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CRIG launches maiden Cocoa Club Ghana project

The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has launched the maiden Cocoa Club Ghana project at the CRIG Primary School in Tafo to bring cocoa education near to the pupils and other youth in the area.

The club which was a fun-based educational outreach programme, would encourage the youth to connect with cocoa from the bean to bar, to shape and develop their knowledge of cocoa and its related activities.

The club would allow the youth to develop and promote their interest, realize their scientific skills and fulfill their quest to acquire in-depth knowledge and information through activities in the cocoa sector as well as provide insight into career opportunities with the cocoa sector and provide information.

At the launch, the Deputy Director, Head of the Social Science and Statistics Unit at CRIG, and Founder of the Cocoa Club, Mr Michael Owusu-Manu stated that for over a century, cocoa has been the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, holding over two million people who were directly and indirectly employed in the sector.

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“It has been a primary source of income to many people globally as well as Ghanaian households and a major source of foreign exchange for the economy,” he said and added that the product has tremendous health and nutritional benefits.

However, he indicated that “nothing about cocoa, the most important commodity produced in Ghana is formally taught in schools or part of the regular curriculum,”

He added that it was about time to unveil and spread cocoa education through the club into schools, adding that the club would informally bring cocoa education into the schools to educate, inform, share knowledge and promote the use and consumption of cocoa and cocoa products among the youth.

He revealed that the club which has gone through a phase of testing has for a start started with about 260 pupils from CRIG Primary and JHS who were taken through educational tours at some experimental farms and Favour Laboratory, where they were educated on the history of cocoa and chocolate process making.

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He said the club would have many benefits to the youth including building their leadership and managerial skills, sharing experiences and developing new skills, sharing experiences and developing new skills, extracurriculars would boost student life beyond classroom work among others.

For his part, the Acting Managing Director of Cocoa Processing Company, Dr Frank Asante said, the first President of Ghana, Osaagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah did not have the intention for Ghana to produce cocoa but to consume it as well.

He said for that reason he set up the cocoa processing company to process the cocoa beans to bar for consumption, adding that strategies were put in place to enable the country to control its cocoa.

He said over the years, the consumption of cocoa products has been low, adding that the establishment of such clubs was necessary to encourage young ones to patronize and nurture their minds towards the sector, as part of ways to sustain the cocoa industry.

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Dr Asante pledged his outfit’s support to the club and encouraged the youth to join the club.

The Abuakwa North Municipal Education Director, Miss Abena Gyamena encouraged schools in the area to establish cocoa farms to whip up the interest of students adding that cocoa education would be added to the science and mathematics quiz programmes done in the area.

Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua

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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal

Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.


Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.

Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.

Here are the results in Zone Two

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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age

Dr Commeh

 The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Ser­vice (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.

This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature be­fore they become sexually active.

“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the oppor­tunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.

Dr Commeh stated this in an in­terview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.

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According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.

She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”

She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavi­rus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.

“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have elim­inated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.

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Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccina­tion is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.

She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.

She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.

However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunate­ly, there are a few women whose HPV persists.

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Moreover, she noted that the num­bers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of med­ications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”

Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for preven­tion and control.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu

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