and celebrate successes, he said.

Acting Secretary General of the UNECA, Anthony Pedro, said that in 2035, the number of productive human resources in Africa will reach 450 million.

Therefore, countries should respond to the rapidly growing number of job seekers by formulating strategies and using job creation options in the continent.

He pointed out that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) is one of the great opportunities that governments should work with determination for its realization.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency