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Ghanaian highlife goes to Switzerland June 30

• Mr John Yao Agbeko (Inset) delivering his address at the launch

Mr John Yao Agbeko (Inset) delivering his address at the launch

The Executive Director of the National Folklore Board, Mrs Bernice Dei Kumah, has advised the youth to help preserve and promote Ghanaian highlife music in all aspects of life, in spite of the ‘threat’ posed by other competing music genres in the world.

According to her, highlife music remains an essential part of the country’s heritage and young people must support efforts aimed at sustaining the genre which seems to be fad­ing out as new styles emerge.

Speaking at the launch of the ‘Ghana Day Festival and Business Expo’ in Accra last Thursday, she said highlife music contributed to dialogue on issues such as injustice, resistance, love and humanity, and must not be “left to die.”

She said it was time Gha­naian music took its rightful place along reggae and rumba music which had recently been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNES­CO) list of “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”

The two-day music concert, scheduled for June 30 to July 1, 2023, in Switzerland on the theme: “See Ghana, Buy Ghana,” is organised by the National Folklore Board (NFB) in collaboration with the Asso­ciation of Ghanaian Unions in Switzerland, the Embassy of Ghana in Switzerland and the Creative Arts Agency.

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Mrs. Kumah said the initia­tive formed part of efforts to “engage members of the cultural industry and diaspora community in Switzerland to form partnerships that would translate into investments in Ghana.”

The event, she added, “aims to provide the platform to diaspora entrepreneurs, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of corporate organisations, cul­tural investors, leaders and the Swizz Government to explore Ghana’s folklore and business opportunities.”

“Music is a universal lan­guage of cohesion and an ex­cellent example of living heri­tage meant to unite humanity, share values and aspirations. Music is a powerful vehicle for raising awareness and reaching out to different groups of peo­ple, therefore, the prosperity of Ghanaian musicians must be a priority.

“Highlife is dying and we cannot sit back and watch highlife die. We are taking Ghanaian highlife to Switzer­land to create bigger platform for the industry players,” she said.

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Pledging support for young people who take up, record and perform highlife music, Mrs Kumah said the National Folklore Board would apply to UNESCO for Ghana to “claim ownership of highlife music.”

Mr Adbourahamane Diallo, UNCESCO Ghana Country Direc­tor, praised NFB for the leader­ship in identifying and promot­ing the rich intangible cultural heritage of the country.

He stressed the need to strengthen partnership with people in the Diaspora and expressed commitment at providing the needed guidance and support to ensure Ghana­ian highlife is recognised at the highest level.

Mr John Yao Agbeko, Chief Director, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, believed the festival would enhance the brand identity of Ghana­ian highlife music locally and internationally.

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Madam Abigail Lamptey, President of the Association of Ghanaian Unions in Switzerland (AGUS) was enthused about the decision by the NFB to sup­port the festival which started in Switzerland in 2017.

Nana Otuo Ohuahene Ache­ampong, Chair, Ghana Cultural Forum, stressed the need to appreciate and celebrate high­life legends while they were still alive, and further asked music organisations to unite in promoting Ghanaian music.

Mr. Bessa Simons, President of Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and Mr Frank Owusu, Head, Creative Arts Agency, all pledged support for the event and called on corporate bodies to continue supporting local acts.

Audience were treated to performances by Highlife mu­sician Aka Blay and the Abizah Band, as well as members of Magic Eyes Band, a group of talented and visually impaired musicians.

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By Ernest Nutsugah

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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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