Does Health Insurance Premium Exemption Policy for Older People Increase Access to Health Care? Evidence from Ghana

Aging in Sub-Saharan Africa causes major challenges for policy makers in social protection. Our study focuses on Ghana, one of the few Sub-Saharan African countries that passed a National Policy on Aging in 2010. Ghana is also one of the first Sub-Saharan African countries that launched a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS; NHIS Act 650, 2003) with the aim to improve access to quality health care for all citizens, and as such can be considered as a means of poverty reduction. Our study assesses whether premium exemption policy under the NHIS that grants non-payments of annual health insurance premiums for older people increases access to health care. We assessed differences in enrollment coverage among four different age groups (18-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+). We found higher enrollment for the 70+ and 60-69 age groups. The likelihood of enrollment was 2.7 and 1.7 times higher for the 70+ and 60-69 age groups, respectively. Our results suggest the NHIS exemption policy increases insurance coverage of the aged and their utilization of health care services

High fatalities risk found in gulf construction

It is predicted that the construction industry will be growing in the future, and that could lead to an increase in risks in work safety and accidents. This paper presents the current status of occupational safety and health in the Gulf region by providing a comparison with those of some of the most advanced countries in the world. According to our data, the Gulf countries have a poor record of work safety and health. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the main factors and provide some solutions for key areas, so that the construction industry could improve its safety performance. Our findings from the literature and from the semi-structured interviews held with the selected professionals suggest that the major areas are: lack of awareness of the importance of safety and costs resulting from accidents; environmental and climatic factors; implementation of rules for developing a culture of harmless working conditions

Poverty alleviation among persons with disabilities via United Nations' sustainable development goals in Ghana: voices of stakeholders with disabilities

Consistently, it has been reported that persons with disabilities face multiple challenges in societies and thus it is important that deliberate intervention programs are initiated to empower them to overcome exclusion. The United Nations has taken the lead through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) project, which is a framework for assisting countries and donors in their efforts to alleviate poverty. This article documented the experiences of persons with disabilities with respect to global efforts towards poverty reduction via SDGs. Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 48 individuals with disabilities (hearing loss n = 11, visual impairment n = 15, and physical disability n = 22) who were drawn from four districts in the Northern Region of Ghana. Analysis of the interview data revealed common themes related to hardship, poverty, limited access to education, and underemployment. The results indicated that the SDG project engendered little tangible improvement in the lives of persons with disabilities. The need for concerted efforts to address barriers faced by individuals with disabilities is discussed extensively

Amino Alkynylisoquinoline and Alkynylnaphthyridine Compounds Potently Inhibit Acute Myeloid Leukemia Proliferation in Mice

B ackground: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains one of the most lethal, rarely cured cancers, despite decades of active development of AML therapeutics. Currently, the 5-year survival of AML patients is about 30% and for elderly patients, the rate drops to b10%. About 30% of AML patients harbor an activating mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) of Fms-Like Tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) or a FLT3 internal tandem duplication (FLT3-ITD). In- hibitors of FLT3, such as Rydapt that was recently approved by the FDA, have shown good initial response but pa- tients often relapse due to secondary mutations in the FLT3 TKD, like D835Y and F691 L mutations. Methods: Alkynyl aminoisoquinoline and naphthyridine compounds were synthesized via Sonogashira coupling. The compounds were evaluated for their in vitro and in vivo effects on leukemia growth. Findings: The compounds inhibited FLT3 kinase activity at low nanomolar concentrations. The lead compound, HSN431, also inhibited Src kinase activity. The compounds potently inhibited the viability of MV4–11 and MOLM-14 AML cells with IC50 values b1 nM. Furthermore, the viability of drug-resistant AML cells harboring the D835Y and F691 L mutations were potently inhibited. In vivo efficacy studies in mice demonstrated that the compounds could drastically reduce AML proliferation in mice. Interpretation: Compounds that inhibit FLT3 and downstream targets like Src (for example HSN431) are good leads for development as anti-AML agents

International trade and the environment : the impact of the WTO on developing countries and environmental protection : Ghana's timber industry and forest sector as a case study

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Learners’ perception towards the role of guidance and counselling services in colleges of education: A case study

In spite the availability of guidance and counseling services at the various College of Education in Ghana, learners have been showing a lukewarm attitude toward assessing the service. This paper sought to analyze learners' perceptions and attitudes on the role of guidance and counseling at Colleges of Education. This paper adopted an ex post facto research design on a sample of 300 respondents. Data was collected using a structured interview. Findings indicate that learners had a positive evaluation and appreciation of the role of guidance and counseling services but low demand for assistance. It was recommended that guidance and counseling departments take the opportunity of students' active perception and that all teacher trainees undergo training as the service providers