Emirates has been awarded the Presidential Honour for Distinguished Service, at The Ghana National Honours Awards 2023 from President Nana Akufo-Addo for its role in providing medical supplies, humanitarian aid and unstinting support to Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline’s cargo arm airlifted and distributed 62 tonnes of Covid-19 vaccine doses to Ghana during the pandemic. Worldwide, Emirates moved 4,200 tonnes of Covid-19 vaccines, surpassing one billion doses, to over 80 destinations on 2,000 Emirates flights with two-thirds of these doses being transported to developing countries.

Emirates also supported the transport of equipment donated by China’s Jack Ma Foundation to the Government of Ghana and operated 12 repatriation flights from Dubai to Accra, bringing back over 3,000 Ghanaian citizens, residents and others from over 31 cities seeking to return to the country from across its network.

Emirates has been operating to Ghana for the past 19 years, supporting the country’s trade and tourism development, through carrying visitors into the country and opening trade lanes for businesses and exporters alike. Today, Emirates operates a daily non-stop service between Accra and Dubai, connecting travellers and exporters to a network of over 140 passenger and cargo destinations.

Leading the aviation and air cargo industry in a timely response to the crisis, Emirates formulated its COVID-19 distribution strategy in 2020 and mobilized the movement of vaccines through its Dubai hub to developing countries. The air cargo carrier helped transport thousands of tonnes of urgently required PPE and other medical supplies across six continents by rapidly adapting its business model and introducing additional cargo capacity through its modified mini freighters on Boeing 777-300ER passenger aircraft.

Among other categories, the national awards were presented to individuals, institutions and partners who undertook exemplary work and contributed in supporting Ghana during the pandemic.

It was all joy as 10 entrepreneurs walked away with GHS 25,000 each from the Richard Quaye foundation in the free seed capital challenge.

After weeks of going through over 1,200 entries, 40 candidates were selected and screened to 17 finalists, of which 10 winners emerged.
The 10 winners were from diverse industries including Agriculture, Software Development, IT, Fashion, plastic waste recycling, among others.

Winners on the 21st gathered at the Quick Angels premises and had a round table discussion with the founder and CEO of Quick Angels Limited, who is the man behind the Richard Quaye Foundation Initiative, Mr. Richard Nii Armah Quaye.

He interacted with the 10 winners on the essence of the seed capital and advised them on financial management and discipline as some of the major metrics in winning the entrepreneurship journey.

The winners were full of praise for this gesture.

They asked for periodic mentorship which was granted to them via an open-door policy for all.

The winners took turns taking their cash cheques. There was a lot to eat and drink and network.

Richard Quaye Foundation is an established Social Responsibility foundation incorporated on 7th February 2020.

A Ghanaian wholly owns the Foundation to support deprived Communities in Ghana and beyond.

The foundation seeks to identify needy young Ghanaians in society and assist them through education,
training, and finance and equip them with entrepreneurial skills.

The foundation further seeks to be the Centre of reference and reliance for the needy in Ghana and beyond.

CEO of Quick Angels Richard Quaye gifts 10 entrepreneurs with free seed capital on his birthday

Women all over the world are celebrated during the month of March. LadySam, through the ‘Wheel of Life’ Series, marked International Women’s Month, this year, through her program, ‘Embracing Equity in the Corporate and Social Space.’ (more…)

Blood transfusions are one of the most critical treatments for sickle cell patients. But very few Ghanaians donate blood. The National Blood Service Ghana offers Blood donation in four easy steps. These are Registration, Screening, Donation and Resting/Refreshment. The only requirement is to be healthy, and the rest of the work is done for you.

We hit the streets of Accra to interview a few people, asking them if they have ever donated some blood. The common answer was no. One interviewee said ‘I have never donated blood because I don’t like syringes”. Another person said she hasn’t because she feels she doesn’t have enough blood.

In episode 4 of the award-winning series, AirtelTigo Touching Lives, in partnership with the International Sickle Cell Centre (ISCC), we discuss the benefits of blood donation, addressed the fears surrounding blood donation and encouraged Ghanaians to some donate blood if eligible.

Experiences of a Mother & Caregiver of a Sickle Cell warrior

• Comfort Sey, a mother and caregiver to a 25-year-old son with SCD disclosed that SCD is a sickness that has really changed her life. When her son was 1 year, 2 months old, he started to experience the symptoms of SCD. I struggled to care for him until he was 8 years old. I realised his hands, knee and legs were all swollen.
• I had taken him to so many hospitals but he wasn’t getting any better. I took him to another health facility and that was when they informed us he had fluid in his knees that needed to be extracted. Even though the fluid was extracted, his legs got swollen again the next morning. He was therefore transferred to the theatre for an emergency operation. After the surgery, he had low blood levels but that day was a holiday so I wasn’t sure where we would be able to find some blood. The situation became very fatal.
• Comfort shared she could only pray and call on God to help until a doctor came and inquired about the cases on the ward. He was informed by the nurses that a young boy was in a critical state and the situation looked hopeless. But the doctor believed otherwise so he rushed into an ambulance to a near-by clinic to get two pints of blood for Comforts son.

• When the blood finally came in, it was difficult to locate a vein for the transfusion but the doctor persisted. Comfort referred to the doctor as being “God-sent”, because he saved her sons life. After a while, her son regained consciousness because of the blood he received. Her son is almost 25 years old now.

The Importance of Blood Donation to SCD patients

• Dilys John-Teye, Head of the Southern Zonal Blood Centre and Senior Consultant at the ISCC spoke about the importance of blood transfusions to SCD patients. She stated that blood transfusions are very important for people living with SCD. Rather than the 120 days lifespan of normal red blood cells, the red blood cells of sickle cell patients live for approximately 10-20 days. The cells therefore die early so people living with the condition sometimes tend to require blood transfusions to be able to supply adequate amount of oxygen to vital body organs to prevent morbidity and mortality.

• “People may not know or understand the value of blood until they find themselves in need of one. Since blood cannot be manufactured, we can only rely on donations from people like you and I”, Dr. Mary Ansong, Founder and CEO of the ISCC stated. She appealed to those in good health and between the ages of 17-60, to donate some blood. She also clarified that donors will be thoroughly assessed to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria. Dr. Ansong assured us that we will not contract a disease from donating blood, nor will we die from donating blood. She also debunks the myth that donated blood will be used for rituals. She reiterated that one blood donation can save three lives.

• The head of Brands and Communications at AirtelTigo Nancy Asiedu-Amrado, reminded viewers that sickle cell patients depend on blood donors to survive certain complications of the disease. She emphasized that the AirtelTigo team, out of love and care, volunteered to donate blood solely for sickle cell patients through the National Blood Service. She therefore encouraged all Ghanaians to donate some blood when the call is made, as this is one of the ways we can show support to people living with SCD.

AirtelTigo Touching Lives is a corporate social initiative of AirtelTigo. The Sickle Cell Edition is done in partnership with the International Sickle Cell Centre (ISCC) and will feature medical experts from the ISCC, persons living with SCD, relatives, caregivers and SCD advocates.

Episodes can be found on AirtelTigo’s YouTube and Facebook channels as well as ISCC’s Facebook and Instagram handles.             

President Muhammadu Buhari rejoices with distinguished banker, economist, and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, CFR, on his 60th birthday, March 22, 2023, sharing joy and warmth of the occasion with the entrepreneur, who was ranked amongst World’s 100 most influential personalities in 2020 by Time.

President Buhari felicitates with Chairman of the United Bank of Africa (UBA) Group on the milestone, affirming the honor and pride that the benefactor has brought to Nigeria, and Africa, with his achievements, lighting the way for many to grow through inspiration, mentorship and training, with focus on raising generation of entrepreneurs.

The President believes Elumelu’s benevolence typifies his humble background and upbringing, starting out as a young banker, daring to dream of a modern and technologically friendly financial institution, Standard Trust Bank, and leading one of the biggest mergers with the UBA, which made history and strengthened the economy.

President Buhari notes the combination of youthfulness in style, broadness in networking, with both old and young, and the passion in pursuing and realizing dreams that the entrepreneur continually projects, graciously guiding others to nurture their business ideas to reality, especially in meeting societal needs and rendering value.

As the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and Tony Elumelu Foundation clocks 60, the President joins family members, particularly his wife, Dr Awele Elumelu, in thanksgiving to God for all the resourcefulness and impact, with brighter future ahead.

President Buhari prays for long life, good health and wisdom for the Humanitarian.

Screenwriters from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya pitched their new projects to a standing-room-only international audience of broadcasters, video-on-demand platforms, and potential producers at the Series Mania Forum, a film industry market aimed specifically at TV series, in Lille, France, yesterday. (more…)