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‘Body odour can push partners away’
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The Director at the Department of Gender in the Upper West Region, Ms Charity Bature has advised married women to maintain a healthy body and practise good personal hygiene to keep their husbands at home.
She explained that having body odour due to lack of good personal hygiene could push married men away from the home and force them to “recruit” other women to perform the duties of wives.
She maintained that it was necessary for women to take very good care of their bodies, especially during their menstrual cycle to prevent them from infections and other issues.
Ms Bature stated this at a day’s workshop orgainsed by the department for female artisans in the region on sexual and reproductive health issues.
The programme, which was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) discussed issues such as safe sex devoid of sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STIs/Ds), personal hygiene during menstruation and sex as well as gender based violence (SGBV).
She explained that sensitisation programmes organised earlier by the Department of Gender had targeted females in the formal sector to the neglect of others, therefore, the workshop at Wa was to ensure that every woman was sensitised to SGBV issues regardless of their social status.
Ms Bature advised women to bath regularly, change their sanitary pads often, wash their private parts with only water to avoid rashes and other infections and also ensure that they discarded their sanitary pads appropriately.
She expressed the need for unmarried persons to abstain from sex but advised that if they could not, then they should indulge in safe and protected sex.
The director defined safe sex as “the use of condoms to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring STI/Ds” and said the only form of contraceptive that prevented the transmission of STIs was the condom.
She indicated that STIs/Ds such as gonorrhoea, syphilis and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) could cause symptoms such as fever, sores around the mouth, anal itching, bleeding and soreness, frequent urination as well as itching or redness around the genitals.
She cautioned women against having multiple sexual partners which according to her could easily lead to the acquisition of an STI/D.
Touching on SGBV issues, Ms Bature explained that if women were adequate and self-sufficient, the likelihood of suffering abuse from men would be quite minimal and urged them to develop themselves in order to remain independent.
“When women have their own means of sustenance, they will not overly depend on a man for their every need so that when the men withhold those needs from them they are unable to function,” she said.
In light of this, the director encouraged the women to endeavour to educate their female children and give them skills training to ensure that they were gainfully employed so they would not fall victim to unscrupulous men.
Some participants who spoke to The Spectator lauded the department for the training and said it had broadened their horizon how to handle issues regarding their reproductive health and family life.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
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
