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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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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
