Assessing The Implementation Challenges of the Procurment Act of Ghana: The Newmont Ghana Experience

The Public Procurement Act of 2003 was initiated to address the weaknesses which were impregnated in the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PUFMARP). The goals of the Acts among others were to harmonise public procurement processes, practices, and secure judicious economic and efficient use of state funds and to possibly ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and non-discriminatory. The research therefore assessed the challenges influencing the implementation of the Public Procurement ACT 663 and its Amended Act 914 on procurement practitioners, where the main variables included strategic planning, regulation enforcement and organizational culture. Through a survey research design, the study targeted procurement officers’and contractor bodies working with Newmont Ghana Gold Ltd. Convenience sampling technique was used to select a sample of 50 respondents. Interviews and questionnaires were used in the data collection. Quantitative data collection was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics using Microsoft Excel and presented through frequencies and percentages. The findings revealed that 75% of the respondent believed that Newmont’s strategic plan has the relevant performance pillars. The study showed that 47.5% said the impact of regulation enforcement on Newmont’s procurement activities is moderate. The findings also revealed that 47.5% of the respondent strongly agreed on the issue that Newmont’s culture favors good procurement procedures.In conclusion, the outcome suggested that, the Public Procurement Act can be carried out effectively if the strategic plan, regulation enforcement and organizational culture support the procurement systems in place. On recommendation, the researcher observed that Procurement process should uphold integrity and ensure that there are no malpractices and there is informed decision-making

Women Assisting Women in a Village in Ghana: The Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Wurubegu-Anansu

This article examines the impact of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in rural areas of Ghana and Wurubegu-Anansu community in particular. It examines the challenges that TBAs face as well as the reasons why pregnant women in the community find it difficult to attend antenatal check-ups at modern health centres or hospitals. The narratives bring to the fore the kind of advice that TBAs give to women who go to them for antenatal care as well as delivery care. The absence of a clinic within the WurubeguAnansu community was identified as one of the many reasons for pregnant women resorting to TBAs for assistance when their time is due for delivery. The findings suggest that TBAs in the study area do not practise on a full time basis because of the meagre income they receive after assisting women in delivery. TBAs therefore engage in different economic activities to support their families. Most of them engage in farming activities or in petty trading and only attend to women when the need arises. If the government of Ghana is unable to provide health facilities in all rural communities in the country, it should adopt the reformist approach through the auspices of the ministry of health. Thus, it should continuously equip and empower TBAs with medical training and delivery tools to enable them to carry out safe and efficient deliveries rather than encourage any policy or action that will hinder their activities

COVID-19 IN AFRICA: AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INTERPRETATION (2019-2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of challenges to the globalized world. Globally, it has decimated over six million lives. Since 2019, it has shook the world in many respects, especially, it disrupted economies and societies and halted the majority of human endeavor. Commentaries and reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the media showed an alarming situation that could be damning in low and middle income countries. Economic pundits and global public health experts also anticipated doom and gloom for African countries. However, in terms of mortality, the Americas, Europe and Asia have suffered more losses. Irrespective of these loses in Europe, Africa’s case needs better appreciation within our contemporary historical discourse. The burgeoning challenge of the COVID disease and mortalities arising thereby, among other things, necessitated the introduction of policies based on the WHO’s historical understanding of how the world has dealt with pandemics in the past. Some of the strategies that were deployed to fight the pandemic included hand washing under running water with soap, the use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, the wearing of nose masks, social distancing, self isolation as well as partial and complete lockdowns of states and communities. The major economic disruption really came about as a result of many lockdown policies that were implemented by several countries in Africa without proper reference to their own societal contexts. These issues notwithstanding, it is important to emphasize that the extent of the impact on different communities differed to a large extent, even though there were similar levels of the nature of the infection and the general economic outlook among the global community. This current contribution on the COVID-19 discourse used political economy and economic shock as bases to highlight the extent of the impact of the disease by highlighting examples from respective countries in Africa, namely, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa. In particular, the impact of policies like lock-down on some of these African countries are highlighted for further discussions in future empirical research. The study relied on contemporary historical evidence from multidisciplinary sources on health, economics, policy, and other related studies on epidemiology, public health, health education and promotion, reports and sources from the World Health Organization (WHO). Specifically, the authors have used published research in Lancet, the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, BMJ Global Health, Frontiers in Public Health and the Pan African Medical Journal. The others were African Development Review, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Africa Spectrum and International Journal of Financial Research including several other empirical research. In attempting a social and economic interpretation based on contemporary historical sense, the findings of this present study suggest that African political actors or leaders should make persistent or steady efforts to strengthen the economies of their states to lessen economic shocks and social costs that come about as a result of pandemics such as the COVID-19. It also identified the fact that within the globalized space, application of policies from other countries including international organizations should not be devoid of context

COVID-19 In Africa: An Economic and Social Interpretation (2019-2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of challenges to the globalized world. Globally, it has decimated over six million lives. Since 2019, it has shook the world in many respects, especially, it disrupted economies and societies and halted the majority of human endeavor. Commentaries and reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the media showed an alarming situation that could be damning in low and middle income countries. Economic pundits and global public health experts also anticipated doom and gloom for African countries. However, in terms of mortality, the Americas, Europe and Asia have suffered more losses. Irrespective of these loses in Europe, Africa’s case needs better appreciation within our contemporary historical discourse. The burgeoning challenge of the COVID disease and mortalities arising thereby, among other things, necessitated the introduction of policies based on the WHO’s historical understanding of how the world has dealt with pandemics in the past. Some of the strategies that were deployed to fight the pandemic included hand washing under running water with soap, the use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, the wearing of nose masks, social distancing, self- isolation as well as partial and complete lockdowns of states and communities. The major economic disruption really came about as a result of many lockdown policies that were implemented by several countries in Africa without proper reference to their own societal contexts. These issues notwithstanding, it is important to emphasize that the extent of the impact on different communities differed to a large extent, even though there were similar levels of the nature of the infection and the general economic outlook among the global community

COVID-19 in Africa: An Economic and Social Interpretation (2019-2022)

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of challenges to the globalized world. Globally, it has decimated over six million lives. Since 2019, it has shook the world in many respects, especially, it disrupted economies and societies and halted the majority of human endeavor. Commentaries and reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the media showed an alarming situation that could be damning in low and middle income countries. Economic pundits and global public health experts also anticipated doom and gloom for African countries. However, in terms of mortality, the Americas, Europe and Asia have suffered more losses. Irrespective of these loses in Europe, Africa’s case needs better appreciation within our contemporary historical discourse. The burgeoning challenge of the COVID disease and mortalities arising thereby, among other things, necessitated the introduction of policies based on the WHO’s historical understanding of how the world has dealt with pandemics in the past. Some of the strategies that were deployed to fight the pandemic included hand washing under running water with soap, the use of alcohol based hand sanitizers, the wearing of nose masks, social distancing, self isolation as well as partial and complete lockdowns of states and communities. The major economic disruption really came about as a result of many lockdown policies that were implemented by several countries in Africa without proper reference to their own societal contexts. These issues notwithstanding, it is important to emphasize that the extent of the impact on different communities differed to a large extent, even though there were similar levels of the nature of the infection and the general economic outlook among the global community. This current contribution on the COVID-19 discourse used political economy and economic shock as bases to highlight the extent of the impact of the disease by highlighting examples from respective countries in Africa, namely, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Algeria and South Africa. In particular, the impact of policies like lock-down on some of these African countries are highlighted for further discussions in future empirical research. The study relied on contemporary historical evidence from multidisciplinary sources on health, economics, policy, and other related studies on epidemiology, public health, health education and promotion, reports and sources from the World Health Organization (WHO). Specifically, the authors have used published research in Lancet, the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, BMJ Global Health, Frontiers in Public Health and the Pan African Medical Journal. The others were African Development Review, Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Africa Spectrum and International Journal of Financial Research including several other empirical research. In attempting a social and economic interpretation based on contemporary historical sense, the findings of this present study suggest that African political actors or leaders should make persistent or steady efforts to strengthen the economies of their states to lessen economic shocks and social costs that come about as a result of pandemics such as the COVID-19. It also identified the fact that within the globalized space, application of policies from other countries including international organizations should not be devoid of context

Predictors of Condom Use among Peer Social Networks of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ghana, West Africa

Ghanaian men who have sex with men (MSM) have high rates of HIV infection. A first step in designing culturally relevant prevention interventions for MSM in Ghana is to understand the influence that peer social networks have on their attitudes and behaviors. We aimed to examine whether, in a sample of Ghanaian MSM, mean scores on psychosocial variables theorized to influence HIV/STI risk differed between peer social networks and to examine whether these variables were associated with condom use. We conducted a formative, cross-sectional survey with 22 peer social networks of MSM (n = 137) in Ghana. We assessed basic psychological- needs satisfaction, HIV/STI knowledge, sense of community, HIV and gender non-conformity stigmas, gender equitable norms, sexual behavior and condom use. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, generalized estimating equations, and Wilcoxon two sample tests. All models were adjusted for age and income, ethnicity, education, housing and community of residence. Mean scores for all psychosocial variables differed significantly by social network. Men who reported experiencing more autonomy support by their healthcare providers had higher odds of condom use for anal (AOR = 3.29, p \u3c 0.01), oral (AOR = 5.06, p \u3c 0.01) and vaginal (AOR = 1.8, p \u3c 0.05) sex. Those with a stronger sense of community also had higher odds of condom use for anal sex (AOR = 1.26, p \u3c 0.001). Compared to networks with low prevalence of consistent condom users, networks with higher prevalence of consistent condom users had higher STD and HIV knowledge, had norms that were more supportive of gender equity, and experienced more autonomy support in their healthcare encounters. Healthcare providers and peer social networks can have an important influence on safer-sex behaviors in Ghanaian MSM. More research with Ghanaian MSM is needed that considers knowledge, attitudes, and norms of their social networks in the development and implementation of culturally relevant HIV/STI prevention intervention strategies

Psychotropic Effects of an Alcoholic Extract from the Leaves of Albizia zygia

Background. Albizia zygia is used in Ghanaian traditional medicine for the management of mental disorders. The present study tested the hypothesis that an extract of the leaves of Albizia zygia (AZE) may possess antipsychotic and antidepressant properties. Method. The novelty- and apomorphine-induced locomotor and rearing behaviours of AZE in mice were explored in an open-field observational test system. The effects of AZE in apomorphine-induced cage climbing test, extract-induced catalepsy, and haloperidol-induced catalepsy on mice were also investigated. Lastly, the forced swimming and tail suspension tests in mice were employed to screen the possible antidepressant effects of AZE. Results. AZE (100–3000 mg/kg) showed signs of central nervous system (CNS) depression under observation, with no lethality, 24 h after treatment in mice. AZE (100–1000 mg/kg) produced a significant decrease in the frequency of novelty- and apomorphine-induced locomotor activities in mice. The extract also significantly decreased the frequency and duration of apomorphine-induced climbing activities in mice. AZE, while failing to produce any cataleptic event in naïve mice, significantly enhanced haloperidol-induced catalepsy at a dose of 1000 mg/kg. However, AZE did not produce any significant antidepressant effects in the test models employed. Conclusion. The extract of Albizia zygia exhibited an antipsychotic-like activity in mice

Assessing the performance of only HRP2 and HRP2 with pLDH based rapid diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of malaria in middle Ghana, Africa.

BACKGROUND: Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits have been useful tools to screen for the presence of infection with malaria parasites. Despite the improvement, false results from RDTs present a greater challenge. The need for quality test kits is desirable. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of three malaria RDTs. METHOD: The team consented and enrolled 754 participants from the two major public hospitals in Kintampo districts of Ghana from June 2014 to August 2014. Venous blood samples were obtained by trained personnel and samples were screened for malaria using CareStart and SD Bioline HRP2 and HRP2 with pLDH based RDTs with blood slides for malaria microscopy as "gold standard". Geometric mean parasite densities were estimated and parasite densities were used to estimate the quantitative limits of the RDTs. The sensitivities, specificities and other performance criteria were calculated using statistical analytical software. RESULT: The median age of participants was 21 (range 5-31) years. There were 28.6% (215/752) were males and 71.4% (537/752) were females. Comparing with microscopy, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and the ROC were for CareStart (HRP2), 98.2%, 66.5%, 82.6%, 95.6%, 0.82; for CareStart (HRP2/pLDH) 98.2%, 66.5%, 82.6%, 95.6%, 0.82 and for SD-Bioline (HRP2/pLDH) RDTs 98.2%, 69.2%, 84.2%, 96.0%, 0.84 respectively. The performance for all the kits were acceptable at a cut-off of 25 or more parasites/μl of blood. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance of the three malaria RDTs was acceptable, according to the World Health Organisation criteria, to detect densities ≥25 parasite/μl of blood. The RDTs with HRP2/pLDH targets were comparable to those with only HRP2 and could successfully substitute current and commonly used HRP2-based RDTs

‘The medicine is not for sale’: Practices of traditional healers in snakebite envenoming in Ghana

Background Snakebite envenoming is a medical emergency which is common in many tropical lower-and middle-income countries. Traditional healers are frequently consulted as primary care-givers for snakebite victims in distress. Traditional healers therefore present a valuable source of information about how snakebite is perceived and handled at the community level, an understanding of which is critical to improve and extend snakebite-related healthcare. Method The study was approached from the interpretive paradigm with phenomenology as a meth-odology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 traditional healers who treat snakebite patients in two rural settings in Ghana. From the Ashanti and Upper West regions respectively, 11 and 8 healers were purposively sampled. Interview data was coded, col-lated and analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti 8 software. Demographic statistics were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. Findings Snakebite was reportedly a frequent occurrence, perceived as dangerous and often deadly by healers. Healers felt optimistic in establishing a diagnosis of snakebite using a multitude of methods, ranging from herbal applications to spiritual consultations. They were equally confident about their therapies; encompassing the administration of plant and animal-based concoctions and manipulations of bite wounds. Traditional healers were consulted for both physical and spiritual manifestations of snakebite or after insufficient pain control and lack of antivenom at hospitals; referrals by healers to hospitals were primarily done to receive anti-venom and care for wound complications. Most healers welcomed opportunities to engage more productively with hospitals and clinical staff. Conclusions The fact that traditional healers did sometimes refer victims to hospitals indicates that improvement of antivenom stocks, pain management and wound care can potentially improve health seeking at hospitals. Our results emphasize the need to explore future ave-nues for communication and collaboration with traditional healers to improve health seeking behaviour and the delivery of much-needed healthcare to snakebite victims