News
Queen mother leads mobilisation in UWR
Queen mother (right) comissions healthcare facility in UWR
With support from USAID Office of Transitions Initiative (USAID/OTI), the Queen mother of Duong in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region, Pognaa Rosemary Bangzie on Thursday commissioned and handed over a facility to the Duong community to support healthcare delivery.
The facility comprised two-bedroom nurses’ apartment, adolescent health centre with consulting room, a store room and washrooms which were constructed with 80 percent of support from USAID/OTI and 20 percent support from the community and other benevolent individuals
She indicated that due to the problem, the delivery room at the only Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound in the community was converted into accommodation for a live-in midwife to enable her attend to emergency cases, especially at night.
She said the issue of staff accommodation came up at community meetings in January and she decided to take up the initiative of mobilising the community members and lobbying other benevolent individuals for support.
“I came out with the anthem “one bag of cement from every Duongbie” (natives of Duong) residing or outside the community strategy to start this project and was surprised to get more than 130 bags of cement in less than one week of appeal”, she stated.
She noted however that when the building was raised to lentil, there was no hope of getting support to complete the project until she met the USAID/OTI team and presented her proposal to them for assistance.
“Duong Community will forever remember the USAID/ OTI team for the great support; the total contribution of USAID/OTI to this project amounted to GH¢360,000.00 which is about 80 percent of the total cost of the entire project”, she highlighted.
As the Regional Focal Person for Adolescent Health, the Queen mother said her passion for adolescent health and girl-child empowerment led her to include an Adolescent Health Centre to provide privacy to teenagers seeking reproductive health services and guidance.
“As the saying goes “charity begins at home”, I want to start in my traditional area to help reduce teenage pregnancies by providing a platform for young people to seek education, counselling and the needed information for a healthy life”, she said.
Pognaa Bangzie appealed for additional support to furnish the facility, provide a kitchen and to also renovate the CHPS compound.
She reiterated her resolve to continue working with the community to lobby for support to help develop the community and also charged the nurses and community to take good care of the facility.
The handing over ceremony was attended by the Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, representatives from USAID/ OTI and some traditional authorities.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Duong
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
