M.A.G. blog, signed by Lydia

Lydia's Weekly Lifestyle blog is for today's African girl, so no subject is taboo. My purpose is to share things that may interest today's African girl.

This week's contributors: Lydia, Pépé Pépinière, Titi. This week's subjects: Rainy days don't mean Fashion break, Malaria drug for babies approved, Funerals, Phoenix Restaurant Mövenpick, and +233 Jazz club and grill Bar

Rainy days don't mean Fashion break. The secret? Dress smart without sacrificing style. And let's talk colours. Rainy days don't have to mean dull outfits. Rich emerald greens, burgundy, mustard yellow, navy blue, and classic beige bring warmth and elegance to even the gloomiest morning commute. Don't underestimate the power of layers. A lightweight blazer or water-resistant jacket can instantly elevate your outfit while protecting you from surprise showers. Choose neutral colours so they'll pair effortlessly with your wardrobe. Accessories deserve a rainy-season upgrade too. A sturdy umbrella is no longer just an emergency item—it's part of the outfit. A structured tote or waterproof handbag will keep your laptop, documents, and makeup safe when the heavens decide to test your patience. Most importantly, remember that confidence is always in season. The Accra rain may soak the streets, delay your commute, and challenge your hairstyle, but it should never wash away your style.

Malaria drug for babies approved. The WHO (World Health Organization) says infants with malaria had until now been treated with formulations designed for older children “which increases the risk of dosing errors, side effects and toxicity”. The new product, Coartem Baby, now available in Ghana, means newborns can be safely treated rather than using medication for older children. It comes as sweet cherry-flavoured tablets that can be dissolved into liquids, including breast milk. Coartem Baby contains two antimalarial drugs, artemether and lumefantrine, and was developed by the multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis and the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV). The development follows increasing research, challenging the historical misconception that young babies cannot be infected with malaria because they retain immunity passed on by their mothers during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Novartis said it would make the treatment available “on a largely not-for-profit basis in malaria-endemic regions”. (The Gates Foundation, at one time falsely accused of creating Covid is among the donors to the Medicines for Malaria Venture). But, mothers, still be careful. Artemether and Lumefantrine only treat uncomplicated malaria infections due to Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum). Whilst we see more and more different malaria strains like Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale curtisi and P. ovale wallikeri. These do not occur too often, but still 8-10 % of the malaria cases are from these rare ones. And it is not too sure if Artemether and Lumefantrine can treat these. Thus: Make sure baby does not get bitten, keep your house free from mosquitoes, drain standing stagnant water, use mosquito nets. According to the most recent WHO data, there were 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths in 2024 – roughly 9 million more cases than the previous year – almost all of them in Africa. Children under 5 years old accounted for about three in four malaria deaths in the region. Some 30 million babies are born in areas of malaria risk in Africa every year, with West Africa reporting infections ranging up to 18% in infants younger than 6 months old. For those who are good in math: That’s about 450,000 dead babies in West Africa. Ghana is part of that. And yours?

Funerals. We seem to like them, as long as it is not one of our close relatives. Time to socialize, dress up, eat, drink, dance. But if it is a (very) close relative like father, mother you end up with a stiff bill, 30,000 GHC in Accra is cheap. So if it is you and your 2 siblings please pick up 10,000 each. Some of that will come back as donations, but most don’t donate much. Tradition? Is it tradition that every visitor gets fed and walks off with a gift bag, a printed towel, chips and drinks? Is it tradition that we keep the person in the fridge for several months whilst we fight it out and wait for relatives from all over the world to arrive? I think tradition is that the village attends and that a few representatives from nearby settlements come and are welcomed, and that the person is buried in about a week. With some simple cement work on top. But indeed, funerals contribute to the economy, yearly about 15 billion GHC are spend, 1.25 billion dollars. Mourn the dead and show respect.

Phoenix Restaurant Mövenpick (former Ambasador Hotel). Independence Avenue, Ridge, PMB CT 343, Accra. The Ambassador Hotel was a gift from the British Government to Ghana at the time of independence. It became the social hub but eventually fell into desrepair. It was rehabilitated in 2011 and renamed as Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel. The lobby is impressive with lots of traditional and contemporary Ghanaian paintings, statues and tissues. Personally I do not like to eat in hotels, I cannot remember ever having eaten something in a hotel worth remembering, apart maybe from the Lancaster (former Golden Tulip) Sunday afternoon buffet, with a very wide choice of Ghanaian dishes. But the one who invited me was staying at the Mövenpick hotel and insisted we take it easy and dine there. We looked at the buffet which was nothing exciting so we went to à la carte. I had a Tian of prawns which was 2 big prawns (about 2 inches) grilled and dry and tough on a bed of avocado, peas and mayonnaise and laying on a mattress of dry and chewy small pieces of kelewele at 300 GHC. There was some lettuces as well which had no dressing. My host ordered the baked sea bass fillets which were small, oily, not very fresh and had no crispy baking, maybe it is not the season for sea bass, with mainly garden eggs, a tomato based sauce and 2 slices of fried potato. At 370 GHC. Baked sea bass Bread buns and butter came with all this, elsewhere often one has a choice of buns, white, brown, other types, but here it was only white. The butter did not have a butter taste. We both agreed that this was a waste of money and time and ate only part of the food. There was live classic Ghanaian highlife music but with a terrible sound system. The air conditioner worked very well, we both got cold and were happy when we got out of the restaurant. They have a wall with 120 bottles of wine, with light behind it, nice decoration, and indeed the bottles are lying down so the cork stays wet. Smirnoff red goes for 90 GHC a shot, fresh pineapple juice for 60 GHC, add ginger to make it 80, and Stella beer draft big at 105 GHC. Luckily I was not the one paying for all this.

+233 Jazz club and grill Bar. (Dr. Isert Street, North Ridge, opposite GBC, Accra). I took my guest there this Saturday night, the patch bay band was playing at an entrance fee of 100 GHC. My guest was happy, a swinging evening instead of a dull hotel room. Alas, Football. England versus Norway. Whilst we had phoned +233 and asked for their program. I’ll be glad when things get back to normal, meaning life without football.

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