Asankrangwa (W/R) March 1, GNA- Malaria has been identified as major cause of death among the people, especially children under five years of age in the Wassa Amenfi District of the Western Region.
Mr. Emmanuel K. Tamakloe, District Director of Health Services who disclosed this to journalists at Asankrangwa at the weekend mentioned HIV/AIDS and anaemia as other causes of death.
He said 1,439 people in the district died from malaria related diseases in 2003, while a total of 6,279 representing 49 per cent of malaria cases were recorded at the local Catholic Hospital.
Mr. Tamakloe said since 1999, HIV/AIDS cases, had been on the increase in the district, and these were found mostly in blood donors. A total of 298 HIV/AIDS cases were recorded at the Asankrangwa Catholic hospital last year, he said.
Mr. Tamakloe said Tuberculosis (TB) cases are also on the increase, and added that, 107 cases were recorded in 2001 while in 2002, 114 cases were recorded in the district.
He said in order to reduce malaria cases in the district, an intensive educational campaign on "roll back malaria" had began while the use of insecticide treated mosquito nets is being encouraged among the people. He said lack of accommodation, was making it difficult for medical personnel to accept postings to the area.
Mr. Tamakloe said work on four bungalows that began in 1999 by the Public Initiated Projects (PIP) in collaboration with the district assembly, had come to a halt.
Mr. Tamakloe said the absence of a resident Doctor at the Asankrangwa Catholic Hospital, and the lack of the requisite health personnel in the district, was creating serious health problems for the administration.
"Emergency and severe cases are either referred to the Tarkwa, Takoradi or Kumasi hospitals, a situation that does not guarantee the safety of the patient".
Mr. Tamakloe therefore called on the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to post more health personnel to the district.
He stressed that lack of means of transportation was making health care delivery a very difficult task in most of the communities and called on the MOH and other health related institutions to go to the aid of the directorate.
Mr. Tamakloe said inaccessible areas in the area could only be reached by motor bicycles and called on the GHS and the donor communities to provide more motorbikes to enable the directorate to embark on outreach programmes.
Cabinet is considering a new draft Civil Aviation Bill - Kufuor
Accra, March 1, GNA - Cabinet is considering a new draft Civil Aviation Bill to separate the regulatory and air traffic services of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) from airport management. When effected, the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) and other domestic regional airstrips would operate under an autonomous airport company.
This would free the GCAA to concentrate on its core regulatory functions to ensure enhanced aviation safety and security in Ghana's Flight Information Region (FIR).
President John Agyekum Kufuor announced this when he inaugurated the Ghana Aerospace and Aeronautics Society (GAAS) in Accra on Monday. The Society, the first in West and Central Africa was born out of the first Aerospace Education Forum initiated and hosted by Boeing International Corporation in Accra in October, last year.
The main objective of GAAS is to expand and enrich the aerospace and aeronautics industry in Ghana and the West African Sub-Region by advancing technology, learning and also promoting the professionalism of those engaged in these careers.
President Kufuor said the aviation industry would thrive well in an efficient regulatory environment.
He said the liberalized aviation regime adopted by government, which was in line with current international trends, must necessarily respect the regulatory framework as proposed by the GCAA. President Kufuor, who is also Patron of the Society, commended the collaboration between the GCAA and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi to introduce a degree course in aerospace engineering.
He said the course should lead to the production of the much-needed human resource, including efficient airline administrators for both the local and regional aerospace industry.
President Kufuor suggested that future plans of the KNUST School of Engineering should include a subsidiary company to focus on aviation and aerospace research and the local manufacturing of basic aircraft parts. He expressed appreciation to foreign airlines that were contributing significantly to Ghana's economy and national development.
Regrettably, President Kufuor said the same could not be said about the national carrier, Ghana Airways that had been beset with seemingly intractable financial, technical and management problems over the past decade.
He said this had rendered the Airline's performance and contribution to the industry and economy much below expectation.
Nevertheless, President Kufuor said the Government had not stopped in its endeavour to provide the needed and necessary attention to make Ghana Airways a viable airline both in the local and international airline industry.
Captain Joe Afriyie Boachie, Director General of the GCAA and President of the Society, appealed to all airlines, industry partner organisations, professional bodies, students and individuals in the local aviation industry to join the Society.
He said they should come on board to help stir interest in the industry and raise the status of the aviation industry in Ghana. Captain Boachie said this would enable the sector to play its rightful role as one of the very important engines of growth of the national economy. 01 March 04
