Boo, (UWR), Dec. 13, GNA - Mr. Mahmud Khalid, Upper West Regional Minister has expressed concern about the increased rate of alcoholism intake among women in the region.

He said relevant sources had indicated that alcohol consumption among women was higher than that of the men, a situation he said was worrying and called on the National Commission for Civic Education to intensify its education on the issue.

Mr. Khalid expressed the concern during the inauguration of Saint Mary's Vocational Institute at Boo in the Lawra District on Saturday. The Institute was built at an estimated cost of 60,000 Ghana cedis with funding from Missionaries of Africa, You Touch Africa - England and School Children of Vereniging Bloemendaal from the Netherlands among others.

Students of the Institute would be trained in dressmaking, home management, English Language, Arithmetic, basic human rights, basic education in childcare and religious and moral education to help empower them to realize their full potentials and make them self-sufficient. Mr. Khalid noted that children whose mothers were indulged in excessive alcohol drinking would not have any better future because the lifestyle of their parents would have a greater influence on them. He said more than 75 per cent of malnutrition among children in the region was caused as a result of irresponsible behaviour and practices of some parents.

Mr. Khalid therefore, urged parents to channel their resources to the feeding of their families and invest in the education of children, especially the girl child for a better future.

He commended the community for opting for the Vocational School, which he said would help push girl child education to another level in the district in particular and the region as a whole. Mr. Khalid called on the people to embrace the facility and take good care of it to derive the maximum benefits.

He said critical issues such as high infant and maternal mortality, poor sanitation and environmental abuse could not be reversed if they do not put emphasis on education.

Miss Adwoa Kwateng, Country Director of Action Aid, Ghana said girl child education was one of the important areas of concern to the non-governmental organisation and urged the community members to enrol their daughters at the institute to enable them acquire employable skills for a better future.

Arcadius Gyieh, chief of Boo thanked Action Aid for the support and appealed to the Regional Education Directorate to provide the school with qualified teachers. He also asked the Regional Minister to ensure the completion of the electrification project for the community, while efforts were made for the construction of a dam for the people to facilitate dry season farming to supplement their income.