A 10-member team of opthalmologists, opticians and optometrists from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is expected to screen hundreds of Ghanaians for various eye-related health problems.
This comes in view of the prevailing complicated health issues being recorded in the country.
The North Kaneshie branch of the Assemblies of God Church is leading the team to undertake the exercise as part of its corporate social responsibilities.
The event slated for Saturday, October 14, will also attract a seven-member team from MDS-Lancet Laboratories who will conduct free sugar and blood pressure tests for participants.
Another team made up of seven breast cancer experts from the Peace & Love Hospital will also be at the venue to screen the women as part of the breast cancer awareness month campaign.
With financial hardships and reluctance serving as barriers to many Ghanaians to forgo annual medical check ups, many chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes can be prevented or controlled if they are detected early.
According to an official of the North Kaneshie Assemblies of God Church, “early detection is the safest way to address complicated health issues, especially when most Ghanaians have no idea about their health status”.
“We are hopeful that the screening exercise would also reduce the number of sudden deaths associated with these common diseases. A lot of Ghanaians have one or two medical conditions but lack the necessary resources and time to undergo routine medical check-ups, so the exercise would enable them to know their health status and seek early treatment.”
Hypertension is among the leading causes of admissions and deaths in Ghana.
It was the third leading cause of admission and the leading cause of deaths, accounting for 4.7% of the total admissions and 15.3% of the total deaths in Ghana in 2017.
According to the experts who are attending the event, it is for this reason why individuals must move quickly to know their health status.
By Richard Bright Addo|3news.com|Ghana