Tackle high-rates of avoidable NCD deaths – Dr Wiafe Addai urges gov’t
Chairperson of Ghana NCD Alliance, Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, has called for conscious efforts by the government to tackle high rate of avoidable deaths among people living with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Ghana.
She said people with diabetes, hypertension, stroke, glaucoma and cancers among others are dying at a fast rate in the country not because of lack of medication, but rather the neglect of attention exhibited by the government to the NCDs.
Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the President of Breasts Care International (BCI), made the call during a free health screening at Nkwanta Kesse, a farming community in the Afigya Kwabre North district in the Ashanti region on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.
The screening forms part of activities in celebrating 2021 Global Week for Action on NCDS in Ghana, between September 6 and 12, with the aim of among other things to ensure and accelerate progress on NCD prevention and care in a way that upholds the right to health and leaves no one behind.
About four hundred people were screened on breasts and cervical cancer, hepatitis, diabetes, eye, hypertension and prostate, in a programme well attended by religious and traditional leaders, school children, health practitioners and other people.
Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai noted that “fighting COVID-19 is in the right direction, but the government shouldn’t forget the fact that a lot of people who died from the COVID had underlying risk factors of these NCDs. So preventing NCDs is equally preventing COVID-19 deaths”.
“The government must do a lot of community engagements to educate the people on the NCDs, train more nurses at the rural areas to offer first aid assistance and education to the people. The government can team up with Civil Society Organisation (CSO) like the Ghana NCD Alliance, BCI and others to create more awareness on NCDs,” Dr Wiafe Addai suggested.
Dr Mrs Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who is also the CEO of Peace and Love Hospitals in Kumasi and Accra advised the public to frequently visit health facilities to know their health status to prevent untimely deaths.
The chief of Nkwanta Kesse, Nana Boakye Yam, who could not hide his appreciation to Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai and her health team for the free screening and education, urged his people to avoid self-medication, but rather report anything unusual they experience in their bodies.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Afigya Kwabre North District Assembly, Hon Karikari Acheamfour, thanked Dr Mrs Beatrice Addai for choosing the district for such an important programme which will improve the people’s health.
Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/ Francis Appiah
