Tepa-Ashanti, April 30, GNA - Ahafo-Ano North District Queenmothers Association was inaugurated at Tepa in the Ashanti region at the weekend.

Nana Agyeiwaa Paamu, Queenmother of Tepa Traditional Area is the President of the five-member executive committee of the association. Mr Haruna Akape, Deputy Ahafo-Ano North District Co-ordinating Director, inaugurating the association, commended the queenmothers for uniting to deliberate on issues to promote their well being and socio-economic development of the district. He urged them to educate people in their communities to join the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to have access to affordable and improved health care delivery.

Mr Akape emphasised the importance of education in the country's development and asked them to educate parents and guardians to provide quality education to their children and wards. Mr Samuel F. Adjei, Ashanti Regional Director of Centre for National Culture (CNC) stressed the need for them to help train children to accept cultural norms of society to reduce social vices. Nana Ama Dufie, Krontihemaa of Tepa Traditional Area, called for the re-introduction of some abandoned cultural practices and customs such as puberty rites to help reduce teenage pregnancies among the youth in society.