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Cultural display at Wa Jubilee Park
• A cultural group
It was a sight to behold at the Jubilee Park Wa, in the Upper West Region as the region climaxed its maiden Cultural Week Celebration and the festival of arts and culture.
There was a display of colourful smocks designed with beautiful patterns, the swift movement of waists and feet to traditional sound from xylophones and traditional drums as well as the display of artefacts among others.
his dancing skills
Categorised into the Dagaaba, Waala, Sissali, Lobi and Brifo uniquely displayed their respective native dance to the admiration of the gathering.
The Fulani community in the region added an icing to the cake with their presence and a spectacular performance of their native dance.
Dance troupes from Wa, Nandom, Lawra and the Sissala Land displayed the Bawa, Bene, Kobine, Dogu, Tumpani and Dumba dances.
Interacting with participants, the Acting Director at the Centre for National Culture in the region, Mr Jamal-Deen Yahaha expressed his delight for the successful occasion which according to him, allowed the participants to showcase the culture of the land through music, dance, theatrical enactments, artifacts, handicrafts, folklores, among others.
He said the idea of the cultural week celebration was conceived by some individuals and institutions over decades until recently when the Centre in conjunction with Radio Progress, a local radio station in the region, jointly worked together to bring the concept to fruition.
He said that with the support of the chiefs and other stakeholders, the Centre was able to mobilise resources for the celebration of the week which was also used to graduate some 20 ladies who had undergone training in smock weaving at the auspices of the Centre.
In a speech read on his behalf, the President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Naa Dikomwine Domalae said culture should be included in every aspect of national discourse to ensure that people held their values in high esteem even as they moved along with ‘modernity’.
Speaking on the theme “revisiting out culture for business and wealth creation in the era of global insecurity”, the chief charged government to work closely with traditional authorities to research, document, conserve, manage and promote positive traits of Ghana’s cultural heritage.
“Government should also facilitate the development and promotion of archaeological and historic sites as well as national and community festivals and various classes of artefacts in addition to tourist infrastructure to support the tourist industry”, he added.
Dignitaries such as a Member of the Council of State, Professor Daniel Bagah and representative from the Dr Hilla Limann Technical University as well as the Simon Diedong Dombo University for Business and Integrated Development Studies graced the occasion.
From Lydia Darlinton Fordjour, Wa
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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
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.
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.
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.
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
