Excessive intake of alcohol and illicit drugs contribute to mental illness

Head of Communications of the Mental Health Authority, Kwaku Brobbey has expressed fears about the excessive intake of alcohol and illicit drugs is contributing significantly to mental illness among the youth and called for a coordinated action to address the situation.

 

“Statistics that we have from the World Health Organisation (WHO) affirms that alcohol and drug abuse, we usually call that substance abuse, is one of the major contributors to mental health among the youth, particularly here in Ghana,” he said.

While expressing worry about the situation, Mr. Brobbey said the growing number of advertisements on alcoholic beverages and the manner in which they are presented, is enticing the youth, adding that the situation could worsen if action is not taken.

He also stated that there is an increasing rate of substance abuse in the Brong Ahafo and the Western Regions.

Early this month, the Regional Mental Health Coordinator in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Mr. Joseph Yere, said alcoholism was contributing to mental health disorders in the region.

He appealed for concerted efforts to deal with the excessive intake of alcohol among the youth.

Speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Sunyani, Mr. Yere said out of the about 4,000 cases of mental illnesses recorded in the region from January to June this year, 403 cases were due to alcoholism.

He said other substances abuse such as tramadol and Indian hemp were also Impacting the mental health of people in the region.

The James Lartey, has also expressed concern about the negative effects of advertisement of alcoholic beverages on children, who are now craving for such products.

According to him, the situation where very young children have messages on alcoholic products deeply imprinted on their minds is worrying.

CTN has come to stay—GRA Boss

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) says implementation of the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN), which officially began yesterday, has come to stay. 

The implementation, according to GRA, is to provide greater scrutiny of major imports for both valuation and security management purposes.
 

Speaking at a media conference in Accra, Commissioner-General Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Nti said: “Our friends from the media, I wish to assure you that CTN has come to stay. I once again appeal to you to help GRA sensitise the trading and general public about benefits the nation stands to gain in our efforts to actualise the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. 

He explained: “From Monday, 15th October 2018, importers whose imports - from records - exceed 36 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) per year will be required to obtain a CTN Number in the country of export.

“This means any importer who imports less than 36 TEUs per year is exempt from CTN compliance. Further, businesses that import more than 36 TEUs per year but can demonstrate that the nature of their imports and their turnovers make them small importers will also be exempt,” he said.

He indicated that the exemptions are to ensure that small- and medium-scale importers - mostly petty-traders, market women and men, small distributors, and other small to medium businesses - are free from the requirements of this intervention.

He said government will monitor closely implementation of the important Customs-management tool, with a view to learning the needed lessons and adjusting the scope and mechanics of the policy to achieve both the valuation and security enhancement objectives of the intervention.

“We thank all stakeholders for their cooperation as Ghana Customs prepares toward the rollout of this national exercise,” he stated.

Explaining the module, Mr. Nti said the CTN is a risk assessment engine that allows Customs and other authorities to effectively control, supervise and manage import traffic.

“The CTN module is a system in which shippers upload information on their Cargo onto a global platform. This is then made available to Cargo Tracking Notes (GH Ltd.). The information to be provided includes the Export documents, Commercial invoice, Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin and Freight invoice among others.”

By introducing CTN, the Authority seeks to improve its services via aligning its operations along with Trade Facilitation and Security Recommendations by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Customs Organisation (WCO); and in accordance with new standards for international cooperation between member-states of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

“By implementing the CTN system, Customs is seeking to modernise its operations to facilitate the movement of legitimate trade in line with international best practices. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance, GRA in partnership with Messrs. (CTN) Ghana Limited announced the introduction of the CTN system/module to Ghana and programmed it to be implemented effective 13th February, 2018,” he said.

The CTN was subsequently suspended but reintroduced to be run on a pilot basis for three months from 1st July, 2018. The pilot, which however ran for two months up to August 2018, revealed the level of revenue leakages in the present Customs Verification of documents, Classification and Valuation, Mr. Nti added.

Benefits of CTN

According to the GRA, the CTN will provide data to Ghana Customs and other stakeholders in advance to enable Cargo Review Processes in a manner that ensures generation of key prior-shipment information in real-time to effectively Control, Supervise, and Manage import traffic into Ghana.

It will also help with the collation of a reliable trade database to benchmark & protect government revenue in import duties and taxes, as well as plugging identified loopholes and leakages in order to preserve the sanctity and integrity of Customs valuation for goods and freight.

The CTN is targetted at safeguarding and facilitation of trade in order to significantly reduce the turnaround time for Cargo Clearance, which in turn will allow importers to avoid the payment of heavy demurrage fees and generally reduce the cost of doing business.

Again, it will ensure the provision of a one-stop comprehensive and broader view of the global logistics chain to Customs, the Port Authority and other structures of control, which will eliminate duplications and enhance reporting requirements.

Outreach programme on Maternal HealthCare held

Live, Move, Have Your Being (LMB) and Ladies War Room (LWR) under the auspices of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International (FGBMFI), have organised an outreach programme, themed "Let our Mothers and Babies Live," to deliberate and provide solutions to the persistent and disturbing reality of maternal and neonatal mortality in Ghana in  Accra.

Baaba Cofie (Mrs.), LMB founder and author of the novel based on her personal story, “In the Womb of Time”, said her organization was birthed out of a personal experience and her journey of enduring and overcoming pregnancy complications for six months in hospital. According to Baaba, the long period of stay in hospital drew her attention to the stark reality of the trauma many families were going through to make babies and experience the joy of being a parent.

“LMB therefore seeks to empower, provide and assist urban families manage fertility and pregnancy – related challenges. We’re inspired by the Christian value of love and a devotion to reach out and help as many people as possible regardless of their race, creed or nationality. We assist families with apt medical knowledge and advice, professional psychological counsel and godly spiritual guidance through events and one-on-one support therapy,” she said.

Speaking about the importance of the support provided by his entity, the Business Director, Golden Executive Chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, Mr. Delasie Dogbe, said the Fellowship is committed to the good cause of humanity and is therefore happy to support LMB and Ladies War Room to create awareness and provide the needed support to help reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in Ghana.

Mrs. Abue Dogbe, Co-founder of Ladies War Room, who almost lost her life when delivering her twin children, said her passion, is to promote women’s health and express the love of Christ by encouraging others who have lost a child or a spouse through childbirth. According to her, the trio-partnership is importance to create a platform to discuss maternal mortality, reach out and support grieving couples and families affected by it.

“Ladies War Room was born out of a strong desire to see to it that our women are safe and in good health. We believe happy women help build a happy society. Our focus is to build quality relationships, share love and empower our women through programmes that encourage interaction, learning, and addressing various challenges affecting women on a daily basis,” she said.

The programme, which was attended by members of the three organizations and the general public was in two sessions; In the first session, individuals shared their stories of maternal & neonatal challenges and deaths whilst the second session was an educative and informative live audience discussion on the theme with three resource persons; a gynaecologist, a mental health nurse and a pastor.