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AMA organises economic empowerment summit women in informal sector
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has organized an economic empowerment summit for women in the informal sector in the metropolis.
The summit which was organised by the AMA in collaboration with Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO), United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Glitz Africa sought to among other things equip the women mostly street vendors, market traders, waste pickers, with the knowledge to enhance their skills and entrepreneurship abilities as well as improve their financial status and overall well-being.
The attendees numbering about 500 were taken through topics including the impact of COVID-19 on the informal economy and strategies to build resilience, starting a business, partnerships in women’s economic empowerment, financial literacy, and women’s health among others.
Speakers at the summit included the Mayor of Accra, Hon Elisabeth K.T Sackey; Founder of Nyonyo Essentials, Mrs. Chichi Yakubu; Founder of Glitz Africa and UNFPA Ambassador, Mrs. Claudia Lumor; Branch Manager, UBA, Ms. Josephine Amo-Asare; Metro Health Director: Dr Abena Okoh.
Mayor of Accra, Hon Elizabeth K.T Sackey in a keynote address said the experience had shown that improving women’s economic opportunities and access to productive resources impacted their overall social status and societies emphasizing that “Women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion have been recognized as key to achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.”
She said despite several women-owned businesses and institutions, a significant number of them are still unemployed whiles others also suffer from financial and business challenges.
She mentioned that the AMA through its social welfare department had rolled out several interventions to improve the well-being of women and the vulnerable in communities.
She disclosed that the Assembly was working with Wiego, a global network dedicated to improving the working conditions of the working poor especially women in the informal economy to “revamp and renovate some Day Care Centers in the markets,” the Mayors Migration Council to “effectively integrate informal waste pickers including women into the Waste Management system in the Assembly” and support them with resources and training as well as “registering women on the National Health Insurance Scheme to ensure equal access to healthcare.”
Metro Director of Health, Dr Abena Okoh, in her presentation enlightened the women on their general well-being, reproductive health, family planning, and sexually transmitted diseases.
She said the drugs women take predispose them to hypertension and diabetes.
“The rate of hypertension and diabetes among women in the metropolis were on the increase based on studies from 2013-2022 and this could be due to the drugs women take which leads to hormonal changes, ” she said.
She used the opportunity to encourage women to frequently visit health facilities in the metropolis and beyond to be screened.
Mrs Josephine Amo-Asare of the UBA Bank who took the women through financial literacy, noted that cash flow and control management were essential to the survival and expansion of businesses.
She urged the women to ask for help from experts while showing high integrity that would help their businesses to grow and support others too.
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
