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A 4-year old girl living on oxygen needs help
A four-year-old girl who lives with her parents at Aboabo, a suburb of Koforidua is unable to attend school and would have to live on oxygen for the rest of her life as a result of chronic lung cancer.
Elita Afia Boafo Asare Junior who is second of a set of twins has been diagnosed with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung disease, which makes it difficult for her to breathe .
Born a preterm, at 33 weeks together with her twin sister Elisa, who is healthy and well, Elita developed a respiratory distress syndrome commonly associated with children born preterm.
After spending several days with her mother at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), she was well and discharged but found her way back to the hospital at age four due to a new diagnosis.
Speaking to “The Spectator” on Elita’s case, Dr Afua Gyamfi, Director of Paediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at the Koforidua Central Hospital said that Elita’s situation was common with children born preterm, adding that some had respiratory problems shortly after birth.
She explained that the child’s poor lung capacity and less space made it difficult for her to breathe well.
According to her, there was no treatment to cure this ailment except to focus on treatment meant to support breathing and that only oxygen could help such people grow and thrive.
‘Elita has a lung disease and the only way to help is to have a lung transplant but the question is whether her parents can afford it?” asked, adding that, for now she had to live on oxygen.
The doctor indicated that Elita may live on oxygen for a long time either, for life or may recover at a certain point.
Dr Gyamfi explained that after several counselling of her mother and interactions between her and the hospital, both parties decided that the little girl should be given a paliative care at home to prevent incurring high hospital bills and other inconveniences of the family.
She revealed that after offering them with two oxygen cylinders and making arrangements for refilling , Elita and mother were discharged to continue caring for her at home whilst the public health care team would also visit to ensure her wellbeing.
Dr Gyamfi suggested that her parents can acquire an oxygen concentrator which cost about Ghc7,000 for her to supplement their buying of oxygen to reduce cost.
However, she stated that the oxygen concentrator may also attract constant electricity charges.
According to her parents, Mr and Mrs Asare, Elita uses a cylinder of oxygen at the cost of Ghc46 daily .
Her mother Madam Mary Danquah Asare explained the financial burden was becoming unbearable as they would not be able to afford buying the oxygen all the time to keep their daughter alive.
“I feel so sorry for my little girl that she has to live on this till God knows when. She has grown lean and malnourished but I have faith that she will be well again if we get help to provide oxygen for her all the time.”
She told The Spectator that carrying the cylinder alongside her child around attracted huge cost and appealed to philanthropists, institutions and corporate bodies as well as individuals to come to their aid.
“As a hairdresser, I have now closed my shop and cannot work because of my daughter’s situation. I have to be with her all the time, leaving all the burden on my husband who is a photographer,” she lamented.
Elita’s father, Mr Foster Asare said as a photographer, he had been using all of his earnings on buying oxygen for the little girl, adding that the situation was challenging.
“I am pleading with the public, government, individuals and philanthropists to come to my aid because my strength is failing me but I pray she gets help and becomes healthy like her other twin sister”
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
