Story: Benjamin Makafui Attipoe, Mafi Adidome
Some Three Hundred and Thirty (330) residents of Mafi Adidome and its environs in the Central Tongu District of the Volta Region have benefited from a one-day massive heath screening exercise under the theme, ‘My Health, My Priority’.
The one-stop shop free health screening programme was organized by the Amazing Smile Foundation (ASF) based at Aveyime-Battor as well as the 13 Villages Foundation based in the United States of America (USA) under the leadership of and support from Togbe Banahene Adovor Dzodzegbe Agbenyo VII of the Teh Clan of Battor and Mamaga Asieku IV, Paramount Queen Mother of the Battor Traditional Area.
The joint initiative by the management of these two Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) was the 8th in the series in the Tongu State and the first of its kind at Mafi Adidome, the administrative capital. It was organized in collaboration with the management of the Adidome Government Hospital which deployed an 18-member staff or team of medical doctors, physician assistants and nurses as well as other health professionals to undertake the exercise at the old District Assembly Hall premises.
The beneficiary clients had their vital signs such as Blood Pressure (BP), Temperature/Pulse, Weight, Height and Oxygen Circulation (SPOs) and Blood Sugar checked. They also went through Eye, Nose and Throat examination in addition to getting counseling and education from the doctors, mental health nurses as well as the nutritionists on the screening team. All the processes including the medications given out to the clients were free.
Seven (7) Medical Doctors drawn from the USA as well as some hospitals in Accra and the Adidome Hospital were part of the medical team that provided all the services to the clients, 244 of whom had their National Health Insurance cards renewed following the expiry of such cards. In all, fifty-four (54) new registrants were also captured onto the NHIS database, all paid for by the sponsors of the health screening exercise.
The event was as aimed among other things at not only bringing healthcare to the doorsteps of the people of Mafi Adidome and its environs but also educating them on their health needs in order to be fit and strong all the time.
The Central Tongu District Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Mr. Baba Awuni was grateful to the ASF and the 13 Villages Foundation for the gesture, describing it as the first of its kind in the area in recent times.
He noted that the areas covered by the free health screening initiative including hypertension and diabetes, were critical in that such chronic diseases amongst the other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) have become part of the major OPD attendance records of health facilities in the district in recent years.
Mr. Awuni emphasized that these diseases are not only preventable but can also be properly managed and dealt with when detected earlier and stressed the need for the residents of the district to attach seriousness to their health as a people.
The Dufia of Mafi Adidome, Togbe Kaklaklolo Agyeman IV was excited about the collaboration with the two (2) NGOs and the GHS to bring the services to the doorsteps of his subjects. He was grateful to the ASF and the 13 Villages Foundation for the gesture, hoping that their support would be extended to other communities in the district in the coming years.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Amazing Smile Foundation (ASF), Ms. Millie Kafui Kumasenu described the exercise as heartwarming, adding that they would continue to give back to society in order to touch many more lives. She urged the youth especially the girls to learn hard, abstain from drugs and avoid teenage pregnancies which can ruin their lives.
Ms. Kumasenu was grateful to all the sponsors, doctors and the medical team for the support, especially Togbe Banahene Adovor Dzodzegbe Agbenyo VII in the USA who has been and continues to be as major sponsor of this project for the past eight (8) years including the provision of all medical supplies and drugs abundantly made available for the exercise.
According to her, it is very expensive to undertake such free health screening exercises considering the cost involved. She therefore used the occasion to appeal to all well-meaning individuals and institutions both within and outside the country to assist in one way or the other to touch more lives in the coming years.
Dr. Vincent Cobblah of the Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, USA, Dr. Sheila Apiiyah of the University of Ghana Medical Centre, Accra, and Dr. Yvonne Mawudor of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra together with their counterparts from the Adidome Government Hospital supported the entire medical team to successfully treat the clients.
