By Rebecca Ekpe
The Food and Drugs Administration, FDA has acknowledged the greater task in its domain with the coming on stream of multiple media outlets, especially new media.
Besides deploying new media tools to manage the space, it has also relied heavily on collaboration, partnerships and networking to achieve its goals.
It is in light of this that the visit to the offices of the FDA by the National Leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association, GJA led by its President Albert Dwumfour is seen as integral to the advancement of information dissemination on the safety of Food and Drugs administration in Ghana.
Mr. Dwumfour who was joined by his Vice President, Linda Asante Agyei; Organizing Secretary, Dominic Hlodzi; General Secretary, Kofi Yeboah; Treasurer, Audrey Dekalu; and Public Affairs Officer, Rebecca Ekpe, used the occasion to share the Association’s new vision, while commending the FDA for steadfastness in ”protecting the public from health hazards”, so far as food and drugs are concerned.
He posited that it was very important for the GJA and the FDA to step up collaboration in building the capacity of Journalists in the area of Food and Drugs Reporting.
”As watchdogs of the peoples’ rights, we are in the same trade of protecting the public, anything that has to do with protecting the citizens’ rights we are ready to champion that progress. And as partners, we should not be seen as going only after the bad things or the bad people, but, we should trumpet the good things as well,” Mr. Dwumfour stated.
His statement was corroborated by GJA Vice President, Mrs Linda Asante Agyei. She reminded the FDA to speed up responses to issues raised by Journalists in their reportage and from their market surveillance teams.
FDA CEO, Mrs. Delese Darko was happy with the visit by the GJA Leadership and pledged her support to the vision.
”There are so many radio stations and TV Stations and it has increasingly become more difficult to control the airwaves and it is a lot of work for the FDA to do”, therefore the support from the Media ecosystem to streamline and educate the public on safety of food and drugs, according to the FDA CEO is one that should be cherished.
Present during the discussions were the FDA Deputy CEO, Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Yvonne Nkrumah, Director, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Joseph Bennie and Head of Communications and Public Education, Mrs. Rhoda Appiah.