Dr Doris Dartey passes on

Dr Doris Yaa Dartey, one of Ghana’s celebrated media trainer and communication specialists, has died at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.

A statement issued by her family, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Dr Dartey succumbed to complications of cancer, after a six-year battle with the disease.

Funeral arrangements, the family said, would be announced later.

Meanwhile, some journalists have received the news of the top-notch media expert with shock, sadness and tributes, across platforms.

“This is really a sad day for journalism in Ghana,” Mr Anthony Bells Kafui Kanyi, the Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association said. “Auntie Doris was such a prolific and passionate writer, a great role model and a mentor to many. May her soul rest in peace.”

A journalist of the Ghana News Agency also said: “She was my favourite professional. Dr Dartey was full of life and committed to problem solving journalism. She underlined the issues that touched and transformed the lives of the voiceless in our society”.

Another journalist described her as a “real gem in journalism – a teacher through and through, who gave her all to the country regardless of the battle that threatened her life”.

Dr Dartey, whose career in communication spanned more than two decades, was a columnist, higher education administrator, media consultant, a communications strategist and more.

She was a passionate environmentalist and committed to the cause of social inclusion.

She undertook assignments for donor-funded projects and institutions, including the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission, UNESCO, UNIFEM, GIZ, CIDA, JICA, FAO, the World Bank, STAR-Ghana, EPA, among others.

She also consulted in subject matters of the environment, sanitation, organisational assessment and corporate research.

Dr Dartey pursued her Doctorate Degree in Organizational Communication at the School of Communication, Ohio University, Athens Ohio, 1996 and obtained her Masters in International Affairs; Development Communication at the same university in 1992.