News
‘21 Epistles of a Hero’ honours S.K. Ampiah
Elder Samuel Kofi Ampiah
At age 98, Elder Samuel Kofi Ampiah, a renowned Ghanaian music composer of hundreds of popular songs has been honoured with the launch of his maiden book.
Titled “Retrospect: 21 Epistles of a Hero,” the book takes the reader on an inspiring journey of discovering over 60 years of the honoree’s experiences, gleaning lessons to enlighten the paths of younger generations.
Hosted on Saturday, January 7, 2023, by the Predecessors Awards Worldwide – a network of Relevant Achievers Impacting Nations (RAIN Foundations), the launch attracted delegates from The Apostolic Church- Ghana where Elder S.K. Ampiah had served for over 60 years.
The Global President of Rain Foundations, Mr. George Kingsley Acquah ESQ, President of the Predecessors Awards Worldwide, Mr. Dennis Agyeman, and his Vice, Madam Ruby Okine, took turns to address the guests.
Speaking to the Founding President of Rain Foundations and bestselling author, Raphaelle Antwi, said the launch was “the beginning of many book launches to come”.
He explained that a significant part of the Prestigious Annual Predecessors Awards was to immortalise the legacies of the honourees by writing and publishing of books that told the stories.
The organisation, he added, would be publishing and launching many more books for various predecessors this year – in Ghana and abroad.
The Prestigious Annual Predecessors Awards will be held this year in Ghana, France, UK, South Africa, and USA.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will undertake a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination exercise in schools from October to December 2026 to protect eligible girls against cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases.
The exercise, organised in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and its partners through the School Health Education Programme (SHEP), will be conducted in two rounds.
The first round is scheduled for October 19 to 23, 2026, while the second will take place from November 30 to December 4, 2026.
In a press release dated October 19, the GHS explained that health workers would visit schools across the country to vaccinate eligible girls aged 9 to 14 who have not yet received the HPV vaccine.
The exercise forms part of efforts to raise awareness about the routine HPV vaccine, increase vaccination uptake and strengthen the country’s routine immunisation programme.
The GHS has called on school authorities, parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to cooperate with health teams to ensure the successful implementation of the exercise.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the health and well-being of Ghanaians, particularly children, through vaccination and other public health interventions.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has held high-level discussions with organisers of the 2026 Global South Academic Forum in Shanghai, seeking to draw lessons from China’s acclaimed rural revitalisation and poverty reduction drive.
The meeting, led by the Forum Chair, Professor Lu Xinyu, explored practical areas of cooperation and knowledge exchange between Ghana and China, with focus on community-driven development, fisheries and aquaculture, local governance, sports initiatives, and infrastructure development.
According to officials, the engagement is part of a broader effort by the Ghanaian government to study tested development models that can be adapted to the local context to promote inclusive growth, empower local communities, and improve livelihoods across the country.
China’s success in lifting over 800 million people out of poverty through targeted rural policies, investment in agriculture and local infrastructure has become a global reference point for developing nations.
The Vice President’s team says insights from the Forum will help inform policy direction, particularly in strengthening decentralised governance, boosting the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and investing in community-level infrastructure and youth sports development.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is expected to continue engagements with academic and development institutions while in China.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
