News
Queen mothers’ workshop held to build capacity on blood donation
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies has organised a day workshop for Queen mothers on blood donation in Ghana.
Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies are doing this in partnership with the Global Blood Fund, lending their expertise and support to bring key stakeholders together to create awareness on the critical importance of blood donation during the crisis.
The initiative, held at Holiday Inn Hotel last week, was aimed at building community capacity to be able to reverse 80 per cent drop in blood collections in Ghana due to COVID-19.
According to President and Chief Executive Officer of Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, Antoinette Gawin, “We laud the First Lady and Queen mothers’ efforts to develop the health infrastructure in your communities and gladly share our global experiences to help craft solutions for you. This is part of our commitment to serve in the communities in which we operate.”
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Blood Service, Ghana (NBSG) Dr Justina Ansah, CEO noted that “We are optimistic each of us has nine pints of blood, and it takes only one pint to save a life.”
She added that the campaign will reach far and wide for every healthy Ghanaian to make the decision to donate blood to save a life.
Currently, thousands of maternal women, cancer patients, children with sickle cell disease and others who need life-saving blood transfusion are at risk.
Approximately 80 per cent of blood collections in Ghana are from students in secondary and tertiary schools and donations mobilised by faith-based organisations.
However, due to the necessary response to curb the spread of COVID-19, schools have been closed and large religious gatherings reduced, leading to 80 per cent fewer blood collections recorded by the National Blood Service.
The Queen mothers of Ghana are mobilising to help the initiative, known as the Champions of Change, to create awareness on the critical importance of blood donation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The campaign will also include a social media campaign as well as other upcoming events.
The workshop delivered tools and strategies around donor recruitment and retention to support Queen mothers in their community outreach.
The goal is to help build capacity for safe, available and accessible blood for patients all over the country.
Champions of Change partners in Ghana include The Rebecca Foundation; The Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation, Institute for Research, Advocacy and Training (INSRAT), and SMART Global.
Member of Parliament for Akuapem North, Sammy Awuku, has expressed deep sorrow following the sudden passing of Isaac Batsa, the constituency secretary for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmaker issued a statement on Tuesday reacting to the news, which has shocked the local political community.
Mr.Awuku praised the late NDC secretary for his bipartisan approach to local governance.
He noted that despite their different political affiliations, Batsa consistently rose above party lines to serve the constituency with diligence.
The MP revealed that the news was particularly shocking given that he had last interacted with Batsa just three days prior on Saturday.
Concluding his statement, Sammy Awuku extended his heartfelt condolences to Batsa’s family, the constituency and regional executives, and the entire NDC fraternity, wishing the deceased peaceful eternal rest.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has petitioned the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps to intervene in what it describes as the unlawful arrest and detention of the Bono Regional Chairman of the party, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC.
Speaking during the presentation of the petition, NPP Member of Parliament, Jerry Ahmed Shaib accused the government led by John Dramani Mahama of promoting what he described as a “culture of silence.”
According to him, the continued detention of Abronye DC over a bailable offence was unacceptable and against the principles of justice.
He argued that keeping an accused person in custody until a matter is fully determined was not common practice in democratic states.
“It can only happen in a kangaroo or banana state,” he stated.
Mr. Shaib further alleged that state institutions were being influenced to intimidate political opponents.
He maintained that the criminal libel law had long been repealed in Ghana and questioned why individuals were allegedly being targeted over comments on national issues.
According to him, citizens should not be arrested simply for expressing views, including claims that power outages, popularly known as “dumsor,” had returned.
The lawmaker also accused the presiding judge in the matter of showing bias and claimed the court had failed to indicate when Abronye DC would reappear or be released.
He explained that the NPP deliberately chose a peaceful approach in presenting the petition to the diplomatic community instead of organising demonstrations.
Mr. Shaib noted that the delegation was acting on the instructions of the party leadership, including the Minority Leader, the General Secretary, the National Organiser, and former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.
He called on the diplomatic community and ambassadors in the country to engage the Ghanaian authorities and ensure that justice and human rights were upheld.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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