Story: Abdul Aziz
10/03/08
The Government has ordered fresh feasibility studies into the reactivation of the Accra Plains Irrigation Project.
Mr J. H. Mensah, the Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), speaking at the launch of the World Development Report (WDR) by the World Bank in Accra, said the project was being financed by the Government of Ghana with grants from the Kuwait Fund.
Mr Mensah, who was a member of the team that fashioned out the Seven-year Development Plan of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah in the 1960s said the irrigation of the Accra Plains was an integral part of the Akosombo hydro-power project.
He explained that the proposals to the World Bank, however, did not receive the approval of the bank subsequently, that component of the project was abandoned.
The senior minister observed that with the launching of the World Development Report with agriculture as its priority, the World Bank would give financial and technical assistance to complete the project and provide sustainable employment to farmers to help raise their standard of living.
Mr Mensah said Ghana was an agricultural country and any assistance in that sector would enable the country to feed itself and ensure food security for peasant farmers.
Mr Ernest Debrah, Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), said the government had been successful in reducing poverty by 50 per cent, far ahead of the 2015 set target.
He said this had been made possible by the allocation of about 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to agriculture and related activities such as access roads to food-growing areas and markets.
He said the next step to ensure that the growth in agriculture was sustained was to combine factors such as land, labour and technology for increased production.
Mr Debrah said the era for Ghanaian farmers and Africa was here with the arrival of biofuels which required farmers to crop.
Mr Derek Byerlee, Director in charge of WDR, who presented the report, said the report called for greater investment in agriculture in Africa and warned that the sector ought to be placed at the centre of the continent’s development agenda.
The report said the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 could only be realised by giving agriculture the required attention.
The report praised the positive story of Ghana in accelerating agricultural growth above the average for Africa, especially in cereal production and horticultural products such as pineapple and mangoes for export.
The report, however, deplored the alarming rate of deforestation (1.7 per cent) taking place in the country, which was the highest in the world.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bilharzia surveillance project for Ga West District
Story: Abdul Aziz
10/03/08
Five schoolchildren aged between 10 and 17years, who were randomly selected from 75 schoolchildren in two schools in the Ga West District and tested for bilhazia, a water-borne disease, all tested positive for the disease.
The Schistosomiasis Surveillance Project is being conducted by the Environmental Biology and Health Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The project has the objective of collecting the urine and stool samples of about150 schoolchildren and specimen from the Sunkwa and Nsaki streams in Pokuase for the project.
The first batch of 75 samples has been collected from schoolchildren in the Pokuase District Assembly Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and Pokuase Methodist Primary School.
Despite the rapid urbanisation of the Ga rural area of the Greater Accra Region which has witnessed the construction of water supply systems and boreholes, people, especially children, swim in the streams.
Mr George Tetteh Mensah, Research Scientist of the council, also attributed the prevalence of the disease to the attitude of some people who have resorted to the drinking of water from the streams because of the salty nature of water from boreholes in the area.
Mr Mensah said the disease could cause havoc if steps were not taken immediately to prevent it from spreading in the area.
The research scientist said the disease could be rated as an outbreak when 30 out of every 100 samples tested positive for the disease.
He appealed to corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to complement the efforts of the government in eradicating the disease in the country.
He said the best approaches to eradicating the disease included the administration of the drug, praziquantel to those already affected and the intensification of health education to break the cycle of the disease.
He said a new strategy had been developed to involve the communities in the research activities.
Mr Mensah said health education was, therefore, being carried out alongside the schistosomiamis surveillance project to enable the communities break the cycle of the disease and stop it from re-curring.
10/03/08
Five schoolchildren aged between 10 and 17years, who were randomly selected from 75 schoolchildren in two schools in the Ga West District and tested for bilhazia, a water-borne disease, all tested positive for the disease.
The Schistosomiasis Surveillance Project is being conducted by the Environmental Biology and Health Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The project has the objective of collecting the urine and stool samples of about150 schoolchildren and specimen from the Sunkwa and Nsaki streams in Pokuase for the project.
The first batch of 75 samples has been collected from schoolchildren in the Pokuase District Assembly Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and Pokuase Methodist Primary School.
Despite the rapid urbanisation of the Ga rural area of the Greater Accra Region which has witnessed the construction of water supply systems and boreholes, people, especially children, swim in the streams.
Mr George Tetteh Mensah, Research Scientist of the council, also attributed the prevalence of the disease to the attitude of some people who have resorted to the drinking of water from the streams because of the salty nature of water from boreholes in the area.
Mr Mensah said the disease could cause havoc if steps were not taken immediately to prevent it from spreading in the area.
The research scientist said the disease could be rated as an outbreak when 30 out of every 100 samples tested positive for the disease.
He appealed to corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to complement the efforts of the government in eradicating the disease in the country.
He said the best approaches to eradicating the disease included the administration of the drug, praziquantel to those already affected and the intensification of health education to break the cycle of the disease.
He said a new strategy had been developed to involve the communities in the research activities.
Mr Mensah said health education was, therefore, being carried out alongside the schistosomiamis surveillance project to enable the communities break the cycle of the disease and stop it from re-curring.
Bilharzia surveillance project for Ga West District
Story: Abdul Aziz
10/03/08
Five schoolchildren aged between 10 and 17years, who were randomly selected from 75 schoolchildren in two schools in the Ga West District and tested for bilhazia, a water-borne disease, all tested positive for the disease.
The Schistosomiasis Surveillance Project is being conducted by the Environmental Biology and Health Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The project has the objective of collecting the urine and stool samples of about150 schoolchildren and specimen from the Sunkwa and Nsaki streams in Pokuase for the project.
The first batch of 75 samples has been collected from schoolchildren in the Pokuase District Assembly Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and Pokuase Methodist Primary School.
Despite the rapid urbanisation of the Ga rural area of the Greater Accra Region which has witnessed the construction of water supply systems and boreholes, people, especially children, swim in the streams.
Mr George Tetteh Mensah, Research Scientist of the council, also attributed the prevalence of the disease to the attitude of some people who have resorted to the drinking of water from the streams because of the salty nature of water from boreholes in the area.
Mr Mensah said the disease could cause havoc if steps were not taken immediately to prevent it from spreading in the area.
The research scientist said the disease could be rated as an outbreak when 30 out of every 100 samples tested positive for the disease.
He appealed to corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to complement the efforts of the government in eradicating the disease in the country.
He said the best approaches to eradicating the disease included the administration of the drug, praziquantel to those already affected and the intensification of health education to break the cycle of the disease.
He said a new strategy had been developed to involve the communities in the research activities.
Mr Mensah said health education was, therefore, being carried out alongside the schistosomiamis surveillance project to enable the communities break the cycle of the disease and stop it from re-curring.
10/03/08
Five schoolchildren aged between 10 and 17years, who were randomly selected from 75 schoolchildren in two schools in the Ga West District and tested for bilhazia, a water-borne disease, all tested positive for the disease.
The Schistosomiasis Surveillance Project is being conducted by the Environmental Biology and Health Division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
The project has the objective of collecting the urine and stool samples of about150 schoolchildren and specimen from the Sunkwa and Nsaki streams in Pokuase for the project.
The first batch of 75 samples has been collected from schoolchildren in the Pokuase District Assembly Primary and Junior Secondary Schools and Pokuase Methodist Primary School.
Despite the rapid urbanisation of the Ga rural area of the Greater Accra Region which has witnessed the construction of water supply systems and boreholes, people, especially children, swim in the streams.
Mr George Tetteh Mensah, Research Scientist of the council, also attributed the prevalence of the disease to the attitude of some people who have resorted to the drinking of water from the streams because of the salty nature of water from boreholes in the area.
Mr Mensah said the disease could cause havoc if steps were not taken immediately to prevent it from spreading in the area.
The research scientist said the disease could be rated as an outbreak when 30 out of every 100 samples tested positive for the disease.
He appealed to corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to complement the efforts of the government in eradicating the disease in the country.
He said the best approaches to eradicating the disease included the administration of the drug, praziquantel to those already affected and the intensification of health education to break the cycle of the disease.
He said a new strategy had been developed to involve the communities in the research activities.
Mr Mensah said health education was, therefore, being carried out alongside the schistosomiamis surveillance project to enable the communities break the cycle of the disease and stop it from re-curring.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Project to promote agric along Volta Lake launched
Story: Abdul Aziz
March 12, 2008
A US $5.3 million project has been inaugurated at Akosombo to facilitate the ferrying of agricultural produce from 739 villages along the Volta Lake to urban centres in the country.
The Volta Lake Transportation Improvement project is designed to find a lasting solution to the acute transportation problem confronting the 739 villages along the Volta Lake to reflect the status of the area as the food basket of the country.
The $5.3 million project is being funded by the Millennium Development Authority of Ghana (MiDA) from Ghana’s $547 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programme.
At the contract signing ceremony to kick-start the project at Akosombo, Mr Edward Boateng, Chairman of the Board of MiDA, said the construction of two new ferries would augment the fleet of Volta Lake Transport Company to provide critical ferry services to farmlands and communities in the Afram Basin Zone to link Adawso on the southern shore to Ekye Amanfrom on the northern shore.
He said under the project, the floating dock at Akosombo would be rehabilitated to improve the capabilities of Ghanaians in ferry construction, repairs and maintenance through the transfer of technologies into the country.
He further said that landing stages at Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be overhauled to provide all-weather protection and adequate sanitation facilities.
Mr Boateng said works on the extraction of tree stumps from the crossing route between Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be carried out to eliminate navigational and safety hazards.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, for her part said she was excited by the project, which in the end would enable Ghanaians to build their own ferries and boats through technology transfer.
She said the new ferries would help reduce the number of hours spent to transport goods on the Volta Lake in an economical manner.
She, therefore, commended MiDA for its foresight in recommending the Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC) for such an important investment.
The Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr I. P. Azuma, said since last year the Volta Lake had not recorded any accident on the lake due to intensive patrolling to enforce maritime regulations.
He said maritime officers had been stationed in all the five major towns along the Volta Lake to check over-loading in wooden boats, which were the cause of previous accidents on the lake.
March 12, 2008
A US $5.3 million project has been inaugurated at Akosombo to facilitate the ferrying of agricultural produce from 739 villages along the Volta Lake to urban centres in the country.
The Volta Lake Transportation Improvement project is designed to find a lasting solution to the acute transportation problem confronting the 739 villages along the Volta Lake to reflect the status of the area as the food basket of the country.
The $5.3 million project is being funded by the Millennium Development Authority of Ghana (MiDA) from Ghana’s $547 million Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) programme.
At the contract signing ceremony to kick-start the project at Akosombo, Mr Edward Boateng, Chairman of the Board of MiDA, said the construction of two new ferries would augment the fleet of Volta Lake Transport Company to provide critical ferry services to farmlands and communities in the Afram Basin Zone to link Adawso on the southern shore to Ekye Amanfrom on the northern shore.
He said under the project, the floating dock at Akosombo would be rehabilitated to improve the capabilities of Ghanaians in ferry construction, repairs and maintenance through the transfer of technologies into the country.
He further said that landing stages at Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be overhauled to provide all-weather protection and adequate sanitation facilities.
Mr Boateng said works on the extraction of tree stumps from the crossing route between Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom would be carried out to eliminate navigational and safety hazards.
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, for her part said she was excited by the project, which in the end would enable Ghanaians to build their own ferries and boats through technology transfer.
She said the new ferries would help reduce the number of hours spent to transport goods on the Volta Lake in an economical manner.
She, therefore, commended MiDA for its foresight in recommending the Volta Lake Transport Company (VLTC) for such an important investment.
The Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mr I. P. Azuma, said since last year the Volta Lake had not recorded any accident on the lake due to intensive patrolling to enforce maritime regulations.
He said maritime officers had been stationed in all the five major towns along the Volta Lake to check over-loading in wooden boats, which were the cause of previous accidents on the lake.
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