News
Absence of RBC antibody screening puts babies at risk
A NEW study has revealed alarming gaps in antenatal care in Ghana, where routine screening for Red Blood Cell (RBC) antibodies is largely absent, leaving many babies at risk of preventable complications and death. The research, conducted between June 2024 and June 2025 at a secondary referral facility, was led by Dr (Mrs) Lilian Antwi Boateng, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Medical Diagnostics, KNUST, with support from Mr Bastu Odoka, Principal Medical Laboratory Scientist at Effia Nkwanta Hospital.
The study, involving 411 pregnant women, found that nine (2.2 per cent) carried potentially harmful antibodies. Among RhD- (a protein found on the surface of red blood cells) negative mothers, the prevalence of anti-D antibodies was 17.1 per cent — higher than rates reported in other African countries.
Two babies born to affected mothers developed serious complications; one died on the third day of life, while the other survived after intensive care. According to Dr Antwi Boateng, in a chat with The Spectator, the absence of routine RBC antibody testing in most hospitals is contributing to stillbirths, preterm births, and neonatal deaths.
In Ghana, these conditions occur at estimated rates of 1.2 per cent, 37.3 per cent, and 2.3 per cent respectively, based on recent studies. Although anti-D prophylaxis — two injections given during pregnancy and shortly after birth — can prevent sensitisation almost entirely, access remains limited.
Only 49 per cent of eligible mothers in the study had received the injections, far below the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 100 per cent coverage. The drug, which costs about GH₵750 per dose, is often unavailable or unaffordable, leaving many women unprotected.
Health experts, including Dr Antwi Boateng, are calling for urgent reforms: routine antenatal RBC antibody screening, enforcement of national protocols for RhD immunoprophylaxis, and inclusion of anti-D immunoglobulin in the National Health Insurance Scheme. They also recommend training healthcare providers to detect and manage maternal antibodies.
“This is a preventable tragedy,” Dr Antwi Boateng stressed, noting that every Ghanaian baby deserves the chance to be born healthy.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
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Miniser for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has revealed a major shake up at Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) following recent power outages.
In a post on Facebook, Felix Kwakye Ofosu disclosed that Minister for Energy and Green Transition, John Jinapor has asked the CEO of GRIDCo to step aside pending investigations into fire incident at Akosombo power control center.
Also, he further noted that there has been a major shake up in the leadership of the ECG in the Ashanti Region.
“At 2pm tomorrow, Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon John Jinapor, will hold a major briefing on recent developments in electricity distribution,” he concluded.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
