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Develop national policies to enable women thrive in the field of science and innovation – Prof.Marian Nkansah
AN Associate Professor at the Chemistry Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Marian Asantewah Nkansah has called for the development of national policies to enable women to thrive in the field of science and innovation.
Such a move, Prof Asantewah explained, would help make women who were already in the field find it a safe environment and also motivate young women.
The Associate Professor made the call in an interview with the media at a Women in Innovation and Research Conference organised by Heritors Labs (HL) Limited, a renowned product development company specialised in software and research last week Friday.
The Conference formed part of HLs’ central commitment to empowering women and fostering gender equality in the research, development and innovation domain.
Held on the theme “Breaking barriers, empowering women, and driving ownership: Putting women in the care of research and innovation ecosystem”, the conference was aimed at showcasing groundbreaking ideas, facilitating networking opportunities, and promoting inclusivity.
It was organised in collaboration with the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund, with support from the United Kingdom (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).
“As a country we do not have many policies that are geared towards making women, and science and technology thrive. There are general policies on science, but women specific we do not have them.
I therefore recommend that we will have women-specific policies so that the few women who are in these spaces will find it a safe environment to thrive, and then young ones will also see the need to come in”, Prof Asantewah explained.
She further underscored the need to organise structured mentorship programmes to mentor budding women scientists, innovators and researchers with expected deliverables that could be measured.
Expressing her view on gender stereotyping regarding women in research, science, and innovation, Prof Asantewah explained that it was mostly done based on unconscious bias due to the way individuals were brought up.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HL Limited, Mr Derrydean Dadzie who bemoaned the low number of women researchers in Ghana which stood at 26.1 percent according to a report by UNESCO in 2021 noted that the lack of partnerships was one of the reasons the works of women were not recognised.
He therefore called for investment in women, and a deliberate attempt to ensure scientific output that were led by women were given the needed boost in terms of, especially, financial support and policies.
The Conference was attended by women researchers in academia, from various institutes of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI).
HL Limited had been at the forefront of advancing research, development, and innovation (RD&I) in Ghana since 2022, and had launched a series of events and initiatives aimed at overcoming challenges and fostering development
Caption: Prof Asantewah speaking at the conference
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
