Ghana: Press spotlights plans by Ghana to produce anti-snake venom locally, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that Ghana is set to produce anti-snake venom locally to save the lives of people who are bitten by snakes, sometimes leading to deaths due to the lack of life-saving Serums is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The country is set to produce anti-snake venom locally to save the lives of people who are bitten by snakes, sometimes leading to deaths due to the lack of life- saving Serums.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Atlantic Lifesciences, a Ghanaian company, and Vins Bioproducts, an Indian company to actualise the local production.
The bulk Snake Vernom Antiserum arrived in Ghana last Friday. This would make Ghana the first country in West Africa to produce and package anti-snake venom for local use and export.
This forms part of government’s objective to make Ghana the hub of vaccines manufacturing on the continent.
The Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Lifesciences, Dhananjay Tripathi, said the WHO considered snake bite as a neglected tropical disease that plagued the rural communities.
The Ghanaian Times says that that the World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Pierre Laporte, yesterday commended the government’s efforts to promote simplified sewerage systems within low-in¬come urban communities in the country
He said in addition to providing households and institutional toilet facilities as well as extension of piped water connections to low-income households, the government had demonstrated its commitment in bridging the infrastructural gap identified as one of the major challenges plaguing the sanitation and water resources sector.
He made the commendation during a familiarisation tour of the Ashaiman Simplified Sewerage Facility and Treatment Plant recently inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, the project formed part of the World Bank’s numerous interventions which cuts across education, infrastructure, water and sewerage which it had been funding for many years.
After the tour of the facility with his team, Mr Laporte expressed satisfaction at the success of the project, having served its purpose of impacting the poor and other areas where such facility is needed.
The Project Coordinator of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) sanitation project, George Asiedu, said the inspection and satisfaction of Mr Laporte was an indication of the success of the project which set the tone for future negotiations with the World Bank for other projects.
Touching on the proposed facility oper¬ation and management model, Mr Asiedu, said the intention was for the government to absorb the investment cost while the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly in partnership with a selected private operator, took care of the daily operations and management of the plant.
The newspaper reports that the Ministry of Works and Housing is exploring partnerships with its counterpart from South Africa to provide affordable and sustainable human settlement systems to enhance national development.
According to the Minster of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye, the collaboration was one of the key strategies being pursued by the government to enhance Ghana’s affordable housing plans and community development.
As a country known for massive investments in social housing projects, he said, South Africa was an ideal partner for Ghana to tap its rich experiences and knowledge in the area of affordable housing and institutional development.
He was speaking in Accra yesterday when the South African Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, led a delegation to call on him.
The team, which includes both public and private stakeholders in the housing sector, are in the country for a five-day visit to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a “Letter of Intent” by both countries to work together in developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to guide areas of partnerships and cooperation, especially in the housing sector.
Alberta Siaw Kwarko, Director of General Administration, Minis¬try of Works and Housing, signed on behalf of Ghana, while Ngaka Dumalisile, acting Director-General of Ministry of Human Settlements, signed for South Africa.
One of the key priorities for the partnership, Mr Asenso-Boakye noted, was the upgrading of slums and the improvement in informal settlements as well as the lives of those who inhabit them.
The partnership with South Africa, would form the basis for exploring collaborations, particularly in enhancing the institutional framework for the delivery of affordable housing in both countries.
“This partnership showcases our dedication to finding comprehensive solutions to housing and human settlement challenges. The partnership helps to elevate the discussions and collaborations to a higher level, with the primary aim of achieving our common goals,” he said.
The Ghanaian Times also says that Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has broken grounds for the commencement of infrastructural works on a 150 million US Dollars investment Project for 48 districts in six regions under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project.
The project comes as a proactive response to the surging spillover of fragility, conflict, and violence from the Sahel to the northern border regions with the objective to improve regional collaboration and the socioeconomic and climate change resilience of border zone communities in the target northern regions of the Gulf of Guinea countries exposed to conflict and climate risks.
The project interventions will contribute to the prevention of the spread of conflict from the Sahel region, reduce vulnerability to climate change, strengthen local institutions, improve economic opportunities, build public trust, and strengthen regional dialogue across the Gulf of Guinea countries (Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Togo)
In brief rem arks at the ceremony held at Yendi on Wednesday, 25th October 2023, Dr. Bawumia reiterated government’s commitment to safeguarding an improved welfare of all persons in the country and more importantly people living within communities that are likely to be exposed to fragilities that threatens their sustainable socioeconomic growth and development.
“The SOCO project is a timely investment from the Government of Ghana (GoG), and it is expected to deliver socio-economic community-level climate-resilient infrastructure, skills development and training of the youth and women including the vulnerable” he stressed.
These projects, Dr. Bawumia noted, included provision of water, construction of school buildings, health facilities, construction of markets, earth dams and other critical physical infrastructure and has currently created jobs for 434 Community Facilitators (CFs) and other Specialists.
He added that the project would also improve access to basic social and economic services, promote local economic development, gender equality, and improve environmental management when the projects are executed efficiently and effectively.
“I am extremely excited to be part of this historic and symbolic sod cutting of 15 physical projects within the Yendi Municipality to pave way for the construction of all the 582 projects under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project to enhance the resilience of our cities, communities and the country at large for sustainable development,” he stated.
GIK/APA