President John Mahama has called for a very intensive awareness campaign against non-communicable diseases in the country.
The WHO reports, non -communicable diseases (NCD’S) are responsible for approximately 40 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
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Speaking at the official launch of the Ghana medical trust fund ‘MAHAMA CARES’ initiative at the University of Ghana medical Centre in Accra on April 29, the President noted with concern how most of these diseases are lifestyle induced.
He believes a strong awareness campaign on prevention is the way to go to inform the populace about the dangers associated with some lifestyles.
‘‘A lot of these diseases are caused by ignorance in terms of our lifestyles and all that. And so, we must also, as part of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund program, launch a very strong awareness campaign so that people will know what the trigger factors for these non-communicable diseases are,”he said.
The President noted, “I understand that some of them are genetic, because you can inherit it from your parents in your genes, but a far greater number are lifestyle diseases, they are acquired. They are not genetic. And so, if people just know you know what their disposition is, and they are able to make changes in their lifestyle, I’m sure that we can bring down the level of the diseases that we have seen,” he said.
Otherwise known as ‘Mahama Cares’, the initiative intends to support specialist care of a wide range of chronic illnesses, including cancers, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease, among other.
