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AMA organises economic empowerment summit women in informal sector
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.
The Dzidula Pink Foundation, a new organisation dedicated to cancer awareness, early detection, and patient support, has been officially launched in Accra, with a passionate call for national commitment to fighting the disease. The launch event, held last week Friday, carried the theme: “Beyond the diagnosis: A future of restoration, care and courage.”
Speaking at the event, Madam Abena Brigidi, founder and CEO of Nimed Capital Limited, emphasised that cancer remains one of the most devastating health challenges facing families across the country. “Cancer does not discriminate—it affects mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons. It drains families emotionally and financially, and behind every statistic is a human story and a future suddenly thrown into uncertainty,” she said.
Sharing her personal encounters with cancer, having lost both her husband and father to the disease, Madam Brigidi highlighted the emotional, financial, and physical scars left behind. “I stand here not just as a speaker, but as a witness to what cancer can take away,” she stated. “I have watched loved ones fight bravely, and I have felt the deep pain that loss leaves behind.”
She stressed that awareness and early detection are critical to reducing deaths, noting that many Ghanaians still lack access to proper screening, reliable information, and adequate treatment. She appealed to healthcare professionals, corporate institutions, policymakers, the media, and the general public to join hands in the fight. “Early detection saves lives. Your support today can lead to someone’s healing tomorrow,” she said.
Madam Brigidi further called for collective responsibility to sustain the foundation’s mission. “To our medical professionals, we need your expertise. To corporate partners, your resources. To the media, your voice. To policymakers, your support. And to the public, your compassion,” she urged. She also insisted that breast cancer awareness should not be limited to annual campaigns, saying, “Breast cancer awareness must not be seasonal.”
Mrs Diana Fafa Gozo, founder of the Dzidula Pink Foundation, shared her own cancer journey, describing the shock of diagnosis, the fear that followed, and the difficult path through treatment. Her experience transformed her pain into purpose and inspired her to create a foundation to ensure no cancer patient walks alone.
Mrs Gozo explained that many patients struggle not only with treatment costs but also with emotional resilience. She outlined the foundation’s initiatives, which include awareness and early detection campaigns, patient support funds, community outreach, and survival support circles. “This foundation is my offering of gratitude, courage, and compassion and a reminder that no one should walk the cancer journey alone,” she concluded.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
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The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) says it will deploy teams of Public Health Officers, members of its Sanitation Taskforce, and labourers, including sweepers and janitors, across all sub-metros to support the third National Sanitation Day exercise.
It explained that these teams will be equipped with waste collection trucks, tippers, and other tools to help with desilting, refuse collection, and transporting waste to approved disposal sites.
The AMA reminded residents that failing to comply with the sanitation directive or refusing to participate in communal labour is an offence.
It said offenders risk a fine of up to 100 penalty units, imprisonment between 30 days and six months, or both, with repeat offenders liable to additional daily penalties.
It urged all residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants, and businesses to actively participate in the exercise.
The AMA said it counts on everyone’s collective responsibility to keep Accra clean, liveable, and resilient, especially as the city approaches Christmas and the New Year.
By: Jacob Aggrey
