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The Spectator to cover 9th Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary in Dubai
Aerial view of African First Ladies who attended the Merck Foundation
First Ladies Initiative (MFFLI) Summit in 2019
Our Online Editor, Edem Mensah-Tsotorme, will depart Accra tomorrow evening for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, to cover the 9th edition of Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary which begins on Tuesday, November, 15 to Wednesday, November 16, 2022.
The inauguration session will see more than 16 African First Ladies as Guests of Honour, including Ghana’s First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
This session would take a critical look at the strategies and impact of Merck Foundation Partnership programmes in building healthcare capacity and their role to break infertility stigma and support girl education as Ambassador of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother” and “Educating Linda” programmes followed by the questions and answers.
It would be followed by Merck Foundation Health Media Training on November 16, 2022, simultaneously with the scientific sessions.
Also, there would be the Merck Foundation Health Media Training as part of the Foundation’s “More than a Mother” Community Awareness Programme to be addressed by medical and media experts to emphasise the important role that media plays to influence the society to create a cultural shift with the aim to break infertility stigma, support girl education, stop gender-based violence, end child marriage, end female genital mutilation, and women empowerment at all levels.
It will also highlight the importance of increasing the awareness of early detection and prevention of diabetes and hypertension.
More than 6,000 healthcare providers, policy makers, academia, researchers and health media from Sub- Saharan Africa, more than 70 English, French, Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries will attend the two-day conference to benefit from valuable educational and social development sessions by top international experts in various fields.
Countries participating are Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Cambodia, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guinea – Bissau, Guinea – Conakry, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, UK, UAE, Russia and Mexico among others.
Merck Foundation, established in 2017, is the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA, Germany that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people to advance their lives through science and technology.
By Spectator Reporter
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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
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
