Category: Medical

Mr. Eric Nana Takyi, the Kadjebi District Director of Health Services, has appealed to Ghanaians, especially residents of the Kadjebi District, to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He said the National Vaccination Day against COVID-19 exercise commences on May 4-9; so, people above 18 years, especially the first timers should take advantage and get vaccinated against COVID-19. According to him, only 28,682 people, representing 57.5 per cent, out of the Kadjebi District's target population of 49,882 are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. This means 21,200 people in the district are not fully protected against COVID-19. 'Ghana has started reporting some episodes of COVID-19 cases again and we are of the view that it is those who refused to take the jab or partially vaccinated,' he said. He said the disease is real, so everyone should get vaccinated. Nana Takyi said this at a Risk Communication Committee meeting at Kadjebi in the Oti Region. He said those who took the first jab were to go for the second ja b and those who took the second jab were to go for the booster to be fully protected against the disease. On functions of the Risk Communication Committee, Nana Takyi said it exists to provide appropriate and factual information to the public to avoid rumour mongering, the spread of wrong information, reduced fear and panic. He said diseases are bound to occur and the public needed to know the right information on them, hence the Risk Communication Committee. Mrs Mabel Amankwa-Amoah, Kadjebi District Health Promotion Officer, said 'Changing behaviour is difficult', so the Committee members must endeavour to communicate appropriately on trending issues. Mr David Naboare, a Mental Health Officer, said 2.4 million Ghanaians have mental problems, so 'be mentally right to communicate well'. The Committee has NCCE, GES, Media, Environmental Health, Disease Surveillance, Health Promotion and Mental Health Units, Ghana Police Service, Muslim Representative and CSO as members.  Source: Ghana News Agency

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), in collaboration with Crossroads International of Canada, has organised series of workshops, sensitisation programmes and stakeholders' engagement in the Northern and North East regions of the country. The beneficiary communities are the Yendi Municipal, Nanumba South, Gushegu Municipal, and the alleged witches' camps located at Kukuo, Gnani, Kpatinga and Gambaga in the two regions. Addressing the inmates of the witches camp at Kukuo during a health screening exercise, Mr Lambert Luguniah, Senior Legal Officer and Head of International Cooperation at CHRAJ, said the activity was part of the Access to Justice project and being implemented with support of the Crossroads International (CI). It was on the theme: 'Access to justice project on gender-based violence against elderly women alleged as witches in Ghana'. He said CHRAJ, with financial support from the CI, was registering all inmates of the alleged witches' camps to enjoy the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He said that formed part of the inmates' rights to good health, which was in fulfilment of the recommendations of a baseline survey aimed at improving the living conditions of victims of witchcraft allegations living in the camps and ensure the promotion of their rights to health. He said witchcraft accusations, especially in the Northern and North East regions, accounted for death sentences, torture, banishment of poor and innocent elderly women and their defendants, thereby denying them their rights to health care and means of livelihood, adding that CHRAJ was determined to stop the practice. Mr Luguniah said the partnership had led to CHRAJ organising a trainer of trainers workshop for stakeholders, including traditional authorities, religious leaders, youth groups and women leaders on issues of sexual and gender-based violence, especially against elderly women accused of witchcraft and the role expected of them to halt the practice. He advised the public to stop discrim inating against women alleged as witches, urging traditional authorities to ensure and promote co-existence among the people under their jurisdiction. He said with the Crossroads International support, CHRAJ conducted health screening exercise for all the inmates of the alleged witches' camps to improve their health status by taking preventive care and avert the possibility of common but dreaded diseases. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Raphael Kwabena Angmortey, the Nutrition Officer of Ada East, has said that beautiful, glowing, and anti-ageing skin is not necessarily based on cosmetic products but rather on eating a variety of fruits and vegetables. Mr. Angmortey told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that most fruits and vegetables, such as blackberries, carrots, and tomatoes, are packed with antioxidant properties that delay or prevent ageing and other age-related disorders. He mentioned that the skin is an outside layer that portrays problems in the internal body, hence the need to tackle and combat skin challenges from the core rather than using lotions, creams, and masks to cure the outer layer. The Nutrition Officer said that fruits and vegetables contain vitamins that produce collagen, a protein that keeps the skin firm and elastic, protects the skin from sun damage, and reduces the appearance of wrinkles, among others. He said that being conscious of the foods consumed, coupled with regular exercise, was essential to a ttaining beautiful, youthful skin. He said fruits and vegetables had numerous other health-promoting benefits, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties, needed for the entire body to function effectively. He explained that foods that were rich in vitamin C supported collagen production for smooth and supple skin, adding that their anti-inflammatory properties helped to reduce the signs of ageing. Mr. Angmortey cautioned against cosmetics, especially bleaching products, being used to reduce anti-ageing and other skin issues. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Tamakloe, the Municipal Director of Health Service of Ahanta West Municipal says the Municipality has not recorded any malaria related deaths in the last four years. The feat was achieved through life-saving interventions such as early diagnosis and prompt treatment, Long Lasting Insecticidal Net (LLIN) distribution, Larval Source Management. Other interventions included, engaging communities in health decision-making, bringing health care closer to where people lived and work through primary health care system and address factors that increased Malaria risks in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The Municipal Director of Health was speaking during a durbar and donation exercise by Yinson Ghana and the West Africa Rescue Association to mark world Malaria Day in Kejebril in the Municipality. The theme for this year's celebration was on'Health Equity, The Cornerstone for Achieving Malaria Elimination in Ghana.' He noted that, under the Larval Source Management (LSM), the Municipal Healt h Directorate (MHD) collaborated with Zoomlion Ghana Limited and mapped out and sprayed a total of 474 mosquito breeding sites and thus topped the league table among the seven implementing LSM districts in the Western Region. The Municipal Director of Health said Kejebril was ranked the 14th epidemic Malaria community but through LMS and other Malaria intervention, the health Centre in the community now ranked 3rd best in reducing Malaria morbidity compared to the 2022 and 2023 annual cases. 'No wonder we are celebrating this year commemoration in Kejebril' he said. He added that sustained funding, strong surveillance system and community engagement were key to the success of the ambitious target of zero Malaria. 'Together with a robust political commitment, adequate investment and the right combination of strategies, we can reach our common goal of eradicating Malaria by 2030', he said. Mr. Tamakloe commended some health facilities in the Municipality for their excellent performance in reducing annual M alaria morbidity and their strive in ensuring zero Malaria death in the Municipality. He also made a call to the Chiefs to support community members who suffer from the deadly Malaria illness. Meanwhile, the Municipality recorded 33,065 Malaria cases out of which 512 were pregnant women and 8,053 were children under five years. 'Together we can reduce morbidity in line with the vision of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Malaria Community which is a world free of Malaria' he noted. He therefore called on frontline health workers, partners, stakeholders, Chiefs, and all opinion leaders in the Municipality to help accelerate the fight against Malaria for a more equitable world. Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Labram Musah, the National Coordinator of the Ghana NCD Alliance (GhNCDA) has called on the media and civil society organisations (CSOs) to remain steadfast in their commitment towards achieving Universal Health Care (UHC). 'Together let us forge and fight towards a future where health is truly a universal right acceptable by all of us,' he said. Mr Musah made the call at the close of a day's capacity-building seminar for media professionals and CSO members in Accra on the theme: 'Accelerating UHC through the 2nd Global Financing Dialogue on NCDs and Mental Health.' The seminar was organised by the GhNCDA and supported by NCDA Advocacy Institute Accelerator Track Programme through NCDA partnership with the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. It was aimed at educating the media and the CSO members on their roles towards the forthcoming second Global Financing Dialogue in June 2024 in Washington, USA. The participants were taken through how the media should be positioned in the lead up to t he upcoming dialogue to catch the attention of relevant policy makers and how to demand appropriate policy responses that will guide Ghana's participation at the meeting. Mr Musah said investment in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and mental health were imperative to achieving the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target. 'Regrettably, progress in addressing illnesses and mental health conditions has decelerated since the onset of the SDGs era in 2015, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,' he stated. He said the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development had acknowledged the significance of addressing NCDs and mental health, aiming to reduce premature mortality from the diseases by one-third and promote mental health and well-being by 2030. 'This inclusion marks a pivotal step towards rallying efforts for a comprehensive approach to tackle these pressing developmental challenges of the 21st century,' the coordinator said, adding that the NCDs constituting 74 per cent of all deaths globally and 46 per cent of total death in Ghana highlights the urgency of action. Mr Musah noted that each country harbours the potential to realise the global SDG 3.4 target (reduce by one-third premature mortality from NCD through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being) and advance towards UHC for individuals with the diseases and mental health conditions. 'This can be achieved through the scaled-up delivery of context-specific, cost-effective priority interventions, coupled with domestic capacity-building efforts across government sectors,' he stated. He said the upcoming second Global Financing Dialogue aimed at delineating actionable national strategies and formulating policy recommendations conducive to integrating NCDs and mental health within the national health financing system. 'The first Global Financing Dialogue stressed the fact that current rates of investments were not sufficient to meet SDG 3.4 by 2030,' Mr Labram stated. Participants at the seminar expressed their commitment to carry out concerted awareness creation among stakeholders for them to see the need for NCDs and mental health financing to help achieve the Universal Health Care target. Source: Ghana News Agency