14 Communities in Amansie West benefit from free health screening

Residents of 14 communities in the Amansie West District in the Ashanti Region have benefitted from a three-day health screening exercise initiated by the Chief of Essuowin, Nana Akyena Kwagyan Nuamah V, in commemoration of his silver jubilee celebration.

A combined medical team of the Ghana West Africa Medical Mission in Florida in the United States of America, Dada Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of Wisconsin International University College, and hosted by the Essuowin Health Centre, helped manage the health needs of the people, especially the elderly, in these farming communities.

The 14 communities were grouped in three batches to ensure all residents got access to the screening, which was well-patronised as it emphasised all manner of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Shuttle buses were also arranged by the Essuowinhene to freely help transport residents from distant communities, including Ahwerewa, Moseaso, Aboabo Tetekaso, Essase, Mpatuam, Nsiana and Keniago to Essuowin for the medical screening.

Amansie West was carved out of the former Amansie District, with Manso Nkwanta as its capital. It spans an area of about 1,230 square kilometres and is one of the largest districts in Ashanti.

The screening exercise coincided with the inauguration of a 20-bed expansion block of the health centre at Essuowin, financed by the Essuowinhene, as part of his 25th-anniversary celebration.

The edifice includes an OPD, male and female separate wards, a maternity block and an adjoining four separate self-contained flats for health personnel in the hospital.

"The health needs of my people is one of my utmost priorities," Nana Akyena Kwagyan Nuamah V said in a short opening remark while commending the medical team for accepting to provide free medical services to his people.

He said the grins on the faces of his people were a true testimony of the positive impact the exercise would have on them, as most of them are deprived and could not access quality health care.He said the government alone could not shoulder all the needs of the people, and that it was appropriate he used his authority to provide such basic necessities to the people. He also called on residents of Essuowin, both home and abroad, to come home and help develop Essuowin.

Galamsey, roads

The chief appealed to the government to help curb illegal mining operations in the district, popularly known as 'galamsey', considering its telling effects on residents.

"Our water bodies have all been polluted by these illegal mining activities,” he bemoaned while commending the Ghana West Africa Medical Mission for providing the community with three boreholes to help provide good drinking water for the people.

Moreover, he said, the deplorable road network from Nkawie to Essuowin and neighbouring communities also needed to be fixed, to help boost economic activities in the area.
The Awansie West District Director of Health Services, Bernard Bedu Badiako, said the health situation in the district needed urgent attention.

He said due to the polluted water bodies, most waterborne diseases, including dysentery, cholera, giardia, Hepatitis A and Escherichia Coli, were on the rise in recent health cases recorded in the district.

Minute read

The Chief of Essuowin, Nana Akyena Kwagyan Nuamah V, has initiated a three-day health screening exercise for his people in 14 communities in the Amansie District, with support from the Wisconsin International University College, to commemorate his silver jubilee.