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Tema Newtown – Potential imminent epidemic outbreak
It is unbelievable, the way people placed in authority to serve us, neglect their duties with careless abandon and turn round to blame the people they are to serve as the cause of the problem.
There are a few questions that needs urgent answers. How do you expect the pedestrian to keep the city clean when there are no trash bins along the streets?
How many people will be disciplined enough to keep a biscuit wrapper in his or her bag or pocket and dispose of it when he or she gets home? How many will willingly observe this reasonable behaviour if there are no consequences to their flouting this observance of cleanliness etiquette.
The Buzstopboys, the group of young people dedicated to bringing sanitation awareness issues to the government and people of Ghana, posted a video of the filth at Tema Newtown and it was horrible to say the least.
Aside of the fact that the area is not fit for human habitation, the people were openly defecating along the beach and another sad thing is that, fish that will eventually land on dining tables at people’s homes as part of their meals, were being dried amid this filth.
The gentleman in the video highlighting the unhygienic conditions made a very profound statement concerning lack of beds in our hospitals. He said that if we continue to live like this, a lot of people will fall sick and there will never be enough beds at the hospitals to accommodate the sick.
There is an urgent need to put in mobile toilets as a stop gap measure as authorities grapple with how to transform the Tema Newtown into a livable place. There are some people who are so used to the idea of open defecation at the beach, to the extent that even if you provide the mobile toilets, they will still not use them.
With such people, the law must deal harshly with, to serve as a deterrent to others. The punishment should not be prison term but be made to clear the beach from every trace of human excreta.
In the video, a woman was squatting at the beach together with her little girl, relieving themselves in real time despite the presence of people watching them from a distance and videoing the insanitary act as well as unlawful act.
The other thing that worried me was the fact that she was teaching her child to become a law breaker and also an environmental terrorist.
The Bible says that teach the child the way she should go and when she grows, she would not depart from it and she was teaching her wrong values, to become an environmental terrorist.
Under normal circumstances, women are very shy people and so with people watching, would not have done what she did but it tells a story of indoctrination to do the wrong thing.
Apparently, just as she was teaching her daughter, it might have been passed on from her mother so it has become a generational thing. It reminds me of a soap advert but this behaviour is of a negative generational transfer of values.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) in charge of Tema Newtown must put personnel there to guard the beach to prevent anybody from even dreaming about going there to do the unthinkable.
Mobile toilets must also be provided immediately so that residents in that enclave, will have no excuse whatsoever to engage in this despicable behaviour at the beach. The refuse that has piled up there must be dealt with as a matter of national emergency.
Otherwise should an epidemic breakout, I guess there will not be enough beds in all the hospitals in Tema combined, to take care of the sick. It is the responsibility of MCEs and District Chief Executives (DCEs) and therefore the Assemblies, to ensure that the communities under their jurisdiction are environmentally sound. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Public awareness campaigns have successfully cast breast cancer into the global spotlight, typically framed through a uniform lens of pink ribbons, early detection drives and triumphant stories of survival. While these initiatives have driven vital mammography compliance and research funding, they often perpetuate a sanitised narrative. Beneath the polished public messaging lie complex, less-discussed clinical realities and emotional burdens that patients, families and healthcare providers must navigate long after the initial medical milestones have passed.
Moving towards an honest discourse
Acknowledging these untold truths does not diminish the incredible advancements achieved in modern oncology; rather, it humanises the patient experience. Expanding our cultural understanding beyond the simplistic “warrior” trope allows for deeper institutional support, better long-term medical management and genuine empathy for the lifelong journey of survivorship.
When people see breast cancer in movies or awareness campaigns, they usually see a neat story: someone gets diagnosed, goes through treatment, rings a celebration bell and goes right back to normal.
In real life, the journey is much more complicated. Let us break down five “hidden truths” about breast cancer using everyday examples.
Truth 1: The “Post-Treatment Cliff” (Life after treatment)
What it means: Everyone thinks that once medical treatments, such as surgery or chemotherapy, are over, the patient instantly returns to their old self. In reality, that is when a whole new set of challenges begins.
The example: Imagine finishing a gruelling uphill marathon. You cross the finish line, but your legs are still shaking, you are exhausted, and everyone else goes home while you are left trying to recover. Many survivors deal with long-term side effects, such as constant tiredness, numbness in their fingers or swelling, called lymphoedema, for years.
Truth 2: Catching it early is great, but not a magic shield
What it means: Early detection saves lives, but some types of cancer are so aggressive that even a small tumour can behave like a runaway train.
The example: Think of weeds in a garden. If you spot a weed early, you can usually pull it right out. But certain aggressive “weeds” spread seeds everywhere or grow roots so fast that even finding them early does not stop them from trying to pop up somewhere else later.
Truth 3: The long, hard marathon of daily pills
What it means: For many survivors whose cancer is hormone-receptor-positive, treatment does not stop when surgery ends. They may have to take hormone-blocking pills every day for five to ten years.
The example: These daily pills act like security guards keeping the enemy away, but they can also bring troublesome side effects, such as joint stiffness, sudden hot flashes or weakened bones. Because of this, taking the medication can feel like a daily chore that reminds patients of the cancer for a decade.
Truth 4: People we forget about (Men and young adults)
What it means: Public campaigns often focus on older women. Because of this, other groups affected by breast cancer may be caught off guard.
The example: Men can develop breast cancer, too, because they are born with a small amount of breast tissue. However, because some men think it is a “women’s disease”, they may ignore an unusual lump in their chest for months, resulting in a later diagnosis. Young adults under 40 face a different shock, having to worry about fertility, having children and career interruptions right in the middle of building their lives.
Truth 5: The hidden price tag (Financial stress)
What it means: A medical diagnosis brings a heavy second burden: financial strain.
The example: Even with good health insurance, additional costs can pile up quickly, including specialised scans, genetic testing, expensive prescription drugs and taking weeks or months off work to recover. It can feel like dealing with two crises at the same time: trying to heal the body while worrying about bills.
Talking about these harder truths does not mean we should not celebrate survivors. It simply means we need to understand the real, full picture of what people go through.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
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As soon as a married man becomes infected with the he-goat mentality, he is bound to forget that he has a wife.
It is often a tragedy because he can completely lose focus and generally start misbehaving. He considers his wife a headache, at best a pain in the neck.
The man has got a new girlfriend and is excited. And when he sees his wife, he wonders what she is doing in his home. Maybe she is only a stray dog in need of shelter. And Jesus Christ, won’t she just keep out of the way?
The married man who has gone into extramarital affairs is half the time engaged in mindless fantasy. He is engrossed in devising many ways to please his newfound lover. And if the girl is explosive in bed, the fantasy could spiral into the fourth dimension.
It could be that his wife is basically an “old layer” who can no longer take him to the heavens and back. The girlfriend, however, can take him on a trip into space, meandering through the galaxy of stars, down the Milky Way. It can be an experience of a lifetime.
Normally, after such a trip, the married man will forget that he even has a home and children. He becomes a fugitive.
What he needs is deliverance. So his wife will go to the pastor and tell him that her husband has developed very strange symptoms.
First, the man is behaving practically like a he-goat, sniffing desperately after young women. Secondly, he cannot find his way back home.
The pastor is likely to diagnose the ailment on the spot. He does not need to conduct a blood test to offer a prognosis. “It is the spirit of lust,” the man of God will say. “The Lord is in control.”
Sometimes prayers are effective, and the man heads back home. For very curious reasons, he remembers that he had lost his way. So he returns to his family, wondering what might have been happening to him. So long!
Other times, prayer worsens the case. It is not that the prayers are not being answered. God has only given the lecherous bloke a long rope on his own balls. It is as if the prayers drive him further and further away from the world of reason. For as long as three years, his soul is restless. It is in bondage!
The man forgets that the young girl he has been riding will one day marry and leave him in the cold. That day will surely come.
Now, when a married man is jilted by his girlfriend, he remembers that he has a wife. He had almost forgotten that he went and wedded a woman and called her his wife.
The jilted man will lick his wounds and trace his way back home. His wife would wonder whether he had lost his way. Anyhow, she will welcome him back home.
He becomes the loving husband he once was, and his wife is amazed. What might have happened to her man? Was he struck on the way to Damascus? Or on his way back?
When the man is sober, he will decide to calculate how much he has spent on that useless girl who said she was going to get married to some equally useless cockroach.
He realises that, in the short span of sexual enjoyment and extramarital bliss, he has lost all his lifetime savings, enough to build two-storey buildings.
Last Saturday, some youths who distinguished themselves in various endeavours were awarded at an excellence awards ceremony.
The males should always have it at the back of their minds that chasing women is what brings down both the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, the lettered and the unlettered.
This article was first published on Saturday, August 26, 2006.
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