THE Upper West Regional Second Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Hafiz Bin Salih, has called on Ghanaians to reject the National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the 2012 general elections.
That, he said, was because the NDC government lacked ideas, resulting in the decisions of the government telling negatively on Ghanaians after two years in power.
Mr Bin Salih mentioned the increase in petroleum prices and the promise by the then candidate Mills to put money in people’s pockets when the NDC won power as some of the promises made during the 2008 campaign which had not been fulfilled.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Wa in the Upper West Region, Mr Bin Salih said even if there was a change at all, that change had been for the worse, adding that “I anticipate a gloomy year for the country in spite of the fact that they have declared this year an action year.”
On education, he said two years after coming into office, the NDC government was yet to meet the infrastructure needs, particularly in the two premier tertiary institutions in the Upper West Region.
“We are yet to see any new infrastructure at the Wa campus of UDS and also the Wa Polytechnic. This situation, coupled with an increase in admissions in these schools, is really over-stretching the existing facilities thereby bringing lots of hardships to students,” he stressed.
Mr Bin Salih said in addition, many of the six-unit classroom blocks under construction for senior high schools across the country to house form one students were also yet to be completed.
That situation, he said, had led to many first year senior high school students still attending classes in dining halls, libraries and in laboratories.
Mr Bin Salih said instead of coming out with a policy direction to move the country towards the direction of prosperity and improvement in the lives of the people, the government was rather running down programmes introduced by the former government.
He noted that the NPP was very focused and that its Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo Addo, would not leave any stone unturned, come the 2012 presidential elections, saying the NPP would expose the lapses of the NDC as well as make Ghanaians aware of its failures.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
NCCE DIRECTOR CAUTIONS DCES (PAGE 12, JAN 11, 2011)
THE Upper West Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Ben N. Banye, has cautioned District Chief Executives (DCE’s) to learn to stay and work in their respective districts.
He noted that the practice where DCE’s were always loitering in the regional capitals must be discouraged so that people at the grass roots would appreciate their roles as representatives of government at the local level.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Wa, Mr Banye said such attitudes by some DCE’s held back efforts to widen the scope and entrenched governance in rural communities.
He said people were presently wide awake and were constantly monitoring the performance of their political leaders, adding that leaders whose stewardship would be deemed unsatisfactory would be rejected when it was time for politics.
He further encouraged people at the grass roots to honour their tax obligations because it complemented other sources of funds used for the development of the respective areas.
“Present-day electorates are not ignorant anymore as it used to be and so I expect politicians to sit up, stop playing on the conscience of electorates and give proper meaning to democracy,” Mr Banye advised.
Commenting on the relations between members of opposing political parties, the NCCE director said there was the need for politicians to recognise one another as their brothers’ keeper.
He said playing politics as if they were at one another’s throat was detrimental to the unity and peace in the society and the entire country.
Sharing his views on the recently held district level and unit committee elections, Mr Banye said the high turnout in rural communities was a manifestation that rural people had come to appreciate the local governance system as compared to the urban areas.
However, he attributed the interest in the elections in some rural areas to the politicisation of the system by certain politicians and advised that the practice must be discouraged.
“I think that the issue of giving assembly members and unit committee members some remuneration must be revisited because it would really entice and motivate people to play very active roles under the local governance system,” he emphasised.
The NCCE director was also happy that the Electoral Commission (EC) involved its outfit in educating the electorate during the assembly elections and said there was the need for all stakeholders to team up to ensure the success of such national exercises.
He noted that the practice where DCE’s were always loitering in the regional capitals must be discouraged so that people at the grass roots would appreciate their roles as representatives of government at the local level.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Wa, Mr Banye said such attitudes by some DCE’s held back efforts to widen the scope and entrenched governance in rural communities.
He said people were presently wide awake and were constantly monitoring the performance of their political leaders, adding that leaders whose stewardship would be deemed unsatisfactory would be rejected when it was time for politics.
He further encouraged people at the grass roots to honour their tax obligations because it complemented other sources of funds used for the development of the respective areas.
“Present-day electorates are not ignorant anymore as it used to be and so I expect politicians to sit up, stop playing on the conscience of electorates and give proper meaning to democracy,” Mr Banye advised.
Commenting on the relations between members of opposing political parties, the NCCE director said there was the need for politicians to recognise one another as their brothers’ keeper.
He said playing politics as if they were at one another’s throat was detrimental to the unity and peace in the society and the entire country.
Sharing his views on the recently held district level and unit committee elections, Mr Banye said the high turnout in rural communities was a manifestation that rural people had come to appreciate the local governance system as compared to the urban areas.
However, he attributed the interest in the elections in some rural areas to the politicisation of the system by certain politicians and advised that the practice must be discouraged.
“I think that the issue of giving assembly members and unit committee members some remuneration must be revisited because it would really entice and motivate people to play very active roles under the local governance system,” he emphasised.
The NCCE director was also happy that the Electoral Commission (EC) involved its outfit in educating the electorate during the assembly elections and said there was the need for all stakeholders to team up to ensure the success of such national exercises.
Monday, January 10, 2011
KOTOKO BACK TO WINNING WAYS (BACK PAGE, JAN 10, 2011)
A rejuvenated Kumasi Asante Kotoko side yesterday defeated Wa All Stars 2-0 at the Wa , thanks to a brace by former All Stars marksman, Nathaniel Amoah, in the 30th and the 88th minutes.
Parading three former players of their opponents — Asamoah, Sabato Mohammed and Fatau Mohammed — Kotoko matched the home side in all departments of the game right from the blast of FIFA referee Mercy Tagoe’s whistle, and the visitors’ effort paid off in the 30th minute when Mohammed took on two All Stars defenders and laid a pass for Asamoah to shoot past onrushing All Stars goalkeeper Robert Dabuo to break the deadlock.
The stadium went dead silent after the opening goal but All Stars coach Maxwell Konadu reorganised his team and they subsequently pinned Kotoko to their own half to end of the first session.
After recess, All Stars continuing with their onslaught, reduced Kotoko’s midfield efficiency but lanky Awal Mohammed was unyielding in the heart of the Kotoko defence to thwart efforts by the home side.
Such was the trend until the 88th minute when a counter-attack by Kotoko saw midfielder Daniel Nii Adjei rounding up goalkeeper Livingstone Logoh in the All Stars penalty box who passed the ball to Asamoah to fire home his second goal.
Parading three former players of their opponents — Asamoah, Sabato Mohammed and Fatau Mohammed — Kotoko matched the home side in all departments of the game right from the blast of FIFA referee Mercy Tagoe’s whistle, and the visitors’ effort paid off in the 30th minute when Mohammed took on two All Stars defenders and laid a pass for Asamoah to shoot past onrushing All Stars goalkeeper Robert Dabuo to break the deadlock.
The stadium went dead silent after the opening goal but All Stars coach Maxwell Konadu reorganised his team and they subsequently pinned Kotoko to their own half to end of the first session.
After recess, All Stars continuing with their onslaught, reduced Kotoko’s midfield efficiency but lanky Awal Mohammed was unyielding in the heart of the Kotoko defence to thwart efforts by the home side.
Such was the trend until the 88th minute when a counter-attack by Kotoko saw midfielder Daniel Nii Adjei rounding up goalkeeper Livingstone Logoh in the All Stars penalty box who passed the ball to Asamoah to fire home his second goal.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
LET"S ADDRESS ELECTIONS HICCUPS -AMBROSE DERY (PAGE 12, JAN 4, 2011)
THE Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Ambrose Dery, has advised the Electoral Commission (EC) to put measures in place to forestall any future electoral hiccups.
That, he said, was to avert a repetition of what he described as “Horrible, disastrous and poorly organised elections in the just ended district level and unit committee elections.
He said the manner in which the district level and unit committee elections were held clearly depicted the lack of commitment of the authorities on good governance.
“We do not want to go back to the dark days and so everything must be done by the government from now to ensure a successful national election in the year 2012,” he stressed.
Mr Dery expressed these concerns when he interacted with the Daily Graphic during his annual new year party for his constituents at Kokoligu near Hamile in the Upper West Region.
The well-attended get together attracted a large crowd from various parts of the constituency who arrived on motorcycles, trucks and buses.
He acknowledged that although the EC might have its problems in holding the elections, those problems could have been averted if the government had been proactive.
He said the good governance under the stewardship of the NPP and the smooth handing over of power by former President Kufuor in 2008 made Ghana the beacon of democracy on the African continent and, therefore, nothing should be done by the NDC administration to tarnish this image.
To this end, Mr Dery, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lawra-Nandom Constituency, reminded the government to come clear on its position on the crisis in Cote d’ Ivoire in order not to tarnish the image of the country, especially at a time ECOWAS was led by a Ghanaian.
Touching on the performance of the Mills led government, Mr Dery described the NDC administration as a “Government of broken promises,” pointing out that the government must be reliable and stick to its word.
He further described the NDC administration and its performance as “abysmal, incompetent and a government full of confusion and inertia”, adding that “Mistakes are bound to occur, but those mistakes must be corrected. Presently, the NDC government is behaving like a ship at sea adrift with no destination”.
Citing some of the utterances of Professor Mills during the electioneering before the 2008 elections, the Deputy Minority Leader said the President had not been truthful to Ghanaians because even though he talked much about putting money in people’s pockets, the present situation was contrary to his campaign promise.
He said Professor Mills also promised to reduce the prices of petroleum products after assuming the reigns of government but he has failed to do that and instead of apologising to the people, the government was rather indulging in populism.
Such moves, according to Mr Dery, raised doubts about the sincerity of the government.
On the state of the economy and the implementation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), the Deputy Minority Leader explained that the NPP in 2006 inherited181 per cent debt to GDP but was able to bring it down to below 50 per cent in 2008, however, instead of the NDC doing more to reduce it further, it had rather risen to 70 per cent as at October last year.
“The debt, the NDC claimed the NPP left went into the construction of the Bui dam, stadia and roads among other development projects but in the case of the NDC, it has nothing to show” he indicated.
He also explained that the SADA was an after thought by the NDC after learning from the NPP’s proposed Northern Development Authority.
However, he cautioned the government to support the SADA with the needed funds, particularly for its administration to sustain it.
That, he said, was to avert a repetition of what he described as “Horrible, disastrous and poorly organised elections in the just ended district level and unit committee elections.
He said the manner in which the district level and unit committee elections were held clearly depicted the lack of commitment of the authorities on good governance.
“We do not want to go back to the dark days and so everything must be done by the government from now to ensure a successful national election in the year 2012,” he stressed.
Mr Dery expressed these concerns when he interacted with the Daily Graphic during his annual new year party for his constituents at Kokoligu near Hamile in the Upper West Region.
The well-attended get together attracted a large crowd from various parts of the constituency who arrived on motorcycles, trucks and buses.
He acknowledged that although the EC might have its problems in holding the elections, those problems could have been averted if the government had been proactive.
He said the good governance under the stewardship of the NPP and the smooth handing over of power by former President Kufuor in 2008 made Ghana the beacon of democracy on the African continent and, therefore, nothing should be done by the NDC administration to tarnish this image.
To this end, Mr Dery, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lawra-Nandom Constituency, reminded the government to come clear on its position on the crisis in Cote d’ Ivoire in order not to tarnish the image of the country, especially at a time ECOWAS was led by a Ghanaian.
Touching on the performance of the Mills led government, Mr Dery described the NDC administration as a “Government of broken promises,” pointing out that the government must be reliable and stick to its word.
He further described the NDC administration and its performance as “abysmal, incompetent and a government full of confusion and inertia”, adding that “Mistakes are bound to occur, but those mistakes must be corrected. Presently, the NDC government is behaving like a ship at sea adrift with no destination”.
Citing some of the utterances of Professor Mills during the electioneering before the 2008 elections, the Deputy Minority Leader said the President had not been truthful to Ghanaians because even though he talked much about putting money in people’s pockets, the present situation was contrary to his campaign promise.
He said Professor Mills also promised to reduce the prices of petroleum products after assuming the reigns of government but he has failed to do that and instead of apologising to the people, the government was rather indulging in populism.
Such moves, according to Mr Dery, raised doubts about the sincerity of the government.
On the state of the economy and the implementation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), the Deputy Minority Leader explained that the NPP in 2006 inherited181 per cent debt to GDP but was able to bring it down to below 50 per cent in 2008, however, instead of the NDC doing more to reduce it further, it had rather risen to 70 per cent as at October last year.
“The debt, the NDC claimed the NPP left went into the construction of the Bui dam, stadia and roads among other development projects but in the case of the NDC, it has nothing to show” he indicated.
He also explained that the SADA was an after thought by the NDC after learning from the NPP’s proposed Northern Development Authority.
However, he cautioned the government to support the SADA with the needed funds, particularly for its administration to sustain it.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
UW NPP LAUDS KLUFUOR (PAGE 12, NOV 2, 2010)
THE Upper West Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has congratulated former President John Agyekum Kufuor on the conferment of the award of the Knight Commander of St Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI.
The branch said it was not surprised the Pontiff had honoured him with the highest ecclesiastical award considering the role he played in entrenching good governance as well as deepening the country’s democracy.
In a statement signed by the Regional Chairman of the NPP, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Short, the NPP also expressed delight at the honour done the former first lady Mrs Theresa Kufuor with the award of the Papal Award Dame of St Gregory the Great.
“We acknowledge your contribution to the development of this great nation of ours through your well thought policies and programmes which positively touched the lives of many” the statement noted adding that “You ruled this nation with a great sense of humility, dignity, justice, respect and above all the fear of God”.
The statement further mentioned the introduction of social intervention programmes such as the school feeding, capitation grant, the national health insurance and the metro mass transport system among others and said it was hopeful that the award would inspire former President Kufuor and his wife to do greater things.
It also urged former President Kufuor to focuse on all that he was doing and said he should not be perturbed by the actions of persons who were bent on denigrating his achievements.
On how the NPP could wrest power come the year 2012, the statement reiterated the need for all members of the party to join hands and work harder to ensure victory.
It also urged the leadership of the party to be focused.
The branch said it was not surprised the Pontiff had honoured him with the highest ecclesiastical award considering the role he played in entrenching good governance as well as deepening the country’s democracy.
In a statement signed by the Regional Chairman of the NPP, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Short, the NPP also expressed delight at the honour done the former first lady Mrs Theresa Kufuor with the award of the Papal Award Dame of St Gregory the Great.
“We acknowledge your contribution to the development of this great nation of ours through your well thought policies and programmes which positively touched the lives of many” the statement noted adding that “You ruled this nation with a great sense of humility, dignity, justice, respect and above all the fear of God”.
The statement further mentioned the introduction of social intervention programmes such as the school feeding, capitation grant, the national health insurance and the metro mass transport system among others and said it was hopeful that the award would inspire former President Kufuor and his wife to do greater things.
It also urged former President Kufuor to focuse on all that he was doing and said he should not be perturbed by the actions of persons who were bent on denigrating his achievements.
On how the NPP could wrest power come the year 2012, the statement reiterated the need for all members of the party to join hands and work harder to ensure victory.
It also urged the leadership of the party to be focused.
ASPIRING ASSEMBLY MEMBERS CAN MOUNT OWN PLATFORMS — EC )PAGE 13, NOV 2, 2010)
PROSPECTIVE candidates for the forthcoming District Level Elections (DLE) can now mount their own platforms in their respective electoral areas but with the consent of the Electoral Commission (EC).
This, according to the Electoral Officer responsible for the Upper West Region, Mr Ebenezer Aggrey-Fynn, is a departure from the previous system where the EC mounted the platforms for the candidates.
He, however, cautioned against politicising the event, adding that non-political institutions and organisations could support the exercise by making resources available to the EC to be used to support the candidates.
Mr Aggrey-Fynn made this known during an interaction between the EC and media personnel in Wa, in the Upper West Region, at the weekend.
Dubbed Regional Media Dialogue on the 2010 DLE, the meeting was aimed at equipping the media to be able to sensitise the populace as well as disseminate more information to the people on the upcoming local government elections.
It was on the theme: “Improving citizen participation in the 2010 DLE through enhanced knowledge.”
Speaking on the topic “Preparations for the DLE so far, changes in the legal framework and planned awareness programmes,” Mr Aggrey-Fynn noted that with the reduction of the number of unit committee members from the previous number of 15 to five, all of whom are to be elected, he foresaw a keenly contested elections at the grass-roots level.
He, therefore, suggested that the government considered giving members of the committee some incentives or remuneration as a means of making the unit committees more effective.
On why the elections were fixed for December 28, 2010, the commissioner in charge of the Upper West Region explained that due to certain changes by the EC with respect to the number of electoral areas which has been increased from 5,000 to 6,000 as a result of the rapid increase in population and the springing up of more settlements among other factors, the EC was waiting for Parliament to pass the law governing the DLE before it could go ahead with the elections.
He mentioned for instance, that the Upper West region use to have 198 electoral areas but presently it has shot up to 296.
“All these were done in consultation with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, chiefs, opinion and other traditional leaders,” Mr Aggrey-Fynn added.
The Regional Director of the EC, Mr Yahaya Mahama, for his part, said the EC relied so much on the media in ensuring a successful DLE as well as any other elections.
He, therefore, appealed to media personnel to do their best to reach out to the people with the messages on the DLE.
This, according to the Electoral Officer responsible for the Upper West Region, Mr Ebenezer Aggrey-Fynn, is a departure from the previous system where the EC mounted the platforms for the candidates.
He, however, cautioned against politicising the event, adding that non-political institutions and organisations could support the exercise by making resources available to the EC to be used to support the candidates.
Mr Aggrey-Fynn made this known during an interaction between the EC and media personnel in Wa, in the Upper West Region, at the weekend.
Dubbed Regional Media Dialogue on the 2010 DLE, the meeting was aimed at equipping the media to be able to sensitise the populace as well as disseminate more information to the people on the upcoming local government elections.
It was on the theme: “Improving citizen participation in the 2010 DLE through enhanced knowledge.”
Speaking on the topic “Preparations for the DLE so far, changes in the legal framework and planned awareness programmes,” Mr Aggrey-Fynn noted that with the reduction of the number of unit committee members from the previous number of 15 to five, all of whom are to be elected, he foresaw a keenly contested elections at the grass-roots level.
He, therefore, suggested that the government considered giving members of the committee some incentives or remuneration as a means of making the unit committees more effective.
On why the elections were fixed for December 28, 2010, the commissioner in charge of the Upper West Region explained that due to certain changes by the EC with respect to the number of electoral areas which has been increased from 5,000 to 6,000 as a result of the rapid increase in population and the springing up of more settlements among other factors, the EC was waiting for Parliament to pass the law governing the DLE before it could go ahead with the elections.
He mentioned for instance, that the Upper West region use to have 198 electoral areas but presently it has shot up to 296.
“All these were done in consultation with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, chiefs, opinion and other traditional leaders,” Mr Aggrey-Fynn added.
The Regional Director of the EC, Mr Yahaya Mahama, for his part, said the EC relied so much on the media in ensuring a successful DLE as well as any other elections.
He, therefore, appealed to media personnel to do their best to reach out to the people with the messages on the DLE.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
POOR ATTENTION TO EYE CARE WORRIES DR DEBRAH (PAGE 42, OCT 20, 2010)
THE Head of the National Eye Care Unit of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Oscar Debrah, has expressed concern about the lack of attention given to eye care as compared to diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis.
He said unlike the attention other sectors of the healthcare services were receiving across the country in recent times, eye care in particular lacked specialists in the Upper West and the Volta regions while the Northern, Upper East and the Brong Ahafo regions had a specialist each even though Accra alone had 54 eye specialists.
Dr Debrah expressed the concern when he addressed a durbar in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, to mark the launch of the national edition of the world sight day.
“Poverty and blindness go hand-in-hand so if Ghana as a country wants to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), then we have to pay much attention to eye care”, he stated.
Dr Debrah, therefore, called on the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to help address the problem.
The event, although national in character, attracted an unimpressive crowd, who went on a float through the principal streets of Wa before converging on the jubilee park for the durbar.
It was on the theme: “Count down to vision 2020: The right to sight, how far have we come?
Health personnel took turns to take members of the public through several medical and health checks including, eye care, blood pressure and Voluntary Counselling and Testing of HIV status.
Dr Debrah, who is an ophthalmologist, lamented that throughout the country, when it came to infrastructure for optical services, it was always an afterthought and questioned why in most cases, many of those facilities were sited close to the mortuary.
On the furnishing of those structures, Dr Debrah said, “We always have the worst of equipment, which are very archaic and obsolete,” adding that it was unfortunate that the Ministry of Health was not investing in eyecare equipment.
He mentioned cataract, glaucoma and trachoma as the major causes of blindness in the country.
Dr Debrah explained that cataract was the leading cause of blindness across the country contributing to over 50 per cent of blind cases.
He said about 46,000 surgeries would have to be conducted in a year if people were to be prevented from going blind through cataract infections.
On Trachoma, Dr Debrah called for intensive surveillance to identify and attend to new cases before it got out of hand.
He said due to some interventions such as child immunisation, blind cases, particularly among children in the Northern and Upper West regions had declined considerably.
Touching on Glaucoma, he stated that it was inherited from relations, adding that over 600,000 people across the country had the disease but 90 per cent of those people were not aware that they had it.
He commended various institutions, including the Standard Chartered Bank, the Swiss Red Cross and Sight Savers, for their immense contribution to eye care in the country over the years.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, expressed the support of the government to improve on eye care in the country.
He called for the integration of primary eye care into the primary healthcare systems to enable eye health to receive the necessary recognition it deserved.
The Upper West Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Alexis Nang Beifubah, said with the support of the Catholic Church and the Swiss Red Cross, the region could now boast eye care services in all the district health facilities.
He added that the challenge currently was the non-availability of a resident ophthalmologist.
Dr Beifubah, however, appealed to the people to take advantage of the existing facilities rather than visiting quack doctors for such care.
He said unlike the attention other sectors of the healthcare services were receiving across the country in recent times, eye care in particular lacked specialists in the Upper West and the Volta regions while the Northern, Upper East and the Brong Ahafo regions had a specialist each even though Accra alone had 54 eye specialists.
Dr Debrah expressed the concern when he addressed a durbar in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, to mark the launch of the national edition of the world sight day.
“Poverty and blindness go hand-in-hand so if Ghana as a country wants to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), then we have to pay much attention to eye care”, he stated.
Dr Debrah, therefore, called on the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to help address the problem.
The event, although national in character, attracted an unimpressive crowd, who went on a float through the principal streets of Wa before converging on the jubilee park for the durbar.
It was on the theme: “Count down to vision 2020: The right to sight, how far have we come?
Health personnel took turns to take members of the public through several medical and health checks including, eye care, blood pressure and Voluntary Counselling and Testing of HIV status.
Dr Debrah, who is an ophthalmologist, lamented that throughout the country, when it came to infrastructure for optical services, it was always an afterthought and questioned why in most cases, many of those facilities were sited close to the mortuary.
On the furnishing of those structures, Dr Debrah said, “We always have the worst of equipment, which are very archaic and obsolete,” adding that it was unfortunate that the Ministry of Health was not investing in eyecare equipment.
He mentioned cataract, glaucoma and trachoma as the major causes of blindness in the country.
Dr Debrah explained that cataract was the leading cause of blindness across the country contributing to over 50 per cent of blind cases.
He said about 46,000 surgeries would have to be conducted in a year if people were to be prevented from going blind through cataract infections.
On Trachoma, Dr Debrah called for intensive surveillance to identify and attend to new cases before it got out of hand.
He said due to some interventions such as child immunisation, blind cases, particularly among children in the Northern and Upper West regions had declined considerably.
Touching on Glaucoma, he stated that it was inherited from relations, adding that over 600,000 people across the country had the disease but 90 per cent of those people were not aware that they had it.
He commended various institutions, including the Standard Chartered Bank, the Swiss Red Cross and Sight Savers, for their immense contribution to eye care in the country over the years.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Dr Benjamin Kunbour, expressed the support of the government to improve on eye care in the country.
He called for the integration of primary eye care into the primary healthcare systems to enable eye health to receive the necessary recognition it deserved.
The Upper West Regional Director of the GHS, Dr Alexis Nang Beifubah, said with the support of the Catholic Church and the Swiss Red Cross, the region could now boast eye care services in all the district health facilities.
He added that the challenge currently was the non-availability of a resident ophthalmologist.
Dr Beifubah, however, appealed to the people to take advantage of the existing facilities rather than visiting quack doctors for such care.
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