Hot!
Re-orient service delivery to offer hope to patients
Mr Amoo-Bediako
Health managers, professionals, institutions must re-orient in delivering services and offer hope to clients and patients, a director at theTakoradi Port, Mr Peter Amoo-Bediako, has advocated.
He argued that the health sector must be positioned to work on the stigmatisation and misconceptions especially around breast cancer soas to bring smiles on the faces of patients who call for succor at hospitals.
“You need to remain focused and empathise, your jobs is to give hope, if you can’t do it, leave,” Mr Amoo-Bediako stressed as he told his ordeals and trauma, and experiences at health centres with his wife, who died 12 years ago, with breast cancer.
He gave the admonition at a durbar organised by GPHA Takoradi Hospital on Wednesday, to advocate the collective action to fight breast cancer in Ghana, as part of the global efforts.
As he spoke, Mr Amoo-Bediako broke down momentarily, and in teary demeanour, he continued “If we must die, we must die in dignity. Give hope to anyone no matter the status, colour, tribe, race or religion.”
He recalled that in 2011, whiles on vacation in UK, he received a call from his wife about complaints of pains at the back.
Quickly, he said, he flew down and that, initial investigations showed that his wife was in pains, which had spread to the spine, hence the need for biopsy.
Mr Amoo-Bediako said, results from the KomfoAnokye Teaching Hospital and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital proved that the woman had breast cancer which had spread to the spinal chord.
“I said to myself, but, for how long. I went bankrupt, indeed, Iwas in pain. Doctors concluded there’s nothing they could do because of the spread. How do I tell the young ones what was happening?”
He, therefore, reiterated the calls for early detection, saying“we can’t wait, it will be too late.”
Mr Amoo-Bediako said “We need to work together and it’s very important. We pray for long life. We thank GPHA Hospital for the awareness creation and for people to tell their stories. I pray that never shall this disease come to us in GPHA. The pictures we’ve seen here are not abstracts, they are real.”
He told GPHA staff that he had given directives for every staff to go for medical checkup every year.
A survivor of breast cancer, Madam Ekuwa Tawiah from Sekondi, also spoke about her experiences 18 years ago when she was diagnosed of having a lump in the breast and underwent an operation at the Korle Bu Hospital, to save her life.
“Don’t be afraid in such situations and hide in your room. I’m 78 years and still proud. It’s not a death sentence. If you hide in your room, you may die. Let’s work together,” she added.
The Administrator, GPHA Hospital, Dr Helen Tettey, was happy this year’s celebration had been very successful, adding “We’ve seen a significant improvement this year, over the 500 recorded in 2022.”
“The attitude is changing and getting better and our expectation is that it will not be onlyin October, but, become a lifestyle, so that, at least every month, we have people screened. The treatments, the modules are getting better. Let’s use what we have to save lives.”
From Clement Adzei Boye, Takoradi
Hot!
GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
Hot!
Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
