A day’s training workshop has been held in Accra with a call on Ghana’s media to drum home the essence of healthy living among the populace.
The workshop, organized by the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) for selected journalists in the country was aimed at equipping the media professionals with the requisite and relevant information on non communicable diseases in Ghana.
Mrs. Charity Binka, Executive Secretary of AMMREN in her opening remark noted that the media played a crucial role in nation building and therefore needed to be empowered with the right skills and information to disseminate to society through their media networks.
She said it is important for journalists to come up with compelling stories on pertinent health issues to cause positive lifestyle changes among Ghanaians.
Mrs. Ellen Sam, Principal Pharmacist at the Police Hospital said that most Ghanaians, especially young people, have developed disturbing lifestyle diseases such as Chronic liver diseases, type 2 diabetes, chronic renal failure, stroke and obesity due to very little engagement in physical activity and sedentary lifestyles.
According to her, the advent of technology in various aspects of life has led to a significant departure of many young people from engaging in activities that promote holistic bodily wellness and as such leading to the death of many young people.
Mrs. Ernestina Agyepong, a seasoned nutritionist and Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Nutrition Association noted that majority of young people in the population were suffering from a compounded effect of the negative lifestyles they lived.
“They consume more sugary and fatty foods and this is causing the unfortunate trend” she said.
Mrs. Agyepong however charged Ghanaians to “eat a nutritionally adequate diet with complex carbohydrates such as kenkey, plantain, fish and eat more fruits. Everything must be in moderation”
Dr. Kofi Bonney of the Virology Department of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Research said that considering the nature and mode of transmission of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), it was critical the media the played a massive role in educating people about preventing and fighting the disease.
He added that journalists must institute campaigns to raise awareness within both the rural and urban population across the country.
Dr. Bonney however cautioned the media against misinforming the public on the disease saying that will cause the disease to spread more widely.
About 15 journalists from both print and electronic media houses participated in the training workshop.
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