President John Mahama has called on all relevant stakeholders to intensify awareness campaign against non-communicable diseases in the country.
The president made the call at the official launch of the Ghana medical trust fund dubbed, ‘MAHAMA CARES’ initiative at the University of Ghana medical Centre in Accra on April 29.
President Mahama backed his call with the assertion that most of the diseases affecting majority of the citizens are lifestyle related and strong awareness campaign on prevention is the best way to educate the populace on the menace.
‘‘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 in his submission also noted that not all diseases are lifestyle related and that some occur due to genetic factors.
“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 stated.
The WHO reports, non -communicable diseases (NCD’S) are responsible for approximately 40 per cent of all deaths in Ghana.
The newly launched health policy , ‘Mahama Cares’, aimed at supporting specialist care for a wide range of chronic illnesses, including cancers, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic kidney disease.
