About 500 residents of La and its neighbouring communities in the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMa) on Saturday benefitted from a free health screening exercise to enhance equality and healthy life among them.
It was organised by La Development Institute (LDI), a non-governmental organisation, in partnership with La community Bank Limited, Healthnet Medical Centre, Rhema Rapha Medical Centre, Passion for Needy, La Medical Centre and LaDMa Health Directorate.
Beneficiaries were screened for blood pressure, hypertension, diabetes, malaria, blood sugar level, hepatitis B, breast cancer, body mass index, among other ailments.
Individuals who were diagnosed of ailments received medications and were also referred to health facilities for immediate treatment.
The Director for LDI, Dr Adjetey Anang, speaking exclusively to Ghanaian Times explained, that the maiden exercise was to help the local people, especially the needy and aged, to become conscious of their health status.
He noted that many people did not undertake regular check-up due to funds and resources, hence conducted the screening to enable them embrace the opportunity to gain medical treatment from specialists.
That, Dr Anang observed, would address the issue of self medication, adding that the poor performance of pupils within the catchment area was attributed to ailments, and called for immediate action to be taken to improve the quality of life for better educational result.
He also underscored the need for parents to take advantage of the ongoing immunisation exercise to get their wards immunised in preventing polio and other related diseases.
Mr Solomon Odamtten, Secretary of LDI, appealed to the government to show keen interest in preventive healthcare rather than implementing policies to deal with health conditions.
He said the grassroot of ailments should be tackled by making good use of technology and enforcing stringent laws that would deal with people who mount their stores in unhealthy environments.
Mr Odamtten called on the people to make their health their wealth, saying they should desilt chocked gutters and properly dispose human waste to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes.
He regretted that preventable ailment like malaria was the lead cause of death in the country, and stressed the need for people to observe good sanitation practices.
The Executive Chairman of LDI, Rev Vincent Addotey Addo, commended the sponsors of the event for helping his outfit to achieve its vision, and called for more support to extend the programme to other areas within LaDMa for other districts to emulate their steps.
BY JOYCELINE NATALLY CUDJOE
