The Public Health Director for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mrs Florence Kuukyi, has received three awards at the prestigious 2024 African Sustainable Development Awards (ASDA), for her outstanding contributions to innovation and technology in public service.
The awards received were the African Sustainable Development Female Personality Award, the African Sustainable Public Servant Award of the Year 2024, and the overall winner of the Sustainable Development Excellence Awards.
The ASDA awards, established to celebrate and honour notable achievements across Ghana and Africa, focus on individuals and organizations addressing major continental challenges such as poverty, disease, conflict, terrorism, transnational crimes, environmental degradation, and pollution.
In her acceptance speech, Madam Kuukyi dedicated the Public Servant Award to the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Elizabeth Sackey, emphasizing the importance of female representation and leadership.
"Because she is the first female Mayor, we share common goals. Females need to dominate, and we are doing it," Madam Kuukyi stated.
The Public Health Director said despite the challenges she faced in the discharge of her duties, she remained resolute and determined by navigating through the hardships.
“Being a public servant in Ghana comes with numerous challenges. The ups and downs, the complaints, and sometimes feeling like giving up, it’s all part of the job. But today, I am honoured to see that my efforts have been recognized." She pointed.
Madam Kuukyi expressed elation at receiving the overall Best Performer Award, describing the experience as nostalgic and overwhelming.
She dedicated the award to the environmental health fraternity in Ghana, underscoring their critical role in her success.
According to her, she plans to leverage her achievements to further improve public health initiatives in Accra, indicating that she has already implemented several innovations, such as the Star Rating Public Toilet System, which allowed residents to locate the cleanest and most hygienic public toilets through an app to prevent disease and improve sanitation.
She disclosed that under her leadership, AMA introduced the Food Safety Net, a user-friendly and washable net designed to enhance food safety that has gained international attention and is set to be launched in collaboration with the USA Save the Future Agency in September.