Henry Quartey, Deputy Minister for Interior, Dr Sylvia Anie, Nii Okwei Kinta Dowuona, Osu Mantse, IGP David Asante-Apeatu and other dignitaries of the Ghana Police Service in a group photograph
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called on Ghanaians to fight negative socio-cultural tendencies that keep women away from accessing healthcare.
He said even in countries where kidney transplants are performed, women tend more often to donate their kidneys but are less likely to receive them.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Bawumia revealed that there was the need to address issues of equitable healthcare access for women and to increase awareness and education to facilitate women’s access to treatment.
He said the commemoration of the World Kidney Day draws attention to the need for all Ghanaians to value, empower and encourage the women in their lives to have a heightened awareness of kidney disease and to seek treatment in a timely manner.
The vice president indicated that kidney disease affects approximately 195 million women worldwide and it is currently the eight leading cause of death in women, with close to 600,000 deaths a year.
He said, “Women and girls must claim their rights to good health, be empowered to ask and seek early treatment”, adding that early detection of kidney disease can lead to treatment options, left untreated chronic kidney disease may progress to irreversible kidney failure.
“Kidney disease can be treated. The earlier you know you have it, the better your chances of receiving effective treatment. Awareness, therefore, is the key,” he mentioned.
Dr Bawumia, who is also the chairman of the Ghana Police Council, indicated that the Ghana Police Dialysis Centre which was established in 2017 is a clear example of a constructive and vibrant public private partnership between Ghana Police Service and Health Education on Wheels, a non-governmental organisation.
He commended the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Appeatu, for his commitment to the dialysis centre and urged him to proceed with expediency his expansion programme for the Police Hospital Dialysis Centre.
Addressing the audience at the event held at the Police Hospital, Godfried Nyanteh, board chair of the Health Education On Wheels (HEOW), cited that kidney diseases are preventable and call for the need to heighten awareness in the country.
He urged health delivering hospitals, both private and public, as well as NGOs, to ensure that apart from taking weight, temperature and blood pressure, they should go ahead to also do blood and sugar test and urinalysis as standard for all patients.
Dr Bawumia underscored that if these things are done, it would go a long way to prevent and arrest complications that happen as a result of untreated kidney diseases.
By Abigail Owiredu-Boateng