The Ghana Red Cross Society has revealed that prominent personalities are kicking the bucket through Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), particularly hypertension and diabetes.
According to the Ghana Red Cross Society, public life poses the highest risk for diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, which are major causes of these NCDs.
Addressing President Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 the Acting President, Ghana Red Cross Society, Dr. Edward Donkoh, did not bore the President with figures but said “the situation is bad.”
They met the President to solicit his support to fight NCDs.
“We are talking about a condition that is taking the lives of prominent leaders, including our politicians and the leadership of our beloved country…” he said.
Dr. Donkoh continued, “We are no longer getting our old people alive or strong enough to serve as mentors or even groom us the young people coming up. We are losing politicians, clergy, corporate people, entertainment people and health sector development people to these diseases.And we, the young ones, are finding it difficult to get the right people with the right experience to mentor us.”
He said that if people know how public life contributed to NCDs, no one would want to be a president, an MP, or a minister.
He shared an observation of the Red Cross Society that some prominent men of God in recent times, who attracted people seeking help and travelling across countries for relief, succumbed to NCDs.
He said that though these men of God pray for several thousand people with such diseases, they themselves end up dying from those diseases.
WAYFORWARD
The Ghana Red Cross Society proffered some measures to curb the fatal menace, including targeting the management of blood pressure, blood glucose and blood sugar, with the intention of preventing diabetes and hypertension.
Dr. Donkoh believed that once the state succeeded with these, the nation may have curtailed the emergence of these NCDs. He said it could be achieved through health promotion and screening for early detention.
He also advocated a change in the profile of diabetes and hypertension, from a disease to a development imperative.
He explained that because the factors that cause diabetes and hypertension are mostly economic, social, attitudinal, behavioral and dietary, efforts are bound to fail if they are confined to clinical care, which is mostly required at the end stage of the diseases.
AGENDA 3.4
The Red Cross Society said it was on standby to activate its volunteer system across the country to spread vital health messages and support people to change their negative lifestyles that attract these NCDs.
He said that currently, the next major project of the Society is to complement the efforts of the government and stakeholders to address NCDs, particularly hypertension and diabetes.
He told the president that they intend to move to communities with a message about the diseases, which he said some chiefs had endorsed. They have procured devices for screening and will also set up a wellness centre.
However, the Society would want politicians to spare a moment during their various interactions to include a message about the diseases.
They wanted the President to hold his famous Fellow Ghanaians series to educate the citizens about NCDs.
He noted that they have initiated a project called the Agenda 3.4 derived from SDG Goal 3.4, that targets Non-Communicable Disease and mental health.
NOTE TAKEN
President Akufo-Addo, in response, recognised and appreciated the “critical work” the Red Cross Society in Ghana does and “encouraged them to continue.
According to the President, the agenda set by the Society to concentrate on NCDs is “extremely important,” adding that he has taken note of the suggestions to fight against the diseases.
The President said the decision to preach messages about the diseases in all six regions of the country was laudable, as was the setting up of a wellness centre.
He assured the group that he would craft a message with regards to the fellow Ghanaians and mobilise public support.
“At the end, all of us are going to have to work together to make sure that we arouse public opinion on the matter, see how to control it and get people to live better and healthier,” he said, thanking them for meeting him.
