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125 suspected breast cancer cases detected during screening
In their effort to combat breast cancer, some health professionals want the government to provide a more comprehensive National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) package for the treatment of breast cancer in the country.
According to them, part of the treatment for the disease is covered by the NHIS but many patients are still unable to access additional services such as mammogram and ultra-sound screening which are quite expensive.
![Mr Martin Adu-Owusu [Thirtd left] MD. NTC with Ms Dakoa Newman and other stakeholder.](https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Mr-Martin-Adu-Owusu-Thirtd-left-MD.-NTC-with-Ms-Dakoa-Newman-and-other-stakeholder..jpg)
These were some of the remarks made when The Spectator Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign for the month of October was launched on October 6, 2022, at the Kaneshie Market Complex in Accra, where the traders were screened and sensitised to the disease.
Key among the messages was the need to seek early treatment for the disease which is preventable and curable. Instead of patients seeking unconventional treatment, health professionals insist that a medical facility should be the first port of call for any suspected case of breast cancer.
Medical Officers at the Kaneshie Medical Centre where some women were screened free of charge, admitted that but for the exercise, a number of breast cancer cases and other health-related issues would have gone unnoticed.
According to Dr. Obed Boamah about half of the 250 women who were screened had suspected cases of breast cancer.
He said the screening afforded the opportunity to determine those who needed urgent attention as some of the cases had been referred to the major hospitals while other patients had also been asked to return later to the Medical Centre for further examination based on their assessment.
Health professionals and the participants expressed satisfaction about the positive impact of the campaign but indicated that there was still more to be done to reduce of breast cancer in the country.
Some of them recommended a year-long campaign across all platforms and the use of varied communication strategies: use of local languages that would appeal to members of the public of diverse backgrounds.
Participants and partners have commended the New Times Corporation (NTC) for the initiative which is intended to yield positive results and help reduce the number of lives lost as result of the disease.
The Spectator Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign led by the NTC is in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), Kaneshie Medical Centre, Kaneshie Market Complex, Cheezzy Pizza, Labone Senior High School, Unichem Group Ghana, Kaneshie Polyclinic.
One of the key partners, the Kaneshie Medical Centre provided facilities and logistics for the breast cancer screening. In addition, the medical centre also conducted cervical cancer tests, blood pressure and sugar test.
The awareness campaign themed: “Life Before and after Breast Cancer: A Future of Positivity and Hope” is being organised by the Marketing Department of NTC.
By Portia-Hutton Mills
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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