News
Women asked to screen regularly as cervical cancer claims more lives
●Mrs Zenabu Addo (middle) cuttingthe tape to launch the programme
Described as deadly, devastating and leaving families in misery, cervical cancer has claimed many lives in Ghana than those recorded by road accidents and maternal deaths.
Data from the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Information Centre in Ghana has revealed that about 3,151 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, and the disease is ranked the second most frequent cancers among women.
In 2019, alone, the disease claimed a total of 2,103 lives in the country.
The District Deputy Director of Nursing Services, Mrs Zenabu Addo who was speaking at the launch of this year’s Cervical Cancer Awareness Month at the Madina Polyclinic, Kekele in Accra, said Cervical Cancer was caused by a sexually transmitted virus called HPV.
The programme which was organised by the Madina Polyclinic in collaboration with the Cancer Support Network Ghana was themed, “Early Detection is Key.”
Mrs Zenabu Addo enumerated the risk factors as engaging in early sex before attaining the age of 20, smoking, having multiple sexual partners at different times and one’s family history among others.
Mr Blaise Ackom, a Cervical Cancer Ambassador in a keynote address emphasised the point that women should embrace regular screening for early detection of the disease and subsequent treatment.
He said the key preventable method was for young ladies to abstain from sex and that women should take advantage of the awareness creation month and have themselves screened at a lower cost.
He noted that there was no cure for cervical cancer anywhere apart from the hospital.
Mr Ackom warned against smoking, especially shisha which he said was more dangerous than smoking many sticks of cigarette and lamented that the rate at which the youth were smoking shisha was alarming.
He called on husbands to support their wives and female children to screen regularly and parents in general to take good care of their children so that they would not fall prey to bad behaviours in society.
He advised women to study their bodies well in order to identify abnormalities and promptly report issues of post-coital bleeding.
The Cervical Cancer Ambassador appealed to the government to include free screening of the disease in the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Ms Rosetta Ntriwaa Aboagye, a Midwife at the LekMA Polyclinic at Teshie Tsuibleoo, observed that since the cervix played essential roles in the lives of women, there was the need to cherish it and ensure that it was well maintained.
“Since this is the only cancer which is preventable, why do we wait unnecessarily without embracing the preventable means for it to destroy us,” she asked.
Ms Afwoa Mireku Ampomah, also a Cervical Cancer Ambassador, called on women to take control of their lives, boost their immune system and avail themselves of vaccination.
By Raymond Kyekye
National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Executive Committee member and Volta River Authority (VRA) Board Member, Wonder Victor Kutor, has described calls for the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as premature and unjustified.
He argued that there was no evidence to establish that the minister had committed any wrongdoing to warrant such demands.
Speaking on Joy News in Accra on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Mr Kutor questioned what had changed to justify the growing calls for the minister to step down.
He recalled that the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had earlier indicated that the opposition was not accusing Mr Ablakwa of any wrongdoing.
Mr Kutor, therefore, challenged those demanding the minister’s resignation to provide fresh evidence to support their position.
“The call for the Minister to resign is premature, it is untenable. There is no evidence. I mean, what has he done wrong?” he questioned.
He added that documents, including boarding passes, airline receipts and flight manifests relating to the minister’s return journey, had been provided.
Mr Kutor expressed concern that the calls for Mr Ablakwa’s resignation could discourage young politicians from speaking out against corruption and advocating transparency.
According to him, politicians should not be targeted or maligned for demanding accountability, warning that such treatment could create the impression that speaking against corruption could later become a liability when one is appointed to public office.
He maintained that calling for accountability and transparency should not be used as grounds to target public officials without evidence of wrongdoing.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana will host the Africa Festival of Arts, Culture and Creatives (AFESTAC) 2026 alongside Industrial Skills Week Africa (ISWA) 2026 in Accra from December 9 to 12, 2026.
On the back of these programmes, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on corporate Ghana, the media and the general public to support the initiative through partnerships, sponsorships and active participation.
The events, supported by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), will bring together stakeholders to celebrate Africa’s rich cultural heritage, strengthen the creative economy, promote industrial skills development and create employment opportunities for young people.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
