The Benekie Foundation has advised the public to seek early treatment to reduce the impact of non-communicable diseases on their lives and families.
Speaking at a women’s health conference held at the Jubilee Christian Ministries International, a retired Principal Nursing Officer at Amasaman, Madam Comfort Abbey, said the late detection of NCD could be attributed to a lack of knowledge on the diseases.
She said, as a result, they go undetected until they’re at a late stage.
The Founder of Benekie Foundation, Benedicta Nartey, encouraged participants to adopt a healthy lifestyle and pay attention to their body development to seek early healthcare services when detected.
A participant and a teacher in sharing her lesson at the program said: “We will speak to the children about the non-communicable disease, especially breast cancer and endometriosis. During teaching, some students are restless due to menstrual cramps or abdominal pains which we think are normal, however, they aren’t. This program has provided enlightenment on the issues which will guide us in our teaching and learning process. Therefore, early detection saves lives as well as a healthy lifestyle,” she said.
Among the list of NCD include hypertension, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and others.
The conference’s theme “The role of women in preventing non-communicable diseases” hosted 32 participants and began with health screenings on blood pressure (hypertension) and blood sugar (diabetes) by health workers of the Nsawam Hospital.
Also, participants were educated on breast cancer, endometriosis, hypertension, diabetes, and cervical cancer.
The day climaxed with the 5th-anniversary celebration of Benekie Foundation as well as the ‘Support a girl child education and health’ project with four senior high school students and one junior high student receiving some educational materials, toiletries, and personal hygiene materials.
The items included; bathing towel, sponge, toilet roll, shaving sticks, shoe polish, pegs, hand sanitizer, nose masks, toothpaste, toothbrush, exercise books, notebooks, pens, pencils, mathematical set, and sanitary pads.
Participants were refreshed with fruits from Blue Skies Ghana and served with vegetable rice and fruit drink from other sponsors.