Ghana 1-1 England:As Gyan does his dance

In the history of football, Ghana is the fourth African country to have played at the Wembley Stadium and the first to have come out with a draw.

Wembley Stadium was flooded with Ghanaian fans from home and away as the match started. About 81,102 fans filled the stadium.

With Asamoah Gyan and Adiyah playing the striking position, the team constantly pressured the England for a goal but was to no avail.

England took the game to the Blacks Stars before the end of the first half when Andy Carrol fired a shot past Goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

The second half saw six substitutions for the Ghanaian side as Coach Goran Stevanovic made tactical changes to change the rhythm of the African game.The Black Stars again dominated the game in that half.

Gyan showed composure in the 91st minute to dribble Joleon Lescott on the edge of the area before curling a left-footer to far corner beyond the English Goalkeeper Joe Hart . The brilliant skill by Asamoah Gyan earned Ghana a share of the spoils at Wembley as he scored a late equaliser to deny England victory.

The international friendly ended in a 1-1 draw and England coach Capello in an interview after the match said: “I am happy because Ghana didn't play it like a friendly. The two teams on the pitch were really, really good. The players were strong in the tackle. I'm happy with the performance of the squad. The players played without fear and with confidence.”

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NHIA debunks Oxfam’s report

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) today debunked the findings of the non-governmental humanitarian organisation, Oxfam International that the National Health Insurance Scheme on health care delivery in Ghana is unfair.

Briefing the Press on Thursday morning, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Sylvester A. Mensah stated emphatically that the report that was put forward by Oxfam was full of flaws.

Mr Mensah pointed out that the research methodology the organisation used to arrive at the conclusion of their report was totally flawed and further explained that the report did not describe the type of study that was taken neither did it state the sample size and the type of sampling adopted by study.

“Since the document was filled with factual inaccuracies, the NHIA had to come out to respond. Oxfam did not state the type of study they carried out. To make matters worse, the figures they used in their study also did not come from us,” Mr Mensah emphasised.

Oxfam’s report concluded that as at 31st December, 2009, the NHIS health delivery could be accessible to as low as 18 per cent with those excluded still paying user fees in the “cash and carry” system.

Mr Mensah noted that the mathematical formula used by the organisation to arrive at the membership data for the NHIS and health service utilisation by members was flawed.

“Indeed, until 2008, the denominator for calculating the percentage of the registered members was the 2004 population projection but this was always made clear when the figures for registration were presented. Accordingly, this is not at all a new discovery or revelation by Oxfam.”

“It is important to note that membership of a scheme such as the NHIS is not based on mathematical extrapolations but collation of names, addresses and critical bio-data of people which can be verified, and the fact that the researches did not exhaust the possibility of accessing such information, suggests a calculated effort to tarnish a home grown African initiative and underscores the poor quality of the research.”


He also noted that the personalities that the Oxfam report cited as support for the study, such as Mr Chris Atim have openly distanced themselves from the report through a written disclaimer.

It is purely evident that Oxfam international is out to find fault in Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme since the programme in gaining international acclaim as a potential model of healthcare financing in the world.

In November 2010, the NHIS was selected by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for an award at its 2010 Global South-South Development Exposition held in Geneva, Switzerland for showing leadership in health insurance implementation in the developing world.

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I am the first hip life University graduate

Bice Osei Kuffuor, Known in music industry as Obour, is working on his new album and his 10th Anniversary celebration which is slated to be launched later in the year. In an interview, he said, he is the first Hip life musician to have gone on a nationwide tour in 2004 and 2005.


Apart from that, Obour mentioned also that he is the first Hip life musician to have graduated from University. The ‘Konkontiba’ hit maker has a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Music from the University of Ghana, Legon where he was in probably the most popular hall, Commonwealth Hall otherwise known as “the vandal city”.

According to him, “It has been 10 years filled with so many experiences. Such experiences include, 10 years of good music, devotion to the musicianship of Ghana and of service to social campaign. In all, it has been a wonderful revelation”.

Speaking about what inspired the lyrics of his songs, Obour revealed that because he grew up in Juaso in the Ashanti region among traditionalists like linguists, chiefs etc. it gave him the opportunity to do more inspirational traditional music. He said his traditionalist instincts, which are felt in his songs, are inspired from his childhood life history.

He added that, “I was born in Kumasi but I grew in Juaso. Because my Dad was a chief there, I grew up around a lot of tradition and culture.”

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