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Hundreds turn out for breast screening at Kaneshie Market Complex
• Mr Martin Adu-Owusu (middle) with the dignitaries at the launch
About 500 women at the Kaneshie Market Complex, who were screened on Thursday and Friday as part of The Spectator Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, have been advised to continue treating their breasts with outmost care, even after the campaigns for the month of October are over.
According to Mrs. Gloria Owusu, the Group Administrator of The Community Hospitals Group, the breast remained an important asset for women, babies and men as well, hence the need for it to be “preserved very well.”
She said it was important for traders to take time off their busy schedules and avail themselves of regular medical checkup, including the early detection of breast cancer.
She stressed that late diagnosis of the disease could produce more adverse effects, therefore, women should take advantage of free screening opportunities where health professionals could examine them thoroughly.
“The irony of breast cancer is that people are afraid to check because they think the disease is so deadly that they do not want to come anywhere close to it. But we forget that what we may go through eventually when it is detected late is worse than we can imagine.
“Women can go about their trading activities and still squeeze sometime for medical chech up and give prompt attention to their health needs and avoid delays which have always ended up in medical fatalities,” she noted.
The Spectator Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, themed: “Life Before and After Breast Cancer: A Future of Positivity and Hope,” formed part of the effort by The New Times Corporation and its partners to help reduce the devastating effects of the disease.
As partners of the campaign, Mrs. Gloria Owusu said The Community Hospitals Group had dedicated the month of October to free breast screening as well as other obstetrics and gynaecological check-up for women.
“We have positioned ourselves as gentle giants in the health industry that is why we find it fulfilling to partner the New Times Corporation and other stakeholders on this progressive mission,” she said.
Mrs. Owusu further urged women to take their health needs seriously and remain active while going about their businesses.
Some traders who spoke to The Spectator praised stakeholders for the initiative and promised to take the message of regular breast screening seriously.
Madam Lucy Awuku said women should not shy aware from seeking medical help breast cancer, which did not have any spiritual connotations. Madam Florence Quartey also said she would continue to do the screening regularly, although she had not been diagonesed with the disease while Madam Comfort Osei Amoafo commended organisers for the initiative.
By Ernest Nutsugah
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disbursed GHS134,000 to 22 students under the latest round of his Scholarship and Bursaries Programme.
According to a statement from his office, the 22 beneficiaries are enrolled in 16 tertiary institutions across the country.
They are studying various courses, including medicine, marketing, law, public health, midwifery, business administration, education, and secretaryship.
The MP’s office commended the beneficiaries, especially the five students currently studying medicine and physician assistantship, encouraging them to remain committed to their studies.
The statement indicated that the scholarship initiative, which began in 2017, aims to support brilliant but needy students from the Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency to further their education. So far, about 700 students have benefited from the program.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Four tricycle operators, popularly known as ‘Pragya’, have been prosecuted and fined GH¢600 each equivalent to 50 penalty units by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for obstructing public roads at the Agbogbloshie Market.
The offenders, who were arrested by Public Health Officers of the AMA during a routine enforcement exercise, pleaded guilty to the offence and were subsequently convicted by the court.
The four operators were among the 21 offenders recently arrested at the Agbogbloshie Market for various sanitation and public order violations, including selling on open drains, obstructing walkways, and trading at unauthorised locations.
Speaking after the court proceedings, the Head of Public Health at the AMA, Madam Florence Kuukyi, said the court was lenient with the offenders since it was their first appearance, hence the fine, and warned that subsequent offenders would face stiffer penalties, including imprisonment.
