President of the Stroke Association Support Network-Ghana (SASNET Ghana) a non-profit, non-governmental organization with a mission and vision to reduce the burden of Stroke in Ghana, Chief Dr. Ben S. Jabuni has called on the government to institute a Stroke Fund to rebuild the lives of those with Stroke, especially in communities where access to stroke support and rehabilitation are not available.
According to him, there are established fund like AIDS Fund, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Fund but there is no such fund to treat the disease of stroke which is a public health emergency, on the verge of becoming an epidemic.
The President of SASNET Ghana made the call at the 4th National Stroke Survivors Day Symposium held at the O N G Conference Hall – Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Accra on Thursday, 31, March 2022.
According to Dr. Jabuni, the objectives of this year’s symposium are to demonstrate the need to prioritize stroke treatment and care for better outcomes in Ghana and also to ensure that Political investment in Stroke (CVD/NCD) services, care (Life after Stroke Support), prevention and treatment attainment of Universals Health Coverage.
He, therefore, appealed to the Ghana government, philanthropists, donors, individuals, or corporate organisations to help in the construction of the 275 constituency-based rehabilitation centres.
The President of SASNET Ghana explained further that over 78% of persons affected with stroke are not able to access post-discharge support neither are they able to afford the cost of the treatment which is currently not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
“These situations are the major hindrance to the recovery plan for persons living with strokes and a grave concern that must be addressed by the government. The situation has a tendency to result in the loss of lives of persons with Stroke or at times leads a second Stroke.” He reiterated.
Meanwhile, a Senior Neurologist and consultant at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Albert Akpalu on the same platform also called on the government through the ministry of health to establish a Computerized Tomography (CT) scan center each in all the 16 regions of Ghana.
