Accra: Mr Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the Minister of Health, has urged tobacco control stakeholders in African countries to enhance their capabilities to combat tobacco industry interference. He emphasized the importance of shared learning, peer exchange, and collaborative networks to elevate their collective voice in global tobacco control fora, highlighting the diversity of experience across various African regions as a significant strength.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Akandoh made these remarks in an address read on his behalf at the opening of a five-day training on Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Response in Accra. The event is hosted by the Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development (VAST-Ghana) under the auspices of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry and Policy Research (ATIM) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). The program, themed 'Building Capacity in Industry Monitoring for Effective Tobacco Control Advocacy in Africa,' aims to provide capacity-building support to African tobacco control advocates, researchers, and policymakers, particularly through training on tobacco industry monitoring and strategies to counter tobacco industry interference (TII).
The training has drawn delegates from 10 African countries. Mr Akandoh encouraged the participants to view themselves as champions, mentors, and agents of change in their home countries, using the opportunity to develop strategies that are contextually adaptive, bold, and sustainable. He urged them to strengthen alliances with government, civil society, academia, media, and youth, emphasizing Ghana's openness to sharing knowledge and forging partnerships to accelerate progress toward a tobacco-free generation in Africa.
Professor Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, Director of the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research at the University of Pretoria and facilitator of the workshop, noted that the event would help build an African network to protect nations from commercial influence. He mentioned that experts from across Africa, the U.S., and the U.K. would deliver topics focusing on digital monitoring tools, advocacy planning, and governance for Article 5.3 implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Mr Labram Musah, the Executive Director of VAST-Ghana, expressed that hosting the training program in Ghana was a significant opportunity to strengthen the country's tobacco control efforts and consolidate the achievements made over the years. He acknowledged that tobacco industry interferences remain a substantial obstacle to effective control in Ghana and many other African countries, and that building the capacity of stakeholders is crucial in exposing industry influence in policymaking, improving policy development, and ultimately saving lives. He expressed gratitude to ATIM and ACBF for their role in building the capacities of Africans to tackle one of the biggest public health threats of the 21st century.
