By Yaw
Ansah, GNA
Accra, June 23, GNA – Dr Henry Nagai, a Public
Health Physician, has said there is the need for health sector to focus on
preventative and curative care simultaneously to reduce non-communicable
diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
He said such a move could be done with a
number of strategies including medical outreach at various religious and social
gatherings as well as the screening relatives of patients who visit the
hospital for medical care.
“Most of the non-communicable disease does not
show major signs. Blood pressure and diabetes have noticed symptoms until it
gets to an escalating stage where the individual can get a mild stroke before
it is detected,” he said.
Speaking at a symposium Accra on Dr Nagai
suggested that various hospitals and public health workers need to collaborate
and work together towards reducing death through early detection.
The event, organised by the University of
Ghana Medical School Class of 1998, was held under the theme, “Double Burden;
of Communicable and Non-Communicable diseases”.
He said one out of two people in the country
was prone to have high blood pressure while between one and two persons out of
10 people are likely to have diabetes.
He appealed to traditional, opinion and
religious leaders, as well as social event organisers, to include health
screening in their activates to keep their people healthy
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, former Director
General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), reiterated the need for regular
physical exercises in order to keep the body healthy.
He said non-communicable diseases such as
hypertension and diabetes were steadily causing more deaths as a result of lack
of regular exercises by many people.
Prof Akosa described the situation as alarming
and stressed the need for Ghanaians to change their attitude and use part of
their leisure to engage in exercises.
Questioning why leaders and management of the
country continue to seek medical healthcare outside the country, he said, the
trend showed the country had many problems in the health sector.
The Former Director of GHS said the country’s
health sector is riddled with many challenges from inadequate personnel, tools,
equipment, resources and drugs.
Due to the many challenges in the health
sector, patients now resort to visiting prayer camps when they are sick and only
visit the hospital when the situations got worse, Prof Akosa said.
GNA