Sherry Ayittey, Former Fisheries Minister Joins Her Marker In Heaven

 The former minister of state, Mrs. Sherry Hanny Ayitteyhas passed on at age 75.

Her death was announced by her family in a press statement dated Saturday, July 22, 2023.

“The head of the family, Nii Kofi Ayittey of Akwetey Nantan, Osu Alata, announce with deep sorry the death of their beloved and sister, Hon Hanny Sherry Ayittey on July 22, 2023”.

STATEMENT FROM THE FAMILY

“The head of the family, Nii Kofi Ayittey of Akwetey Nantan, Osu Alata, announce with deep sorry the death of their beloved daughter and sister, Hon. Hanny Sherry Ayittey on July 22, 2023. The family will announce further details in due course,” the family added in a statement signed by Nii Kofi Ayittey.

Sherry Ayittey was born in 1948. She had her secondary school education at the Labone Secondary School in Accra and was a member of the 1965-67 year group. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Master of Science in industrial microbiology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, then University of Science and Technology (UST). She was also a fellow of American universities of management, namely, the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore and Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Ayittey was involved in nongovernmental organization activities in Ghana. In February, 2013 she attended a leadership programme at Harvard University, Massachusetts, US.

Career

Ayittey served as the managing director of Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC) Distilleries. She served on several management boards in Ghana including the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation now Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT); Ghana Forestry Commission, and Ghana Export Promotion Council.

She was Ghana’s lead of delegation to Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and United Nations Convention on Biodiversity among others.

Ayitey was an attendant of the International Conference for Women in Beijing, China and the Africa Global Initiative Conference, Tokyo, Japan. She was also a fellow of the Institute of Directors, United Kingdom and a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Ghana.

Politics

Sherry Ayittey was a founding member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). She served in several roles within the party, serving as a women’s activist, and a National Vice-chairperson

In 2018, Ayittey declared her intentions to stand for the National Vice-chairmanship position for the NDC. She stood against along with Awudu Sofo Asorka, Said Sinare Yaw Owusu Obimpeh Lawyer Adu-Yeboah, Alhaji Amadu Bukari Sorogho, Seth Ofosu-Ohene, Alhaji Sumaila Mahama and Dr. Kwame Ampofo.  She campaigned and declared that her decision to stand for the position was on the agenda to ”Rebuild, Reposition and Regain the party values and principles among its grassroots base towards the 2020 Ghana elections.”

She succeeded in her bid to become a member of the party’s national executive committee after the elections on 18 November 2018, she was voted to serve as one of the three vice chairpersons for the party with Awudu Sofo Asorka serving as 1st Vice, she serving as 2nd Vice and Said Sinare as the 3rd Vice.

Hanny Sherry Ayittey was a former Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

n 9 June 2014, Sherry Ayitey was reassigned by President Mahama to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture

She was the Minister for Health from February 2013 to June 2014.

In January 2013, she was appointed Minister for Health by President John Dramani Mahama taking over from Alban Bagbin. She represented Ghana at international forums and conferences during her tenure including the 66th World Health Assembly and was one of the keynote speakers at the assembly on the assembly’s event on climate change and air pollution.

Whilst serving as Health Minister, she made calls at the 2013 National Family planning week celebration in Ho, Volta Region, on the need for the Ghana Education Service (GES) to introduce the teaching of family planning in schools to enable the adolescent to understand and know more about their reproductive health. 

This was due to the huge numbers of teenage pregnancies in Ghana being caused as a result of lack of knowledge on reproductive health and family planning within the youth considering that an introduction of it in the curriculum would reduce the stigma associated with reproductive health. She also stated that traditional authorities and religious leaders should regularly bring in experts in family planning and reproductive health to sensitize their communities on the issues relating to those fields.

Whilst serving as health minister, she considered eye-care as a critical aspect of ensuring a healthy nation, which led to an initiative of the distribution of eye-glasses in collaboration with the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) to people living in rural communities in Ghana. In 2014, as the Minister of Health, she advocated for the training of more ophthalmologists in Ghana since there were only 74 trained ophthalmologists nationwide

She was the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology from 2009 to 2012. He was also a minister of state.