Friday, June 19, 2026, was celebrated worldwide as World Sickle Cell Awareness Day.

This global initiative highlights the urgent need to eliminate healthcare disparities and improve access to life-saving treatments across all income levels and regions.

Fittingly then, the theme for this year’s observance is “Closing the Survival Gap: Equity in Sickle Cell Care."

Fathers are pillars. A family rests on their shoulders. With their hands, they mould the future of their spouse and children. A father’s presence binds a family together.

Like a wall, it surrounds a home. No home is ever the same in the absence of a father. For every home that is built, a father is its foundation. 

Fatherhood is a responsibility. It is a duty to raise responsible children for society. Many children go astray in the absence of their fathers.  

Families across the country and the world at large will celebrate Father's Day tomorrow.

To mark the occasion, The Mirror is organising a special buffet lunch with live band music and other activities at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.

Traditional Father's Day gifts, such as watches, belts, wallets, hampers, perfumes and grooming kits, remain popular.

However, a number of fathers say what they value most are experiences that allow them to spend quality time with their loved ones and create lasting memories.

A memorable Father's Day celebration awaits families at the Labadi Beach Hotel tomorrow as the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) Band indicates its readiness to light up the atmosphere at The Mirror’s buffet lunch.

Guests will be treated to different genres of music, mouth-watering local and international dishes, exciting giveaways and special moments designed to make fathers feel truly appreciated.

For many people on social media, he is known as “Repɛlla”, a tech entrepreneur who regularly supports students with laptops, donates to communities and lends a helping hand to people in need.

But beyond the generosity and business success lies a role he considers his most important—being a father.

A husband and father of three children, the CEO, Melvic Technologies & Rep3lla, Victor Elorm Morgah, describes fatherhood not as a title but as a responsibility. 

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated into teaching, learning and research, quality assurance expert and Director of the Global Quality Assurance Association (GQAA)Dr Violet Makuku, has urged African universities to develop and re-evaluate systems that will support its effective use.

Isn’t it interesting that when it rains in Accra in recent times, folks switch to survival mode? Elsewhere, earthquakes, typhoons and hurricanes are the curse.

Here, one could say we only deal with floods. Evidently, it is the way we have been handling our built environment.

The question is: how should the tourism industry respond to such calamities? Of course, the interest of not only tourists but also residents is important here.

In Ghanaian culture, marriage is often regarded as a key milestone of adulthood.

It is, therefore, not surprising that studies suggest that by age 38, only a small percentage of Ghanaian women have never been married.

Yet, while many people enter relationships with hopes of finding lasting love, some experience repeated break-ups, multiple marriages or divorce.

Dear Mirror Lawyer, I am writing to seek clarification regarding the will of my late uncle, Mr Kwame Asante.

He was a visually impaired man who passed away in 2023. Before his death, Mr Asante dictated his will to his neighbour, Mr Mensah, who wrote it down and read it aloud to him in the presence of two witnesses, Mr Osei and Mrs Adjei.

For 38 years, Madam Grace Ackah has crossed the River Amalzuley almost every day just so children in Bakanta in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region can access education.

Through heavy rains, overflowing waters and years of teacher shortages, she stayed committed to the community where she was born and raised, dedicating her life to ensuring that children moved beyond fishing into the classroom.

Any baby with untreated severe jaundice is at risk of brain damage from the jaundice. This does not in any way mean that every baby with jaundice will develop brain damage.

Brain damage resulting from jaundice depends on the severity of the condition, the rate at which it develops, the level of bilirubin in the bloodstream, and the integrity of the blood-brain barrier.

An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a Nigerian trader, Ada Peace, to seven years imprisonment for human trafficking and immigration offences.

Her conviction followed an intelligence-led operation by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Asankrangwa Sector Command in the Western Region, that rescued two victims, aged 21 and 13, from exploitation.

If the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, passed by Parliament, gets the assent of the President, the possession, sale or use of sex toys, including vibrators and dildos, could become illegal.

While the bill, passed by Parliament on May 29, 2026, does not expressly mention sex toys or contain a provision criminalising their possession or sale, references to prohibited sexual acts involving an "object or device" could potentially be interpreted to cover such items.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers among women, and while no single food can prevent it, research continues to reveal that what’s on your plate matters.  

Fruits, in particular, are getting a second look for their potential protective role.

A high fruit intake has been linked to a 7 per cent lower risk of breast cancer.

Members of the Bretuo family of Akyem Apaaso near Oda in the Eastern Region had a shock of their lives when they realised that the body they had been given at the morgue of the Oda Government Hospital and brought home for burial was not that of their relative. 

They had to return the body to the morgue.

The hospital was also unable to find the body of their departed relative, 62-year-old Margaret Yaa Kyeraa, deposited at the morgue last month for burial on May 16, 2026.

Life today is difficult everywhere. The twists and turns of marriage have led many to see it as a no-go area.

Single life appears to be an option to the challenges of life.

Single life is on the increase everywhere and across social groups. In fact, globally, the proportion of those living single lives has doubled over the last 20 years. 

Let me begin this week's submission with this simple question: Have you ever received a substandard product from an online store?

I have. Yes and it has happened to me on more than one occasion. 

The first experience was when I purchased food from an online vendor. This was a typical case of what I ordered versus what was delivered!

The month of May comes with a reminder from the Paediatric Society of Ghana of a dangerous but preventable affliction of newborns – neonatal jaundice.

Fittingly, then, the society has christened the month the “Yellow Month” after the clinical manifestation of jaundice, where the babies turn yellow!  

This campaign is informed by the fact that jaundice in the newborn continues to take the lives of babies and, for those fortunate to survive, get maimed for life. 

For years, Victor Atsu Torgbo carried the speed and discipline of a soldier-athlete, hoping his talent on the track would open doors beyond Ghana’s borders.

Instead of achieving the dream that had taken him to South Africa, his journey became years of struggle, rejection, fear and survival.

The former military officer, who was once a 100-metre army record holder, said that frustration and alleged harassment within the military forced him to resign and seek greener pastures in South Africa in 2010. 

Dear Mirror Lawyer, My husband and I have been trying to have a child of our own for the past decade.

Recently, I read an article my friend sent me on surrogacy and the possibility of having a child through a surrogate.

I am excited about the prospect of having my biological child after years of barrenness, but also confronted with the issues involved in this, if we should do it the right way.