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HPV vaccination campaign: UNICEF partners CSOs to reach out-of-school girls
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is partnering with six Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to reach girls aged nine to 14 who are out of school as it rolls out the HPV Vaccination Campaign.
The collaboration featuring Theatre for Social Change, Curious Minds Ghana, DAWAH Academy, Muslim Women in Teaching (MUSWIT), The Light Foundation, and Meta Foundation will mobilise communities to boost vaccine uptake among girls often missed by mainstream health initiatives.
Activities will include grassroots sensitisation, outreach, and mobilisation to close the information and access gap between in-school and out-of-school girls.
Ghana now joins more than 140 countries that have integrated the HPV vaccine into routine immunisation programmes, a key step in the fight against cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women globally.
Sub-Saharan Africa carries the highest burden, with over 70 per cent of cases detected at late stages, leading to poor treatment outcomes.
Speaking at the annual MUSWIT conference in Kumasi, UNICEF Social and Behaviour Change Specialist, Madam Charity Nikoi, stressed the need to reach out-of-school girls with the same urgency as those in school.
She urged parents and guardians to ensure eligible girls take the vaccine before exposure to the virus, noting that it is most effective at an early age.
The campaign aims to reduce cervical cancer incidence, improve women’s health outcomes, and ensure no eligible girl-whether in school or not-is left unprotected against HPV. -GNA
The Agyeman-Rawlings family on Friday April 17, 2026, visited former Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) member, General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah and his family to console him over the loss of his wife, Margaret Nunoo-Mensah, who passed away in February.
Led by Member of Parliament for Klottey Korle, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the delegation which included Ms. Yaa Asantewaa Agyeman-Rawlings and Amina Agyeman-Rawlings, in consoling the Nunoo-Mensah family said the visit was to honour the relationship that was built “before us” between the two families.
“We are here because we understand the true value of friendship and we do express our sincere condolences to the family. Relationships matter; friendship matter,” Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings said.
General Nunoo-Mensah, a former Chief of Defence Staff during the PNDC and later National Security Advisor under President John Evans Atta Mills, said it was comforting that the Agyeman-Rawlings family had visited at a time when they were also enduring the pain of losing their mother.
He recalled his special relationship with President Jerry John Rawlings and regaled the meeting with memorable times spent with the late former President.
“I am very grateful,” General Nunoo Mensah stated.
General Nunoo-Mensah was joined at the meeting by his children, Ben Nunoo-Mensah, Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, Fred Nunoo-Mensah and Amanda Nunoo-Mensah.
General Nunoo-Mensah was appointed Chief of Defence Staff by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in 1979.
He was a member of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) which took power in 1981. In 2009 he was appointed the National Security Advisor by President Atta Mills.
General Nunoo-Mensah and Margaret Nunoo-Mensah were married on August 10, 1968.
The founder of the Base Movement and former Financier of the New Patriotic Party, Dr George Oti Bonsu has cut the sod for the opening of the new movement headquartered in Accra.
The launch, held on Monday, April 20, 2026, saw multitudes of supporters gather at the Obra spot at the Kwame Nkrumah interchange, adorned in The Base Movement T-shirts and colours symbolising Ghanaian heritage.
Supporters marched in the hot sun from the Obra Spot through Caprice, Avenor and to Tesano, where the party headquarters is based.
The event also saw a good number of supporters register to be part of the movement.
During the event, leaders and sub-leaders took turns calling for an end to the duopoly of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress, advocating for the Base Movement to take over the country’s leadership.
In his opening remarks, the founder of the party, Dr George Oti Bonsu, indicated he preferres a businessman, either Ibrahim Mahama or Kennedy Agyapong, take over the reigns of the country.
He noted that as long as such individuals bring job opportunities to the youth, he would support that direction.
According to him, he has nothing to lose in life but wants to see the youth succeed in the future.
He added that The Base Movement has 98 branches across the country.
He appealed to supporters to welcome potential members rather than discard them.
He urged supporters to form as many branches as possible in their various constituencies to increase support for the movement.
He called for unity in the new movement and prayed for a good leader to lead it in the future.
The launch drew participants from the clergy, traditional leaders, academia, grassroots and many others.
By: Jacob Aggrey
