News:
Alexander Akwesi Acquah
February 15, 2022
A one week free health screening, and national health insurance card renewal exercise which commenced on Monday, February 14, 2022 in the Akim Oda Constituency got residents elated.
The kind gesture by the Member of Parliament for the area, Alexander Akwesi Acquah, estimated at GHC 90, 000.00 is being held across all the 18 electoral areas in the Constituency.
The MP noted that there is no better love than ensuring his constituents are in good health, hence, the exercise is his Valentine gifts to the people to show his love for them.
He said the significance of the national Health Insurance Card to ensuring citizens access health delivery at affordable price cannot be overemphasized, and it is in that spirit that from time to time he tries to get his constituents to have active health insurance card. “I have a health committee, I have worked in the health insurance sector, and I believe in it. Even when I was not an MP, I was doing this for my people, so what won’t I do as an MP.”
According to him, they are looking at renewing about three thousand (3,000) insurance cards during this exercise while screening as many residents as possible that would avail themselves for the exercise.
He advised the people to avail themselves for the screening stating that it is prudent to screen and know you are safe, than not screening and not knowing you have a health condition that can degenerate.
Dr Akunyagra, a physician at the Community Hospital, Akim Oda who led the exercise at Aboabo, one of the centres noted that the screening focuses more on detecting diabetes and hypertension.
He indicated that their observation revealed that hypertension is on the rise among the people; unfortunately majority of residents screened were oblivious of having the condition. “So it is a very useful exercise that the MP instituted.”
Accordingly, most of the individuals with the condition have been referred to various health facilities in the area to undergo treatment or undergo further examination to treat them appropriately.
He advised all and sundry to take advantage of the health screening exercise to know their status and be given the needed health advice to guide them in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
He expressed delight that the exercise involves renewal of health insurance cards that provides the people to access free treatments from the various facilities.
Meanwhile, some beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the MP for his continuous support to the constituents, indicating that but for these some people would never have renewed their cards, while others would live with health conditions that may advance and cause major problems in their lives.
Dominic Shirimori/Ghanadmps.com