By Rachel Kakraba
President Mahama has announced the launch of a primary healthcare initiative that will bring basic health care to the doorstep of Ghanaians. The programme which takes off in March this year, he said is expected to curb the rising incidence of especially non-communicable disease among Ghanaians.
“Today in Ghana we have an upsurge in non-communicable diseases, these are diseases that you get from either lifestyle or genetics. It’s not infectious and so you cannot infect somebody”
President Mahama who said this at a thanksgiving service of the First Sky Group in Accra, further announced that community coordinators would be deployed to provide basic health screening for community members.
“There will be community coordinators who will go from house to house with a simple sphygmomanometer and measure blood pressure and be able to tell you if your pressure is high”
The president added “they will also test your sugar to see if your blood sugar is high. If it is, then you can go to your community pharmacy, we’re going to have generic drugs there, which are cheaper”
President Mahama urged Ghanaians to take routine medical check-ups seriously, stating that neglecting basic health screenings is contributing to the rising burden of preventable diseases in the country.
He observed that kidney disease and other life-threatening conditions linked to hypertension are frequently detected too late due to people’s failure to undergo regular medical check-ups.
“One of the major causes of kidney failure is hypertension, high blood pressure, and there are many people here, who I think have probably never, ever gone to a doctor to check their blood pressure. But continuous chronic blood pressure eventually destroys your kidneys”
President Mahama made a strong case for nationwide support for the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, otherwise known as the Mahama Cares, stressing that sustaining the initiative is critical to strengthening Ghana’s healthcare system, especially in the management of chronic diseases.
“if you get a family member or a relative who comes down with a stroke or has cancer, breast cancer, or cervical cancer, the treatment is very expensive. Normally, however rich you are in the effort to save your life, you will virtually spend all your resources and become a pauper. That is why government has to come in to support, but government alone cannot do it”
President Mahama, commended the First Sky Group, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Eric Seddy Kutortse, for the significant contribution to Ghana’s development through philanthropic initiatives, particularly in the health sector. He appealed to corporate institutions and individuals and the general public to support efforts aimed at reaching out to underprivileged persons across the country.
