Youth urged to ensure preventive healthcare

A three-day health training workshop has ended in Accra with a call on the nation’s active youth to focus on ensuring preventive healthcare through regular health screening.

This will help to detect symptoms of diseases in the early stage for prompt medical attention before it reaches crisis level.

The training, meant for the first batch of beneficiaries under the Alive Health Check (AHC) module of the Ghana Youth Employment Entrepreneur Development Agency (GYEEDA), brought together over 300 people drawn from various districts in the Greater Accra Region.

It was organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Alive Pharmacy, the implementing agency for the Alive Health Check module.

The module focuses on promoting preventive healthcare through regular health screening and education to help reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare facilities.

The National Coordinator of Alive Health Check, Mr. Fred Frimpong, said: “The module was designed as a result of our passion and commitment to ensure that every Ghanaian has access to better healthcare.”

He said the AHC module seeks to reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular infections which account for 30 percent of all morbidity in the country’s hospitals.

He attributed the problem to the rapid increase in modern and fast-paced lifestyles which have been embraced by a majority of Ghanaians.

“Regular screenings have therefore become vital as it helps to detect symptoms of these diseases at the early stages for prompt medical attention before they reach crisis level.”

Mr. Kofi Adusei, leader for the training who is also the Programme Manager at the Regenerative Health and Nutrition Department of the Ministry of Health, said the training was to enable beneficiaries acquire the skills needed to perform basic health checks.

He said the beneficiaries were trained how to conduct blood-pressure testing, sugar level testing, and how to measure body-mass index.

“They will also be trained to provide health education that will help people to adopt healthy lifestyles such as regular exercise, healthy diets and rest, avoidance of tobacco, and low alcohol and salt intake.

The Director of Administration at GYEEDA, Roger Abolimbisa, said introduction of the AHC module forms part of initiatives to expand and include more health modules to ensure more youth are absorbed under the programme.

He said Government recognises that a healthier human resource is critical to help Ghana achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“The module will help Ghanaians embrace preventive healthcare to further develop and strengthen the human resource base of the country.

“The new module will therefore augment the provision of healthcare service by bringing healthcare to the doorsteps of every Ghanaian for free,” he stressed. 

Beneficiaries at the end of the training will be assessed through practical and written examinations to select the best beneficiaries to work under the module.

Those selected will be resourced with equipment and placed at vantage places such as markets, community centres, schools, and pharmacy shops to provide their services.