By: Elliot Awuku
Director of External Health Operations at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hafez Adam Tahen has bemoaned the increasing cases of diabetes as a result of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) thereby risking the country’s workforce.
He said that the most threatening is the effect of the changing demographic; from the older generation to the young.
He was speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health and disclosed that Ghana was on the verge of losing a major workforce to cardiovascular diseases(CVDs).
Making a statement at a two-day event organized by World Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association Support Network (SASNET) Ghana in collaboration with Ministry of Health.
Stakeholders from both governmental and non-governmental organizations took part in the event.
Despite fears of possible loss of the country’s workforce as a result of CVDs, amidst changing demographics thereby bemoaning the increasing cost of health care.
Sadly, he noted that about 200,000 reported cases of diabetes are recorded at various health facilities in the country annually.
Although, Ghana is faced with a dual disease burden of communicable diseases and NCDs, however, NCDs seem to be on the rise as a leading hospital attendance and deaths.
On her part, the Chairperson Elect for the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Africa Region, Mrs. Elizabeth E. Denyoh noted with grave concern that diabetes, being the chronic condition that contributes to kidney failures, stroke, and damage to limbs can result in amputation and impotency particularly, in men, and eye diseases, also resulting in blindness, therefore, requiring specialists’ attention.
She expressed concerns about the proliferation of herbalists indicating they have cures for diabetes thereby compounding the remedy for the disease.
At the end, she urged the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) to as a matter of urgency find proactive ways to mitigate the issues of advertisements of herbal medicines.
