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Report unexpected adverse drug reactions to FDA or health centres – Acting E/R FDA boss
The Acting Eastern Regional Head of the Food and Drugs Authority(FDA), Madam Anita Owusu Kuffour has advised the general public to quickly report issues of unexpected adverse drug reactions to the FDA or health centres and pharmacies where the medicines were supplied.
She said reporting the adverse drug reactions would enable her outfit to assess the safety of the drug products and ensure medicinal products were registered, wholesome and meet the prescribed standards.
“The general public is advised to quickly report adverse effects of drugs that are unexpected and they can report to our offices, clinics, or can use the MED Safety app to report so that we can ensure that all products found on the market are safe for consumption,” she stated.
Madam Kuffour gave the advice during a public engagement organised in Koforidua to educate the general public on the need to report such issues and educate medicine sellers on how to properly handle medicines.
The sensitization was also aimed at enabling the FDA reach out to people in low-income levels of society who patronize such medicinal products and increase their awareness of medicine safety and improve reporting of adverse drug reactions.
Madam Kuffour revealed that over the years, her outfit had engaged in active promotion of public health and safety through effective regulation and the utilization of various communication strategies and tools to create the needed awareness among consumers about the safety of regulated products.
She said during active surveillance of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) from COVID-19 vaccines in 2021 and 2022 which was implemented with the help of Promoting Quality of Medicines Plus Programme (PQM+), they identified that most issues on AEFIs were reported under active surveillance which was costly and difficult to sustain.
She stated that improving spontaneous reporting would reduce the need for active surveillance and save limited resources, hence the need to encourage the public to report such issues at the clinics, CHPS zones, health centres and her outfit where such reporting was low.
“Some drugs products can get into trade in the country as a result of our porous borders and is the FDA’s duty to make sure products on the market are wholesome, registered and meet the prescribed standard. This will help to retrieve them from the market, hence this education,” she added.
Madam Kuffour advised importers, distributors and whole sellers to make sure that the products offered for sale have been duly registered, adding that the FDA was committed to offering help to register their products and give them the technical know-how to bring the products into law.
She also advised drug sellers to desist from selling drugs in buses and making claims about products that were not approved, and advised them to use appropriate ventures to sell or sell at designated placed. She further advised the general public to desist from buying such drugs.
For his part, a Senior Regulatory Officer at the FDA, Peter Alordji advised medicine sellers to ensure proper handling of products and see to its safety, efficacy, as well as the quality of all medicinal products.
He also charged the public to report immediately symptoms that were unexpected after taking drugs to FDA or supplier of the medicine to ensure proper regulatory action and prevent people from consuming substandard medicines.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
