THE THOUGHTS ROOM

THE term Biomedical Science refers to investigations carried out by Biomedical Laboratory Scientists (BLS) on samples of tissue and body fluids to diagnose diseases and monitor the treatment of patients. These category of scientists work in health care facilities to help doctors diagnose disease and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment through the analysis of fluids and tissue samples from patients. They provide the "engine room" of modern medicine with 70 per cent of diagnoses based on the pathology results provided by laboratory services. The work of the BLS in disease management, which include cancer screening, diagnosing HIV, blood transfusion for surgery, food poisoning and infection control, makes them the foundation of modern health care. It is, therefore, prudent to enhance the value of the BLS by providing professional career development to enable them produce accurate and reliable test results. Therefore, the role of the BLS in the diagnoses and management...

THE Chairman of the Ghana Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), Mr Bright Appiah, has demanded of government to demonstrate its commitment to promote functional adult literacy in the country. He said this could be done by increasing the budgetary allocation for functional adult literacy to the international accepted benchmark of three per cent of the education sector budget. Currently, he noted that, about one percent of the education sector budget allocated to functional adult literacy was not acceptable. Mr Appiah was speaking at a durbar organised by GNECC to climax activities marking this year’s Global Action Week, an initiative of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) to network with other organisations world-wide and advocate for quality education. Present at the durbar were students from O’Reilley Senior High School, Garrison Basic School, Madina 2 Junior High School, members from the Kpobiman Women's Association and other Civil Society Organisations. The theme for this ye...

Ghana has been chosen as the headquarters for the West Africa Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Journalists Network at the first General Assembly (GA) held in Accra. The decision is a follow up of a meeting held in Bamako, Mali in 2010, where journalists discussed the modalities and need for a regional network of journalists who report on water, sanitation and hygiene. The occasion was also used to induct a seven-member Co-ordinating committee to oversee the affairs of the network for the next two years. The co-ordinating committee members are from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Benin and Togo. The GA which was organised by the Ghana Watsan Journalist Network (GWJN) with support from WaterAid West Africa (WAWA) and Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) attracted 29 journalists from Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Benin and Mauritania. Objectives of the GA was to amplify the voice of the vu...

THE Coalition of Non-governmental organisations in the Water and Sanitation Sector (CONIWAS) has made a proposition to the government to decentralise the operations of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). In line with the decentralisation concept, CONIWAS is of the view that the supply of water to urban areas be managed at the municipal and metropolitan level, which will involve communities and traditional authorities, with each system being autonomous and owned by the respective agencies. These were shared at a press conference organised by CONIWAS to address the state of the Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) management contract as it rolls to an end in May this year. The Executive Secretary of CONIWAS, Mr Benjamin Arthur, explained that with that, the GWCL would serve as the regulatory body enforcing operational standards, water quality, monitoring, among other related issues. He said the GWCL would also be responsible for providing technical assistance for municipalities for planni...