My Ghana Electronic Desk

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A paper published this month in the peer-reviewed journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, has stated that cities can break the link between high living standards and significant contributions to climate change. According to senior fellow in the International Institute for Environment and Development’s Human Settlements Group, Dr David Satterthwaite, who published the paper, the break can be done using many technologies and policies that are already available if not widely used. The paper urges policy makers to seize the potential for cities to reduce waste, pollution and resource use, whilst increasing the quality of life of their inhabitants. It also reviews evidence from studies of urban centres across the world, in both developed and developing countries, to show how such settlements can raise living standards and resilience to climate change, without necessarily increasing their emissions of greenhouse gases. “Most people assume that citi

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The Rotary Clubs of Accra Ring Road Central and The Rotary Club of Ahmednagar-Midtown, India, in partnership with the La General Hospital has embarked on 24-day free eye care medical outreach for residents of the Greater Accra Region. The Medicare Project dubbed (Eye Camp ) is taking place from   24 th May, 2011 – 17 th June,2011. The project intends to screen about 4,000 people with eye problems and perform about 250 surgeries within the Accra metropolis. According to the Chairman of the Eye Camp Project, Rotarian Samuel Amponsah, “the exercise will involve eye screening, treatment and surgeries, especially for those suffering Cataract and Glaucoma. The exercise will   be conducted   by a medical team from India and their Ghanaian counterparts at the La General Hospital.   Rotarian Amponsah also added that   the Rotary Foundation is funding the entire cost of the project: screening, treatment and surgeries of all patients. Residents of the Accra Metropolis,

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Global demand for major grains, such as maize, rice, and wheat, is projected to increase by nearly 48 percent from 2000-2025 and by 70 percent between 2000 and 2050, while per capita meat consumption is also expected to increase in many developing regions of the world. It is also envisaged that meat consumption will more than double in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2000-2050, leading to a doubling of total meat consumption by 2050. These statistics are findings contained in a research presented by Mark Rosegrant, director of Environment and Production Technology at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), who delivered the Ag Economic Forum Keynote during the 2011 Ag Innovation Showcase held in St. Louis from May 23 to 24, 2011. In the same address, he stated that at the same time, the growth in production of staple foods is expected to decline significantly in most of the world if business continues as usual. “Climate change, high and volatile foo

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Mrs. Isabella Gyau Orhin presenting the frames As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Ghana’s leading waste management company, has donated ten Zimmer frames to the Tamale Teaching Hospital to aid the speedy recovery of patients undergoing physiotherapy at the Hospital. Presenting the frames to officials of the hospital, the Communications Manager of the company, Mrs. Isabella Gyau Orhin, stated that Zoomlion Ghana Limited is concerned with the health and general wellbeing of Ghanaians, since the company sees itself as part of the health sector. She said Zoomlion is not only   committed to ensuring preventive health but also concerned with the treatment   of other ailments, hence the donation of the Zimmer frames, is in partnership with Health and Bliss of India. The Director of Nursing of the Hospital, Elizabeth Danso, who received the items, thanked Zoomlion for such a noble gesture. She said that the donation was a timely