The government can no longer keep medical consultants for doing nothing, Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, Minister of Health, has said.

“We cannot continue to keep consultants on our payroll only for them to see five or 10 referred cases a week.

It’s a waste of resources,” he said while addressing the annual health summit in Accra.

The five-day summit brought together the hierarchy of the health sector and representatives of development partners to dialogue on issues affecting the health delivery system.

The Minister said while a section of health service delivery personnel was over-stretched, others were being paid for doing nothing.

“It is about time we factored productivity into the performance management scheme for our health personnel,” he said and stressed that government would no longer allow the nearly 90 percent of the allocation of funds to the health sector to be used in paying salaries and services.

He said the government would from next year review the financial strategies of the health sector to ensure that mobilized resources were effectively channeled into vital areas, particularly deprived communities to improve service delivery.

Dr Kumbuor also stressed the need to review the modus operandi of the National Health Insurance Scheme to make it more efficient towards meeting the government’s health care agenda.

“The current tango between the scheme managers and the service providers could derail the health agenda for the government if reports of malpractices that characterized the operations of the scheme are not nipped in the bud,” he said.

He noted that with proper management and drastic reduction in corrupt practices, the scheme would be in a better shape for a successful implementation of the proposed one-time premium.

The Danish Ambassador, Mr Stig Barlyng, who presented a paper on behalf of development partners, urged the government to do more so as to provide the best health care for the people.

He cited equitable access to healthcare delivery as one of the challenges adding; “But with clear focus, priority setting and increased collaboration, the ministry could meet its desired targets”.

Mr Barlyng urged the government to criticize inimical policies of the development partners.

“We have our policies attached to our funds, but if you feel it would not help meet the needs of your people you have to let us know to ensure effective utilization of the fund,” he said.



Source: The Ghanaian Times/Ghana

A study conducted in the Kumasi Metropolis of the Ashanti Region indicates the wide use of a pill, popularly known as “N” tablet, as a form emergency contraceptive among women in the metropolis.

The pill, Primolut 'N' (Noresthiesterone), a progestagin, was originally used to control abnormal vaginal bleeding and induce withdrawal of bleeding from women whose menses cease for a period of six months (Secondary Amenorrhea).

The results of the study was presented by Dr Baafuor Opoku, a Specialist Obstetrician and Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), at the ongoing International Conference on Family Planning: Research and Best Practices in Kampala, Uganda.

The conference which has the theme; 'Family Planning, Health Wealth', was organized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the John while awareness of methods of Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Uganda.

Dr Opoku said the study, titled 'Contraceptive Use among at-risk Women in Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana', revealed that social marketing groups that the 'N' tablet was sold over the 'counter and used in various dosages as a form of emergency contraceptive use
among women considered to be at risk between the ages of 18 to 35.

These included commercial sex workers and other vulnerable women such as apprentice seamstresses and hairdressers, students in hostels and female porters (Kayayee) who exchange sex for money.

In all, 1,070 women participated in the study which showed that the women take one tablet just before sexual intercourse or soon after.

Dr Opoku indicated that the drug so far not been found to have any adverse effect on the users.

It is actually a progesterone, which is also naturally produced by the human body “ so probably, the only effect it may have on the users is to alter their menstrual cycle”, he said and added that there is the need for further studies to look at other parameters such as how often the users took the drug and whether it had long-term effects.

Further studies also showed that while awareness of methods of contraception was high (96.4 per cent), usage was low. The male condom was the commonest form of contraception while none of the respondents had used the female condom before.

Dr Opoku recommended that social marketing groups involved in the promotion and distribution of contraceptives in the country step up their activities among women who are at greater risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.



Source: Daily Graphic

Dr Hajia Salamatu Ibrahim Taimako is quite famous in Tamale, the capital of Ghana's Northern Region and the award winning, herbal expert and healer has even “achieved some fame in Germany. Five years ago, the University for Development Studies (UDS) granted her an honorary doctorate degree.

For many years, Taimako's formidable family business had “carried out a great deal of research and development work in the fields of herbs and healing, in collaboration with German friends, including the GTZ (Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit).

Exactly a year ago, the old lady and her youngest daughter and manager, Faiza Ibrahim Taimako, travelled to the south of Germany.

When Salamatu Taimako was born roughly 79 years ago in Tamale, no one could have predicted her enormous success. Her mother, a birth attendant, was well-versed in the healing properties of herbs; yet healing in the comprehensive tradition going beyond the hardships of expectant women was a typical male pursuit.

Her mother also worked from morning until night as a potter and baker - her father was a, butch¬er - and Salamatu, one of her 13 children, had to help out at a very early age. School was out of the question.

At the age of eight or nine, the girl learned from her mother, plants that could offer relief from which ailments and where they could be found.

Careful observation is also one of the main strengths of Salamatu Taimako, explains Faiza Taimako, the youngest of Salamatu's six daughters and three sons.

"My mother often observes the behaviour of the farm animals for hours - she sees exactly what they are lacking and watches which plants they eat. She apparently is still learning new things all the time, even today. Sometimes, she'll come in with a plant and say, cook this, we're having it for supper tonight, and we really have no idea what it is”, laughs Faiza Taimako.

Salamatu Taimako married at about age 25. Her husband cared for orphans and his father, like Salamatu Taimako's grandfather, was a healer - so a great deal of knowledge merged together as well as the will to allow the inquisitive young woman to take part in it.

She first moved to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region with her husband. There, an entirely new aspect was added to what she knew of the healing art, but was able to practice only more or less "on the quiet."

In the Ashanti Region - unlike in the north ¬medicine was paid for with cash. She, therefore, manufactured the medicines from herbs and was lucky that her husband supported her, for example, by selling her medicine, which she was not allowed to do on her own.

In about 1967, the family returned to Tamale¬, primarily, because Salamatu Taimako wanted her children to grow up close to their grandmother. Ten years after their return, her husband passed away and Salamatu Taimako worked even harder in her healing and herbal studies.

Over the years, the industrious one-woman enterprise became a proper family business, in which her children are each involved today in their own capacity. .

One of the tasks is the growing of medicinal plants. Their natural occurrence has been decreasing so rapidly in recent years that healers either have to travel very far to collect plants or they must grow their own individual herbs. A healer without plant production, says Salamatu, does not work at all.

She herself planted mainly trees and eventually on such a grand scale that she became active with a teaching and experimental farm through a Rural Forestry Programme that is still expanding and prospering today.

As the old lady says with self-confidence "Good medicine sells itself,"but in the meantime, the family business not only sells medicines very successfully but also dries fruit, as well.

Among the countless number of plants with medicinal benefits is Salamatu’s "favourite plant", a tree: The Moringa. "It strengthens the immune system", she explains in a statement translated to this writer, "It purifies water and is called 'mother's best friend' for very good reason". "Even during the dry season, the Moringa still has green leaves"; she commends her favourite tree, which is eaten as a healthy vegetable. From root to crown, every part of the Moringa is used: Leaves, seeds, blossom. "This tree is a true benefactor!"

For a long time, Salamatu's knowl¬edge of plants and healing has been viewed by academ¬ic practitioners in a rather condescending way.

"Healing was somehow out", remembers Faiza Taimako, one of Salamatu's children who will follow in her mother's footsteps.

The neglected and gradually eradicated medicinal plants and the spread of academic medicine were a crisis for the knowledge of traditional healers.

Yet, in the meantime, things have advanced. A while ago, the traditional healers founded an association of which Salamatu Taimako is member. She has been working side by side for many years with some physicians and with no reservations on either side, as she emphasizes.

It is really not surprising, for over the years, her profound work has been acknowledged by far more than her patients. The ministries of Health and Agriculture have honoured her with medals over the years.

In awarding her an honorary Doctorate Degree five years ago, the University for Development Studies (DDS) praised her as an "eminent indigenous knowledge practitioner, environmentalist and illustrious entrepreneur". This makes her the "friend of the poor and marginalized rural population", it continues, a "role model".


Source: Daily Guide

The uncontrollable power outages and the resultant load shedding exercise that hit the country a couple of years ago have started again. City & Business Guide investigations revealed that the power cuts started about two months ago, affecting all parts of the country.

The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCO) and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) have on several occasions, dispelled suspicions of power rationing lately, explaining that the recent power outages were due to some technical hitches at the various ECG and GRIDCO sub-stations.

However, the outages are becoming a rampant feature, particularly during weekends. The investigations further indicated that the water level in the Akosombo Dam, which supplies about two-thirds of power in the country, is almost near its minimum level of 240.15ft or 73.15m.

On October 29, 2009, the water level, according to a press release issued by the Volta River Authority (VRA), was about 270.25 feet.

Also, the Aboadze Thermal Plant, which supplies about 550 megawatt (MW) of electricity, had on some occasions witnessed some maintenance work.

At Weija, Mallam, Lapaz, Taifa, Madina, Adenta and other parts of Accra, electricity goes off at anytime and returns after an eight-hour period.

Michael Ofori, a resident at Madina estate, reacting to the situation, registered his displeasure about the development, saying, “it has on most occasions, caused fire outbreaks in homes and had obstructed the smooth flow of individual businesses which depend on electricity."

Power outages have been occurring in parts of Mallam and Gbawe for days; with other surrounding areas enjoying electricity.

At the same time, Abeka Lapaz and Adenta have also been experiencing this problem.

Among the affected consumers of electricity are students, particularly in the tertiary institutions.

George Lartey, a student of one of the prominent tertiary institutions in Accra said: “We want the authorities to tell us what is happening since these outages are affecting our studies.”

“The government should come clear and tell us what is happening to our power supply systems. Our electric gadgets are being destroyed every now and then,” Mrs. Mabel Owusu of Kwabenya in North East Accra said.

Mr. Paul Mensah of Nungua also expressed his anger, indicating that “the present situation is so alarming since we do not even know when electricity would go off.

“You see, it is so bad that you cannot plan whether to iron your clothes at this time or put your electric gadgets off at this moment.”

A couple of years ago, the nation was wrecked with load shedding as the Akosombo Dam experienced low water level, forcing the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration to import emergency thermal plants to shore up electricity production.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor was able to secure a loan from China to be used for the construction of a 400MW hydro-electric dam at Bui, which would be completed in 2012 to add to the country’s energy demand.


Source: Daily Guide

A nutritionist, Mrs Irene Boate, on Thursday advised that the use of microwaves should be minimised to help reduce the rate of cancer infections.

"When the heat from the microwave that warms the food enters the body, the wave locates in the liver, breast or any part it could find and cause cancer later in life", she explained.

Mrs Boate, who was speaking at a two-day training workshop for about 60 members of the Indigenous Caterers Association of Ghana (ICAG) also known as chop bar operators, consequently advised that food could be warmed "only for a minute in the microwave" and not longer than that.

Scientists have zeroed in on one apparent key to long life: an inherited cellular repair mechanism that thwarts aging and perhaps helps prevent disease. Researches say the finding could lead to anti-aging drugs.

The study involves telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that have been likened to the plastic tips that prevent shoelaces from unraveling. Telomeres were already known to play a key role in aging, and their discovery led to this year's Nobel Prize in medicine.

The new study, which focused on Ashkenazi Jews, finds those who lived the longest had inherited a hyperactive version of an enzyme called telomerase that rebuilds telomeres.

In effect, centenarians tend to have a top-notch body mechanic at work 24/7 repairing the hardware that runs the body, versus a normal person whose body's cellular control center is left to wear out with time.

Most people know that healthy cholesterol levels can help protect your heart. But new research suggests another potential benefit: a lower risk of developing some types of cancer.

In fact, low total cholesterol is associated with about 60 percent less risk of the most aggressive form of prostate cancer, and higher levels of good cholesterol (HDL) may protect against lung, liver, and other cancers, according to two studies published this week in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

That's quite a reversal of fortune for low cholesterol, which has, in the past, been associated with a higher cancer risk. The

Tissue created in a laboratory has been used to completely replace the erectile tissue of the penis in animals.

The advance raises hopes of being able to restore full function to human penises that have been damaged by injury or disease.
Rabbits given the engineered tissue by the scientists from Wake Forest University in North Carolina had normal sexual function and produced offspring.

The study appears online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.