A beneficiary going through the exercise
THE QUEEN Mother of Prampram Traditional Area, Naa Osabu Abbey I, has advised the youth in the country to listen attentively to campaign messages on diseases to avoid contracting deadly diseases.
According to her, the youth should uphold the basic principles of abstinence, behavioural change and the use of condoms to avoid contracting deadly diseases.
She stressed: “Let’s ensure condom be our weapon this Yuletide in order not to contract any deadly infectious disease. I know a lot of people will be celebrating and enjoying themselves during the forthcoming Christmas but we must keep in mind to protect ourselves as we celebrate.”
The queen mother gave the advice when she organised a free health screening exercise for residents of the traditional area in the Greater Accra Region.
Earlier, there was HIV/AIDS awareness walk throughout the traditional area with placards which had inscriptions such as ‘moving towards HIV free generation’, ‘prevent HIV transmission- abstinence’, ‘be loyal’, ‘condom use’, ‘prevent new HIV infection by the year 2020’, ‘abstinence is key for the adolescent’, among others.
The exercise offered the opportunity for more than 500 beneficiaries, mostly men and women, to undergo general health examination and check their HIV/AIDS status. Besides, health screening on breast cancer, sugar level, hypertension, blood pressure, malaria and body-mass index were carried out.
She pointed out that the HIV/AIDS pandemic was no longer a social issue but a developmental problem and therefore urged all and sundry to join the crusade against the spread of the disease, saying “HIV/AIDS virus is no respecter of persons and every individual can be exposed to the disease irrespective of societal standing.”
She continued that the health screening is an annual exercise aimed at reaching out and bringing healthcare delivery to the doorstep of the people.
According to her, she organises such exercise every year to provide basic health care and educational support to poor people and deprived communities in the area.
Naa Abbey I said some of the beneficiaries of the screening exercise whose conditions were not normal were referred to health facilities for further medical examination.
Touching on breast cancer, the queen mother said the purpose of the screening was to help raise awareness and promote early detection of breast cancer cases.
For her part, Vivian Ayornu, HIV/AIDS Coordinator in the Ningo-Prampram District, commended the queen mother for the initiative, and stressed the need for more organisations to collaborate with healthcare providers to raise awareness on the disease, as it was one of the major causes of death in the country.
With December being the World HIV/ADIS Awareness month, she said her outfit was ready to partner other stakeholders in the health sector to intensify efforts at raising awareness on the disease.
Patrons of the exercise thanked Naa Osabu Abbey I for bringing a health screening programme to the area.
From Vincent Kubi, Prampram