Ghanaian preacher of the gospel, Prophet Frank Dwomoh Sarpong of the Restoration Chapel International is praying God's intervention to restore the world to glory and peace. He is also praying that God will intervene to prevent the numerous calamities that have devastated many nations and claimed many lives.Prophet Frank Dwomoh Sarpong was interacting with his congregation at the end of a 21-day fasting and prayers session in the Capitol Heights vicinity of Maryland, USA, and assured his listeners that "The hour of increase has come.”"It is very sad to hear and read about the unfortunate incidents that befall one another and it saddens my heart. But the Bible says that we must give the Lord thanks in all things and it is my most fervent prayer to the Most High God to deliver us from all evil," Prophet Sarpong noted.He admonished the congregation to be God fearing, remain honest and let the word of God be their guiding principle, prophesying that those who had issues such as lost jobs, challenges in marriage, and sicknesses were on their way to living free of them, saying the yoke that weighed them down had been broken. Quoting from Isaiah 10:27, Prophet Dwomoh said God’s promise to heal His own is an unshakable assurance, stressing, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”The church, located at 9111 Hampton Overlook, Capitol Heights, sees a regularly filled auditorium where God manifests his mystery in many wondrous signs, healing the sick and setting the captive free. Visit our photo galleries to view more photos.

  Ghana is on the right track towards improving conditions in its prisons, Amnesty International Ghana has observed. It said since 2011, the government had consistently worked towards addressing the living conditions of prisoners in the country. “This is commendable even though there is still a lot to be done,” the Director of Amnesty International Ghana, Mr Lawrence K. Amesu, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic. He said, for instance, that the Ankaful prison had been completed and some prisoners had been transferred from the Nsawam Medium Security Prison to that place, thereby decongesting the Maximum Security Prison. Mr Amesu commended the decision by the government to increase the daily feeding fee of prison inmates from GHc0.60 to GHc1.80 per inmate, saying that needed to be commended though still inadequate, considering the cost of living in the country presently. “Also, the President, on July 1, 2013, as part of the country’s Republic Day celebration, granted amnesty to 670 prisoners, and for us, this demonstrated the President’s willingness to address concerns in our prisons,” he said. He was particularly happy that Ghana had opened its doors to the UN Rapporteur General to visit prisons in the country and the government’s readiness to address the recommendations that followed the visit. “We think the government should be commended, in the first place for allowing the Rapporteur General to come here to visit our prisons and secondly for agreeing to look into the recommendations coming out from the visit,” he said. Alternative Dispute Resolution  Touching on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Mr Amesu said it was the main answer to the overcrowding in the country’s prisons. He said Ghanaians should not always rush to the law court, contending that some cases  could be addressed through the ADR instead of the law court, which did not promote reconciliation. Mr Amesu said, currently, there were a number of people on remand, awaiting trial, some of whom had been in such a situation for over six years and pointed out that the situationincreased up the number of inmates.  Some of the cases, he said ,could have been easily resolved through the ADR. Justice For All programme The Justice For All programme is an initiative under which the justices visit prisons to examine cases of remanded prisoners during which some of them are discharged to go home. Mr Amesu was of the view that the situation in the prisons demanded that the Justice for All Programme should be encouraged and intensified to cover all prisons in the country. He was not happy that such a laudable programme was concentrated only in the cities and said he was looking forward to seeing it expanded to all parts of the country. Death penalty On the Death sentence, Mr Amesu said Amnesty International Ghana had been campaigning to get it expunged. He said it was commendable that for over 20 years now, nobody had been executed in Ghana, but the mere fact that it was still in the statute books of the country remained a concern. Mr Amesu recalled that the removal of the death penalty from the statutes was part of the recommendations of the Constitutional Review Committee, and was hopeful that with the steps being taken, including the setting up of the implementation committee, it would be eventually expunged. Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  Demand for electricity in Ghana increased to an all-time high of 12.38 per cent in 2013,  growing from the 2012 peak of 1,728.9 Megawatts (MW) to 1,942.9MW at the close of last year. Over the last four years, however, the average year–to-year growth in demand for electricity has been 9.67 per cent,  the Chief Executive of the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), Mr William Amuna, said in an interview.  The peak demand for 2011 was 1,664.3MW, a 10.52 percentage growth over the 2010 demand of 1,505.9MW. The acute shortfall in generation in 2012, as a result of the rapture of the West African Gas Pipeline, resulted in a demand growth of 3.88 per cent.  He said the construction of new substations and the upgrade of existing substations in the last four years had resulted in a 55 per cent increase in transformer capacity from 2200 MVA to 3400 MVA, and the addition of over 200km of 330kV high voltage transmission lines.  These investments in the transmission network have relieved the system of its bottlenecks and ensured quality supply to consumers. Growing demand Mr Amuna said demand was growing and current projections indicated that the country’s requirements for electricity would hit 2,764.2MW in 2015. “This increasing demand for electricity is being matched with new generation supported by the government through the Ministry of Energy, the Volta River Authority and some Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” he added. He said GRIDCo had held several discussions with new power producers with the view to putting in new substations and additional transmission lines to transport power, adding that preparatory works were already on-going The GRIDco chief executive said to help evacuate power from emerging generation plants, the GRIDCo Substation in Aboadze would be expanded and a new 330kV double circuit transmission line would be constructed from the substation to Kumasi through Prestea. This transmission line will continue as a single circuit line to Bolgatanga through Kintampo and Tamale. New 330kV substations will also be built in Kumasi, Kintampo, Tamale and Bolgatanga. Mr Amuna assured the nation that GRIDCo was working hard to develop a robust and resilient transmission system that would continue to transport quality electrical power to customers in 2014 and beyond.  

  A Ghanaian teenage mother living in London ended 2013 on a very tragic note when she died in a fireball after running from her home in flames last Sunday. Rachel Osei, 18, was heard screaming in agony before collapsing on the pavement where she died from terrible burns. Police believe Miss Osei, who was studying to be a Physical Education (PE) teacher at Queen Mary's University, may have caught fire inside her house. Three members of the public tried to extinguish the flames, but they were unable to save her. Neighbours Neighbours said Miss Osei’s four-year-old-son, Kai, was staying with relatives at the time of the tragedy. The tragedy took place outside Miss Osei’s semi-detached home in New Malden, South-West London. She was living in a property owned by the Wandle Housing Association, which often houses single mothers. Neighbours described how they heard the noise of ‘terrible screaming’ shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday. Miss Osei was found with severe burns close to a level crossing at the junction of West Barnes Lane and Burlington Road Firemen, paramedics and police raced to the scene but she was pronounced dead at 1.45a.m. Investigators are treating her death as ‘unexplained’, but it is understood their main line of inquiry is that her injuries may have been self-inflicted. Her heartbroken father Jonathan Osei, 48, said he could not understand what had happened. “Rachel was at university training to be a sports teacher,” he said. She wanted to do well and provide for her son. When I heard about the fire, I tried to call her on her mobile phone but there was no answer. “I loved Rachel. She was a lovely, lovely daughter. I named her after my mother. I had four children but now I have only three.” The teenager's mother was said to be too upset to talk about the horrific incident. Tributes Two bouquets of flowers had been left outside her semi-detached home which had been cordonned off by police following the tragedy. Hannah Sirott and Rhianna Price, who left the flowers said: “We had the pleasure of studying music with Rachel for four years. She enjoyed music and rapping. She was a good person and she is definitely going to be missed by a lot of people.” Queen Mary's University, where the young mother was training to be a PE teacher, has also paid tribute to her. Credit: Mail Online  

  The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has rewarded its staff who distinguished themselves last year, as part of activities to climax the commemoration of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the introduction of the National Health Insurance Scheme in the country. The ceremony, which was also used to thank God for bringing the NHIS thus, is expected to serve as the begining of an annual tradition of giving thanks to God. Award winners  Among staff of the authority who were rewarded were the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of operations, Mr Nathaniel Otoo; Director of Claims, Dr Lydia Baba Dsane–Selby; Director of Management Information Systems, Mr Edward Perregrino Nelson, and Director of Internal Audit, Dr Gustav Nii Lante Cruickshank. Other deputy directors, including Mr Thomas Adoboe, Mr Rudolf Zimmerman, Ms Vivian Addo-Cobbiah, Mr Stephen Bewong,  Dr Francis Kofi Asenso-Boadi, Mr Nicholas Afram Osei, Mr Raphael Segkpeb and Mr Washington Komla Darke, were also recognised for their hard work. The rest were Mr Harold Kalevor and Mr Joseph Akuerteh Tettey, Scheme Managers; Ms Cynthia Bentum of the Internal Audit Directorate and Mr John Nketia of the Transport and Logistics Unit. Chief Executive  The Chief Executive, Mr Sylvester Mensah, stated that 2013 had been a very rewarding year for the NHIA, considering the number of awards it received. He said the past 10 years could be counted as the nurturing years and the NHIA had learnt lessons. He added that “a lot more would be demanded of the institution in the coming years.”  2014, he said, would, therefore, see an aggressive roll out of policies such as capitation, instant identity card issuance based on biometric registration and an increase in active membership, among others, and a review of the policy of exemption of SSNIT contributors from paying premium. He also added that there would be a review of the current medium-term strategic plan which would end in 2014 and that a new one for 2015 to 2018 would be developed as a new medium-term strategic plan for the authority and the scheme. Starting from 2015, Mr Mensah said there would be focus on patient safety to achieve a satisfactory level of quality care for NHIS subscribers. Responsibility  In a welcome address, the Deputy Chief Executive in charge of operations, Mr Nathaniel Otoo, stated that “the NHIS has been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of assuring financial access to healthcare for all residents in Ghana, and no matter what happens, we should not lose sight of the call to duty.” In fulfillment of its corporate social responsibility, the money collected during the offertory at the service would be donated to the Village of Hope Orphanage at Gomoa Fete in the Central Region.   

  Mining activities at Sheini in the eastern corridor of the Northern Region are depriving inhabitants of the area of their traditional sources of livelihood. In addition, the only source of drinking water for the people, River Oti, has also been polluted with chemicals, making it difficult for the people to have access to safe drinking water. That was disclosed in a press briefing in Tamale by Mr Francis Npong, the National Coordinator of Media Advocates for Sustainable Environment (MASE), a network of environmental reporters in the Northern Region, who are monitoring mining activities  in the area. He said two joint venture companies were given exploration license by the Minerals Commission to test the mine and vast deposit of iron ore in the area which was discovered in the 1960s and was found to be the richest iron ore deposit in Africa. He said “since the miners entered the area, hunting, which was a source of livelihood for the people, had been affected. As a result of the daily noise produced by the miners, most of  the animals such as  antelopes, grasscutters, monkeys and wild birds have all vanished from the area and the population of wild bees that produced honey has also reduced, thereby affecting honey harvesting drastically.”  According to him, “hundreds of domestic animals belonging to community members living along the route of the mines have been knocked down and killed by the moving vehicles of the miners, with no compensation paid to the owners.”  Mr Npong added that investigations conducted by the network revealed that the only stream serving as the source of drinking water for the communities had been contaminated with mining chemicals.  “The miners disregard safety measures and wash mining chemicals into the stream, but  due to the lack of alternative water sources, the communities are forced to continue to drink from the polluted stream,” he lamented. He stated further that the mining activities in the area had also led to the destruction of economic trees such as teak, shea and dawadawa, as well as food crops. He, therefore, called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately conduct an environmental impact assessment at Sheini and take actions to ameliorate the plight of the people in the area. He equally called on the Minerals Commission to  publish information about  the Sheini iron ore deal for accountability purposes, as the processes leading to the award of the licence to Cardero Canada and Emmaland Resources, the mining companies operating in the area,  have been shrouded in secrecy.    

  The Agbogbomefia of Ho Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, has advised children to be conscious of their potential as future leaders, experts and technocrats and to lead good lives in order not to change the course of achieving their objectives. He urged them to eschew laziness and to devote their time and energy to serious studies to achieve their aims. Togbe Afede was addressing the ninth annual Christmas party for 500 children drawn from the Asogli Traditional Area at his residence in Ho last Sunday. The children were drawn from Ahoe, Hliha, Bankoe, Heve, Dome, Takla, Kpenoe and Akoefe. He assured them that the financial needs of brilliant and eligible pupils and students would be met because of the Asogli Education Fund, which had so far accrued GH¢300,000. The Agbogbomefia, however, warned that those with deviant behaviours might not benefit from the fund, and stressed that they should always comport themselves and not go wayward as they grew up. The Divisional Chief of Ho-Hliha, Togbe Kwasi Afele, said the party was an innovation and a privilege to the children of the current generation because hitherto, such functions did not exist. He said it was a great opportunity for them to be exposed to the chieftaincy institution and also to learn more about it. the Paramount Chief of the Kpenoe Traditional Area, Togbe Kotoku XI, said the Agbogbomefia, as the overlord, was a father to all children and had thus opened up to them to enable them to make their contributions towards further development of the Asogli State. The children entertained the gathering with renditions of beautiful gospel music and some poetry and they were presented with torchlights, biscuits, soft drinks and food.  

  The Chiefs and elders of the Asere Divisional Council in Accra have launched an initiative to reconcile the people in the area. Under the initiative, two committees will be set up. One of the committees will review the constitution of Asere in line with modern governance practices while the other will review all pending suits at the law courts with the view to achieving amicable settlements. Speaking at the launch of the initiative, an Elder and Councillor of the Asere Stool, Mr Amarkai Amarteifio, indicated that the move was to bring the people, chiefs and elders of the council together for future development and unity.  

In an unprecedented move to enhance peace in the Dagbon Traditional Area, the two protagonists in the Dagbon chieftaincy divide, the Abudus and the Andanis, have decided to celebrate the annual Damba Festival together as a family. This followed a meeting attended by representatives of the two gates and the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) in Tamale on Monday, on the need to foster peace and unity in the region. A communique issued at the end of the meeting said members of the Abudu Family had agreed to join their brethren, the Andanis, to celebrate the time-tested festival at the Gbewaa Palace at Yendi, the seat of the Dagbon Kinship. The processes for the celebration of the Damba Festival in 2014 are scheduled to begin in January, 2014. The annual event, which is a blend of Islamic and tradition, is celebrated by majority of the Muslim-dominated communities in the north, including Dagombas, Nanumbas, Gonjas and Mamprusis. Ready to celebrate together The festival also marks the birth and subsequent naming of Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W), the Founder of Islam. It is also used to offer sacrifices to show appreciation to Allah and also chart a new course for the year. According to the Northern Regional Minister and Chairman of the REGSEC, Mr Bede Ziedeng, there were various exchanges from all sides on the customs and traditions that are observed during  the celebration of the Damba Festival at the meeting. “It also took cognisance of the indication of the Bolin-Lana Muhammadu Abdulai, in his letter dated December 26 this year, to the committee, indicating his willingness to lead his followers to celebrate the festival at the Gbewaa Palace, provided adequate security arrangements were put in place to ensure peace in the area,” he stated. The chairman further acknowledged that “the meeting further took note of the goodwill of the Kampakuya Naa Abdulai Andani who had invited all and sundry to celebrate the festival with him.” Mr Ziedeng gave the assurance that the necessary security arrangements would be made to ensure that, “all interested persons and groups celebrate the festival peacefully at the festival ground.” He, however, cautioned that all rehearsals leading to the celebration of the festival should take place only at the traditionally designated palaces in Dagbon. “No rehearsal taking place anywhere should have the intention of being climaxed at those places except the Gbewaa Palace,” the minister further admonished. The Dagbon chieftaincy dispute involving the Abudus and Andanis began in 2002 resulting in the death of Ya Na Yakubu Andani II, the Overlord of Dagbon  Traditional Area and about 40 others.

  An unidentified man, believed to be mentally deranged, last Monday went on the rampage at Badu in the Tain Districtin the Brong Ahafo Region and hacked  the station officer at the local police station to death. The deceased, Inspector Awusi Yakubu, 59, was said to have been slashed several times on the forehead and the back with the assailant’s machete. Sensing danger, a police constable who had been ordered by the deceased to go in for a rifle shot and killed the assailant. The bodies of Inspector Yakubu and the assailant have been deposited at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital mortuary while investigations into the incident continue. The Wenchi Divisional Police Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Vincent Adotey, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said the assailant went to the police station at about 7.15 p.m. holding a machete and two long metal hooks used for cooking pots, panting and shouting that some people at Susuapa, a village near Badu wanted to kill him. He said the man met Inspector Yakubu and one constable at the station and they tried to calm him down, but that proved futile and sensing danger, the officer ordered the constable to go for the rifle. Mr Adotey said while Inspector Yakubu was entering the charge office, the assailant attacked him and slashed his forehead and back with the machete.  Inspector Yakubu, who was bleeding, fell down and sensing danger, the constable shot at the assailant, killing him instantly. Inspector Yakubu was, however, pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.  

  Children at the refugee camp at Fetentaa in the Berekum Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have been entertained at a christmas party thrown by the Sunyani Diocese of the Catholic Church. The annual Christmas party is to enable the less privileged children, numbering about 400, to feel at home during the Yuletide. The  Fetentaa Refugee Camp is the home of about 1,800 Ivorian refugees who fled their country to Ghana as a result of a violent conflict that erupted in Cote d'Iviore following an electoral dispute in 2011. The children were presented with packs of rice, sweets and assorted drinks at the party which was held at the camp on Friday, December 27, 2013, which was preceded by the celebration of Holy Eucharist. In a sermon, the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, the Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, urged the children not to be discouraged, as Jesus Christ, whose birth the world was celebrating, became a refugee in Egypt when King Herod sought to kill Him.  He urged parents of the children at the camp to encourage their children to be in school at the camp. Most Rev. Gyamfi commended the refugees for comporting themselves making the camp more than a settlement and thanked the government, United Nations High Commission for Refugees ( UNHCR), chiefs and elders of Fetentaa for making the camp a comfortable place for the refugees. The Health Co-ordinator for the refugee camp, Rev. Sister Judith Magbity, said the National Catholic Secretariat ( NCS) was involved in providing primary health care and HIV/AIDS services, nutrition, distribution of food and non-food items, water and sanitation at the camp. She said the school feeding programme, supported by Most Rev. Gyamfi had improved the health status and also served as a source of motivation for all children at the camp to get enrolled in school. That, she said, had also led to zero infant mortality rate and a decrease in morbidity rate among children under five.  Rev. Sis. Magbity disclosed that there was a comprehensive reproductive health system that had been put in place at the camp which covered the health needs of all the children and their parents.  She added that there were 45 deliveries at the camp during the year, while another 35 pregnant women were being catered for. The Camp Manager, Mr Felix Osei Aseidu, thanked the bishop for the gesture and for making time to celebrate the Christmas with the children at the camp. The St Jansdal Hospital in the Netherlands also presented some medical equipment and consumables to the clinic being run by the National Catholic Secretariat at the camp.  

  The Gender and Children’s Page today recalls some significant stories related to the welfare of women and children, that were featured in the Daily Graphic last year. The First lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, addressed the Spouses Programme of the Elysee Summit for Peace in Africa, in Paris, and called on governments, the United Nations, the Africa Union and other international organisations, to ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence against women in conflict situations were punished.  She said there must be institutions and structures to hold individuals and organisations accountable for their actions and impose punishments, provide adequate and timely remedies for victims  and survivors. Addressing the summit, which was chaired by the First Lady of France, Ms Valerie Trierweiller, Mrs Mahama noted that if perpetrators were not punished, crime would flourish, women’s right would continue to be violated and past crimes would persist.  Young Urban Women A project dubbed: “Young Urban Women (YUW),” which is expected to improve the lives of  2,000 young women  within  one and  half years, was launched jointly by the Ark Foundation and ActionAid Ghana in Kpobiman in the Ga West District, Accra, to support deprived women living in poverty in the urban areas. Kpobiman in the Ga West District was chosen because of its high rate of population in the Greater Accra Region. The targeted groups for the project include school dropouts, young brides, members of girls’ clubs, young female parliamentarians, schoolchildren and others. The project was first introduced in the Northern Region  and will soon be extended to other regions. From November 25 to December 10, the global community marked 16 days of activism against gender violence. The event is an international campaign, originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Centre for Women's Global Leadership in 1991.  Ending on Human Rights Day, the campaign hopes to raise awareness of gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels. Last year’s theme was,  “Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women.” Affirmative Action Bill The Institute of Economic affairs (IEA-Ghana), in a bid to ensure that Ghana takes a bold step towards attaining gender parity and equality, initiated a project to address the under-representation of women in the political decision-making process. The project — Integrated Support Programme for the Inclusive Reform and Democratic Dialogue (INSPIRED) — is in collaboration with the EU-funded European Partnerships for Democracy (PD) and it is envisaged that through this process, the basis for broad-based concensus will be created to enhance the sustainability of cooperative initiatives in a given policy area. As part of the INSPIRED project, the IEA established a Working Group composed of a broad range of stakeholders with an interest in the issue of under-representation of women in political decision-making. The Working Group has worked to propose key recommendations for consideration by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as input into the Affirmative Action Bill currently being drafted by the ministry. The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, addressed a national stakeholders’ workshop on fighting under-representation of women in political decision-making in Ghana, organised by the IEA in Accra in September. She said the government had accepted the Constitutional Review commission’s recommendations for a constitutional amendment for Parliament to enact, within 12 months of the coming into force of the amendment of the 1992 Constitution, an Affirmative Action Act that guaranteed 30 per cent representation of women in all public institutions and offices as far as possible and also accepted that the recommended Affirmative Action Act should deal with all types of discrimination against vulnerable groups and minorities. Child survival A new report released on September 13, dubbed,  “Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed Progress Report 2013”, indicated that “despite rapid progress in reducing child deaths since 1990, the world is failing to renew the promise for the most vulnerable citizens” – its children. In July, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection  waded into arguments by some people who were calling on the government to increase the age for which a person may legally enter into marriage, from the present 18 years to 23 years. A statement  issued on behalf of the ministry by Matilda Tettey of the Communications and Media Unit indicated that 23 years might  not be desirable because it could not guarantee that at that age, a person would be fully prepared for marriage as argued.  Women Deliver conference The largest global conference on maternal health, dubbed, ‘Women Deliver,’ which brings together advocates from around the world to call for action to improve the health and well-being of girls and women, was held in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, in June. The conference, the third to be held, attracted over 3,000 participants from 150 countries, comprising experts, ministers of state and advocates, including some First Ladies. It was organised by Women Deliver, a global advocacy organisation which works globally to generate political commitment and resource investments to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health.  On the occasion of the 2013 Mother’s Day, which fell on May 12, the Gender and Children’s Page spoke  to  a number of widows at Mallam, Accra, to share their stories of the hardships they go through to provide for the needs of their families. Their contention was that once a mother is dead, there is no hope because of the fear of loss of care, love and affection, but when a father is lost, there is hope that a mother would be there to cater for the children left behind. Maternal Health Channel In February,  the government launched: The Maternal Health Channel  TV series aimed at complementing a concerted national effort to inform, educate and stimulate interest in maternal health issues. The programme is also to help to find urgent solutions to the tragedy of death and disabilities of pregnant women. The TV series is aired on Ghana Television and TV3 Network on Thursdays and Fridays, respectively. President Mahama, whose speech was ready on his behalf by Ms Hannah Tetteh,  the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, commended the Kingdom of the Netherlands and other partners such as UNICEF, UNFPA, Ghana Coalition of NGOs on Maternal Health, Creative Storm and Ghana Health Service for sponsoring the TV series. He stressed the need to ensure the safety of all pregnant women to avoid their needless deaths in an effort to bring new lives to the world. The  ‘Mama Ye’  Ghana Campaign, initiated by Evidence for Action (E4A), a multi-year programme which aims to improve maternal and new-born survival across five sub-Saharan African countries, namely Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sierra Leone,  Malawi and Ghana, was also launched in February. Funded by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development,  ‘MamaYe’  focuses on using a strategic combination of evidence, advocacy and accountability to save lives. National Gender Policy In January,  the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, formerly Ministry of  Women and Children’s Affairs held a day’s regional validation workshop on the draft National Gender Policy (NGP) to fine-tune it to meet current needs of the society. The workshop, held in Tamale, was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund, World Food Programme and UN Women, and brought together civil society organisations and representatives from various ministries, departments and agencies in the region. The draft policy has been developed from inputs collated from five regions including Northern, Ashanti and Greater Accra Regions with the aim to stem out gender-based marginalisation and discrimination perpetrated mostly against women in the society.