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Josephine Oppong-Yeboah calls for more attention on women’s health in Ghana
Ace broadcaster and women’s health advocate, Josephine Oppong-Yeboah, has urged the government to pay more attention to women’s health in Ghana.
She said women’s health remains a global public health concern, as the health and wealth of any society largely depend on the health and wealth of its women.
She observed that due to gender inequalities and other social factors, many women in the country are unable to access healthcare, a situation she noted, has led many to their early graves or deteriorated their health.
In an interview, Ms. Oppong-Yeboah, noted that the health of women is fundamental to socioeconomic development, pointing out that prioritising the health of women will to large extent help to better the lifespan of the general population.
She recalled that women’s health was emphasized by the fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995, and added that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) also pay special attention to women’s health.
For Ms. Oppong-Yeboah, who is also a gender advocate, gender inequality in accessing care have further been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has worsened the existing inequalities and exposed the most vulnerable to the pandemic’s increasing effects, including increased sexual and gender-based violence.
She expressed the concern that women and girls’ health have traditionally been viewed as primarily concerned with reproductive health, adding that while services for women and girls are provided, gender equality is not a priority in the delivery of public health care.
She was of the view that many available services and delivery methods do not adequately support women’s access to health care, explaining that many health interventions do not take into account the realities of women’s and girls’ mobility, time, and material resources.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
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
