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‘Rebecca Foundation committed to partnering Merck Foundation for change’
Bouquet for First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo as she arrives in Dubai to participate in the 9th Africa
Asia Luminary on Tuesday. She was welcomed on arrival by the CEO of the Merck Foundation, Senator Dr.
Rasha Kelej.
The First Lady of Ghana, Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo, has assured Merck Foundation of her continuous commitment in her quest to change the status quo.
According to the First Lady, her Rebecca Foundation is committed to working together with Merck Foundation to make a difference in the lives of the people of Ghana.
Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo made this pledge during her address at the inaugural session of the 9th edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary held on Tuesday, November 16 at Hilton Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
She expressed appreciation to the gathering for their support and solidarity for making the 6th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary hosted in Accra, Ghana in 2019 a success.
The First Lady of Ghana said the country’s partnership was launched in January 2019 and has since been a productive collaboration not only for her office but for society in general.
Mrs Akufo-Addo said growing up, she saw a gross injustice of women being tagged as infertile.
According to her, Merck Foundation’s support for infertility and other conditions in Ghana has been immense, adding that as a result, about 110 public sector healthcare providers have received specialists training.
This, she said, has resulted in improving equitable and quality healthcare solutions and praised the awards event which has so far rewarded about 100 Ghanaian journalists and musicians.
Mrs Akufo-Addo further noted that her Foundation and Merck Foundation would continue to inspire girl education through the ‘Educating Linda’ initiative among other initiatives.
According to her, through this initiative about 20 highly performing but underprivileged girls have received scholarships with about 3,000 sets of schools supplies distributed to schools in Ghana and looking forward to launch additional five books to support the effort.
Mrs Akufo-Addo lauded Merck Foundation for its decision to support her “Because I want to be” mentor Initiative, which encourages girls to stay in school and support dropouts with skills training.
She established the Rebecca Foundation in 2017, with a focus on the wellbeing of Ghanaian women and children in the areas of education, health and women’s economic empowerment.
The Rebecca Foundation continues to be a major partner to the Ministry of Health in the provision of services to Ghanaians especially women and children.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme, Dubai
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
