Ghana: Press spotlights government’s commitment to climate action, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The declaration by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, to the global community that Ghana remains committed to providing leadership for nature-based climate action is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Turesday.
The Graphic reports that the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has assured the global community that Ghana remains committed to providing leadership for nature-based climate action.
Mr Jinapor, who is a Co-Chair of the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP), stressed that the debilitating impact of the climate crisis was cross-cutting and required collective action from all countries to overcome.
“And this is why Ghana is ready to partner with other nations, both north and south, to promote nature-based climate action,” he said.
Mr Jinapor stated this at the launch of the FCLP working group on Strengthening Supply and Demand of High-integrity Forest Carbon Credits at the maiden Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi, Kenya yesterday.
The one-week event dubbed, Africa Climate Week (ACW), is one of four regional climate summits being held ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It is a build-up to the continent’s participation in COP 28 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December, this year.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and 18 other African heads of state and leaders have converged on the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for the ACS.
Aside from the African leaders, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and the President of the European Union Commission, Ursla Von der Leyen, are participating in the one-week summit.
The Ghanaian Times says that the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed an MoU with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Trade Centre to promote the TRA¬DAR Club solution in the market.
The Cooperation Agreement, signed between the two institutions on the sidelines of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) press conference and B2B meetings in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), provides for the two institutions to commence harmonisation of their efforts in various areas of collaboration to support the TRADAR Club objectives.
The agreement was signed by Ms Lizanne Case, Head of Trade Intelligence Solutions on behalf of Afreximbank, while Mr Walid Hareb AlFalahi, Chief Executive of the UAE Trade Centre, signed for his organisation.
A statement issued by the Bank on Friday said the Afreximbank TRADAR Club, launched recently as a prestigious member-driven network, empowers international businesses and executives to transform trade and investments in Africa through trusted trade intelligence and advisory services.
“It delivers innovative digital tools and networking opportunities, helping its members to discover new markets, grow their businesses, save time, access dedicated expert support, post and respond to new business opportunities, network, meet business/trading partners, and more,” it said.
To propagate the solution in the market, the statement said Afreximbank was establishing strong relationships with a wide variety of partners.
Under the terms of the cooperation agreement with the UAE Trade Centre, the statement said the two institutions would collaborate in such areas as inter-institutional cooperation, provision of business-oriented information to facilitate trade and investment, business matchmaking, grants, technical assistance, and capacity building, among others.
The agreement is expected to facilitate greater interaction by allowing for the sharing of ideas and discussion of common problems for the purpose of improving relationships and cooperation among members.
The newspaper reports that Vodafone Ghana has unveiled its ‘Grow Western 2023 initiative’, a comprehensive programme tailored for the Western Region.
With this initiative, Vodafone hopes to incentivise customers, improve health care, increase tech knowledge, and foster community growth.
“Grow Western illustrates our commitment to the Western Region’s growth and prosperity. We believe in the power of community, and we aim to contribute meaningfully to customer loyalty, health care and education,” Mr David Umoh, Consumer Business Director, Vodafone Ghana, said in a statement issued in Accra yesterday.
Central to the initiative, he said, was Vodafone’s dedication to rewarding loyalty, adding that the telecom company was organising events to honour their customers and partners in the area.
In addition to this, he said, Vodafone was also intensifying its commercial efforts in the region through Merchant Storms, sales events, and a strategic partnership with the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), enabling drivers to purchase fuel using Vodafone Cash.
The Vodafone Ghana Foundation will lead several health programmes under its Connected Health pillar.
‘Homecoming’ will settle hospital bills and offer free National Health Insurance cards to insolvent patients.
‘Rural Ultrasound Scan’ will help expectant mothers in remote areas to get prenatal care on time, reducing maternal mortality. ‘Healthfest’ will offer free medical screenings to prevent and detect health problems early on.
The Foundation’s Connected Education programme will bring STEM activities to primary schools to improve learning outcomes and bridge the technology gap. This endeavour is geared towards fostering a tech-savvy generation ready to face the challenges of the modern world.
Vodafone’s Retail Transformation project, which has seen the establishment of Vodafone Community Shops nationwide, is also ongoing in the region.
The Ghanaian Times also reports that a network of pharmacists dedicated to promoting the mental well-being of Ghanaians was launched in Accra yesterday.
The “Pharmacists in Mental Health Ghana” (PMHGh), would serve as a psychiatric special interest group platform dedicated to advancing mental health through safe and evidence-based therapies.
It is expected to promote community-based mental healthcare delivery in line with Ghana’s Mental Health Act, 2012.
Speaking at the launch, the Chief Executive of the Mental Health Authority (MHA), Professor Pinaman Appau, said her outfit has the goal of driving mental healthcare within the country’s universal health coverage (UHC) targets.
A key challenge to this goal however, she said, was access to consistent and sustainable supply of psychotropics for mental health patients.
“For the past two months, my team and I have been within the communities encouraging our pharmacists to be more interested in our psychotropic drugs and I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised to hear that there has already been a directive for all pharmacists to keep psychotropic in the pharmacies,” she said.
Prof. Appau said the establishment of the network was timely to partner with the MHA to improve service delivery and community integration of mental wellness.
“Mental healthcare must be accessible, comprehensive, dignified and promote integrated care that addresses not only the clinical needs of the populace but their holistic well-being,” she stated.
GIK/APA