In Ghana, Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) like Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) is responsible for18,000 deaths annually.
Also, nearly 41 million people around the world die from Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) infection, global statistics has stated.
According to the study, three-quarters of those deaths were to a large extent, endemic in low and middle-income countries.
In view of that, the United Nations (UN) has initiated plans to reduce NCDs to 25 percent by 2025 to assuage the impact.
As part of efforts to address the issue, Novartis Ghana recently organised a Ghana Dyslipidemia summit 2022 on the theme “Intensifying collaborative efforts to tackle dyslipidemia in Ghana.”
Speaking during the summit, a Public Health Physician Specialist, Dr Philip Amoo indicated that, apart from its health risks, Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) impacted families emotionally, financially as well as affecting economic productivity invariably.
“75 per cent of all human deaths annually are linked to NCDs of which cardiovascular disease remains a major contributor,” he said.
Dr Amoo further advised that, people who checked their cholesterol levels could lower the risk of developing ASCVD and ultimately strokes and heart attacks by knowing their lipid level, and taking steps to control it if elevated.
Another specialist,a Cardiologist, Dr Abdul-Samed Tanko stressed that more organisations should educate patients on its prevention while encouraging more advocacies into the communities.
“The country is not experiencing dyslipidemia because there was less screening on that and if it was resolved, we could get more data to feed into a registry localised for health interventions to cover all these groups,” he said.
Novartis Ghana is engaging stakeholders in the cardiovascular health community to chart a way forward for CVD screening, monitoring, and treatment in Ghana.
The focus of Novartis is to motivate key players to act to secure better health outcomes for people living with ASCVD, including redefining how stakeholders in the health sector can work together to reverse the devastating health and financial consequences of this silent but deadly disease.
“We are deeply committed to improving access to health care and medicines for patients not only in West Africa but across Africa , already, our ongoing collaborative efforts with like minded organisations have seen us delivering on our ambitions,” the Country Head. Mr Philip Tagboto, said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
