Residents of Bongo undergo health screening
My Life Fair,a non-governmental organisation based in Tamale, has held a two-day free medical screening programme for residents of Bongo and Namoo in the Upper East Region.
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About 600 people, including children, attended the health programme. It was the ninth in the series to be organised by the organisation at Bongo and surrounding areas and was supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Project Manager for Life Fair, Mr Justice Tetteh, said the screening exercise was the organisation’s contribution to efforts by the government to increase access to quality healthcare.
Medical conditions
According to him,a significant number of those who attended the health programme had serious medical conditions but failed to seek medical care because they did not have national health insurance identity cards.
He said besides treating the attendees, they were also counselled. He said those whose illnesses needed further medical checks were given first aid treatment and referred to other hospitals.
A medical officer from the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Dr Bentil Wewoli, said among the commonly reported cases were malaria and hypertension.
A beneficiary, Mr Anthony Aserbire, 58, an artisan and Ms Josephine Akugri, 21, a student, observed that because there was high level of poverty in their communities they were unable to access health care delivery let alone acquire the national health insurance identity cards.
The two also complained of poor water delivery and the lack of sanitation facilities in their area, adding that "there is a high level of concentration of fluoride in our water and this has discoloured our teeth."
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District Chief Executive
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bongo, Mr Alexis Adugdaa, expressed his gratitude to My Life Fair for enriching the health of the people. He announced that the district had put in place a district planning coordinating unit whose duty would be to connect all development initiatives in the district.
He, therefore, urged the organisation to partner the assembly and support it to provide water, sanitation and hygiene facilities as a means of improving the health status of the people.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of My Life Fair, Mr Jonathan Gumah, said the organisation, which was established in 2009, provided livelihood empowerment programmes for widows and also supported deprived communities in northern Ghana.