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Busia Institute donates books to Wesley College of Education
Mr Ameyaw Baah(inset)
The Busia Institute for Rural and Democratic Development (BIRDD) has donated 100 copies of books of the biography of the late Prime Minister of the Wesley College of Education.
The gesture was to appreciate the decision to name the Wesley College of Education library after Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia.
The book, written by Mr Anane Agyei, Executive Director of the Institute, was forwarded by former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, and titled, ‘Dr K.A Busia: A Symbol of Democracy – Exploration of His Life and Works’.
The Institute further donated a desktop computer and 50 packs of braille sheets to the visually impaired unit of the College to enhance learning.
It was part of activities to mark the memorial event of the late Dr Busia at the Wesley College of Education last Monday.
Under the theme “Knowledge, Service and The Future”, the event was graced by the clergy, traditional leaders, academia, politicians, including Members of Parliament (MP), and a cross-section of the public.
The Executive Director of the Institute noted that 45 years of a person’s demise was relatively long enough to forget such a person, “but Busia has survived by the great legacy he left behind, continually illuminating his memory”.
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief of Nkontomponiafere, Nana Apinkra Akwasi Awuah, commended the BIRDD for championing the remarkable contributions of the late Dr Busia.
According to the Asantehene, the initiative, undertaken by the Busia Institute in partnership with Wesley College in Kumasi, “resonates deeply as we pay tribute to the enduring impact of his principles and ideals.”
The Majority Leader of Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who was the guest speaker, eulogised the late Prime Minister for his contributions to Ghana’s progress.
He observed it was sad that extreme partisanship and political polarisation had hampered the celebration of national heroes, as “attempts have been made to obliterate the contribution of many notable Ghanaians and to some extent the distortion of our history.”
To ensure Busia’s name lives on forever the MP urged the Institute to organise an academic award dubbed ‘BUSIA’, ‘Best University Student in Africa, as a way to honour the heroic feats of Dr Busia, who was a scholar.
Mr Kennedy Ameyaw Baah, Acting Principal of the College, on his part, also urged the Busia Institute to establish an endowment fund in the College in honour of him.
Dr Busia was the Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972 and the first-ever African to hold professorship on the Ghanaian soil.
From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will undertake a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination exercise in schools from October to December 2026 to protect eligible girls against cervical cancer and other HPV related diseases.
The exercise, organised in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and its partners through the School Health Education Programme (SHEP), will be conducted in two rounds.
The first round is scheduled for October 19 to 23, 2026, while the second will take place from November 30 to December 4, 2026.
In a press release dated October 19, the GHS explained that health workers would visit schools across the country to vaccinate eligible girls aged 9 to 14 who have not yet received the HPV vaccine.
The exercise forms part of efforts to raise awareness about the routine HPV vaccine, increase vaccination uptake and strengthen the country’s routine immunisation programme.
The GHS has called on school authorities, parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to cooperate with health teams to ensure the successful implementation of the exercise.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the health and well-being of Ghanaians, particularly children, through vaccination and other public health interventions.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has held high-level discussions with organisers of the 2026 Global South Academic Forum in Shanghai, seeking to draw lessons from China’s acclaimed rural revitalisation and poverty reduction drive.
The meeting, led by the Forum Chair, Professor Lu Xinyu, explored practical areas of cooperation and knowledge exchange between Ghana and China, with focus on community-driven development, fisheries and aquaculture, local governance, sports initiatives, and infrastructure development.
According to officials, the engagement is part of a broader effort by the Ghanaian government to study tested development models that can be adapted to the local context to promote inclusive growth, empower local communities, and improve livelihoods across the country.
China’s success in lifting over 800 million people out of poverty through targeted rural policies, investment in agriculture and local infrastructure has become a global reference point for developing nations.
The Vice President’s team says insights from the Forum will help inform policy direction, particularly in strengthening decentralised governance, boosting the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and investing in community-level infrastructure and youth sports development.
Professor Opoku-Agyemang is expected to continue engagements with academic and development institutions while in China.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
