Non communicable diseases counterproductive to dev’t – Dr Wiafe

Government has been challenged to invest more in ending the soaring levels of non-communicable (NCD) diseases in the country.

Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, some diseases associated with ageing, cancers and mental health are responsible for the death of 15 million people between the productive ages of 39 and 69 years each year.

It kills more than 94,000 people in Ghana annually, accounting to about 42 per cent of all deaths, at a time when healthcare costs are rising.

In the wake of such alarming figures, the chairperson of the Ghana Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai is urging government to take proactive action in responding to the epidemic in Ghana.

Speaking at a two-day training workshop on non-communicable held in the Ashanti regional capital of Kumasi, she challenged all segments of society to embrace the five-year strategic plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, effective this year.

“Why do we look on almost inoperative while lives are regrettably lost through NCDs without any concerted global network to reverse the trend?” she quizzed?”

Dr Wiafe stressed that it was necessary to ensure that everyone enjoyed quality standards of care and financial protection to address the health needs of the people.

At the end of the workshop which was under the theme: ‘Our views, our voice’, a communiqué was issued challenging policymakers and civil society organizations to work in unison and create more awareness on such preventable diseases.

Participants include medical practitioners, paramedics, and traditional rulers who expressed their readiness to work to ensure such diseases which are counter-productive to national development to nip in the bud.