By Michael Foli Jackidy, GNA
Ho (V/R), May 23, GNA – The Volta Regional Health Directorate has launched this year’s World Hypertension Day campaign during the Second Quarter Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) meeting held in Ho, on Thursday May 21, 2026.
The meeting brought together health professionals, development partners, community leaders and other multi-sectoral stakeholders to deliberate on strategies to strengthen public awareness and action against hypertension in the region.
A major highlight of the programme was a presentation by Dr Hectoria Awekeya, the Acting Deputy Director of Public Health at the Directorate, who educated participants on hypertension, risk factors, prevention and complications.
She described hypertension as a “silent killer,” explaining that many people lived with the condition unknowingly because they often did not experience symptoms until serious complications developed.
Speaking during the launch, Dr Awekeya explained the Ghana Health Service’s “Measure One Million” campaign, introduced last year to encourage blood pressure screening among adults across the country.
According to her, the initiative seeks to ensure that one million adult Ghanaians have their blood pressure checked to help identify persons living with hypertension without their knowledge.
She noted that early detection would enable newly diagnosed patients to access appropriate care and treatment, thereby reducing complications such as stroke, heart failure and kidney disease associated with uncontrolled hypertension.
Dr Awekeya disclosed that the Volta Region had been assigned a target of screening 51,650 adults under the campaign, with all 18 districts given specific targets to contribute towards achieving the regional goal.
She, however, revealed that as of May 19, 2026, only about 6,000 adults had been screened and captured in the database.
Dr Awekeya therefore called on stakeholders, institutions and community leaders across the region to support the campaign and intensify public education and screening activities to ensure the target was achieved.
Participants at the meeting pledged their commitment to supporting the implementation of the campaign through increased community engagement and public sensitisation activities.
The meeting ended with a collective commitment by stakeholders to promote healthy lifestyles, improve hypertension awareness and help reduce the growing burden of non-communicable diseases in the Volta Region.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/Benjamin Mensah
