Liver Cancer Foundation-Dagbon Forum Join Hands
…………As Free Liver Screening Program ends in Yendi & Tamale
Report: Mohammed A. Abu
A two-day free liver cancer screening cum medical check-ups program, a collaboration between the Liver Cancer Foundation and Dagbon Forum(DF) recently ended most successfully at Yendi and Tamale in Dagbon, Northern region of Ghana.
The oversubscribed Eastern Dagbon edition of the program was held at the Royal Gbewaa Palace, Yendi, on the 26th July 2023 under the auspices of His Royal Majesty, Yaa Na Mahama Abukari Ii, King of Dagbon with the kind able support of Hon Umar Farouk Alu Mahama, Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency.
The Western Dagbon edition on its part, was held on the 27th July 27, 2023 in Tamale at the Palace of His Royal Highness, Na Yeb Gulkpe Na Alhaj Alhassan Abdulai Paramount Chief of the Gulkpegu Traditional Area with the kind support of the Hon Murtalla Mohammed, Member of Parliament for Tamale Central Constituency, Northern regon.
Speaking in a post event exclusive interview with your favourite, Eco-Enviro News Africa, Sakoya Na(Chief) Sintaro Mahama who also doubles as DF’s President, noted with great satisfaction the astounding success of the program.
Chief Sakoya also disclosed that, the initial targeted total of 2000 people from Yendi and Tamale programs had been inundating and thus, setting the tone for the next step, that is, opening of a permanent Liver Cancer screening centre and Liver clinics in the Northern Region as envisaged by the Liver Cancer Foundation in the event that, the program gets the desired patronage.
He noted with great appreciation the logistics support kindly extended to the program by the two Members of Parliament in Eastern and Western Dagbon, the passion of the executives of the Yendi and Tamale Chapters of Dagbon Forum, the high patronage by students and people from all walks of life in Eastern and Western Dagbon which culminated into the success of the program.
Chief Sakoya also appreciated members of the medical team and staff drawn from the Yendi Municipal and Tamale Teaching Hospitals to ably support the President of the Liver Cancer Foundation, Dr. Offei,a leading pancreatic cancer specialist in the country and his team from Accra to ensure the success of the program.
He also intimated that DF and Dagbon cannot thank the Liver Cancer Foundation and its President enough for his kind heartedness and selfless spirit in moving the medical needs of the people from Accra to their very door steps in the Northern region of Ghana.
The Liver Cancer Foundation is a Ghanaian Nonprofit Organization that was registered in Accra under the auspices of the Registrar General with aim of reducing the number of people living with and dying from liver cancer in Ghana. making treatment accessible and affordable for patients living with liver cancer in Ghana. creating awareness by educating the Ghanaian public on liver cancer. and to support research into liver cancer that would lead to improved treatment modalities for patients living with liver cancer.
Earlier during a pre-program interview with Sagani TV, in Tamale,,Chief Sakoya underscored the importance of health to human existence and said it was the core of human life minus which the chief cannot rule, the farmer cannot farm, the trader and others cannot perform their functions of relevance to the socio-economic well-being and progress of society.
Chief Sakoya also emphasized the need for preventive medicine rather than waiting to be overcome by an ailment at which point curative medicine is then seriously sought at exorbitant cost and which sometimes sadly becomes too late despite all the expenses incurred
He therefore advised people of Dagbon cultivate the habit of doing of medical check-up at least once a year to enable the earlier uncovering of otherwise hidden ailments so they could be treated before the undesirable occurs.
Hepatitis B and C Check-ups Chief Sakoya noted, ought to be given great attention in the Northern region and people he adviced, must not feel shy to do so as disease knows no age limit.
The two ailments, he said could be treated if detected earlier enough but if not could degenerates into cancerous stage with dire health consequences.
He also advised the youth to eschew drug addiction as that has long term damage effect on their health and well-being. He advised them to invest productively in themselves during their youthful ages for a better future rather than engage in drug addiction which will only damage them and eventually render them as social liabilities.
To this end, Chief Sakoya had appealed to all and sundry both the sick and healthy to take advantage of the charitable act of the Liver Cancer Foundation that is coming to the Northern region with a team of eighty-five(85) medical specialists. They are not coming for only the sick, he said, but the healthy as wall, who stand to benefit from test of Hepatitis B and C, Blood Pressure(BP), test,Ultra Scan among others, at no cost.
“In Ghana viral hepatitis is a major health concern for health authorities. Hepatitis B is hyper endemic with an estimated prevalence in the population of 9.1 percent. Hepatitis C also poses high burden with an estimated prevalence of 3.3 percent.
“Hepatitis disproportionately affects the people of Northern Ghana. Here poverty and inequitable access to quality healthcare services means people are more vulnerable to infections than in other parts of the country”. (Ref: WHO feature article published on 28 July 29, 2023).
According to WHO, Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver with causes including viruses and other infections, alcohol and certain drugs. It leads to a range of health problems some of which can be fatal.
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