A Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management at the University of Ghana, Prof Gordon Abekah-Nkrumah, has highlighted the widespread impact of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), underscoring the critical role of the Ministry of Education in Ghana's national NCDs prevention campaign in collaboration with the Health Ministry.
In an interview with Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday after the airing of JoyNews' latest hotline documentary titled, "NCDs - The Silent Epidemic", Prof Nkrumah emphasised that NCDs are a significant national concern requiring a comprehensive approach across all sectors, not just healthcare. “This issue transcends sectors; it's a national challenge. We need to focus on prevention strategies at every stage of life.”
Prof Nkrumah outlined a multifaceted strategy, beginning with educating young people in schools about healthy lifestyles and nutrition.
He underscored the importance of early education in preventing future cases of NCDs among the youth. "Protecting young people from NCDs is crucial to preventing a future epidemic," he asserted.
Addressing nutritional deficiencies among schoolchildren, he highlighted initiatives like the school feeding programme, which can be used to ensure that children enjoy nutritious meals.
“The school feeding programme can be a good way of ensuring that those who have a nutritional deficit, it is addressing that and the syllabus also addresses those kids who come from affluent homes and are focused on all these junk foods.”
He also advocated for increased access to high-quality vegetables through programmes such as Planting for Food and Jobs.
“We know that these days, vegetables are out of reach of the average Ghanaian and even where it is available, they are not good quality vegetables because of the way they are grown, and the chemicals.
“I’m asking myself what prevents the Planting for Food and Jobs programme from initiating a model that educates every average Ghanaian to plant basic vegetables in their homes. I think that this can be done for easy and affordable access to vegetables and people will have vegetables that are of good quality.”
Prof Nkrumah further emphasised that for adults, it is crucial to encourage regular visits to health facilities for health check-ups, including monitoring sugar levels and overall health. This proactive approach can significantly reduce the prevalence of NCDs in the country.
Deaths from NCDs globally are very high. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that a total of 41 million deaths or over 71% of global deaths are due to NCDs.
It is also estimated that over 80% of global deaths from NCDs are due to these four groups of NCDs - Cardiovascular Disease, Cancers, Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Diabetes.
In Ghana, very limited population-based data on NCDs exist. Despite this, available data from research and surveys suggest that NCDs and their associated risk factors are on the ascendancy.
Credit: Mavis Sekyibea Addo