Globally, more than 1 million sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired each day. In Ghana, 3.4% of male and 5.2% of female adolescents are also reported to experience STIs. It is for this reason that the Visionary Norman Foundation, an Accra based NGO, in Collaboration with the Ayawaso East Health Directorate as part of its efforts to create awareness and education on the control of the alarming numbers of Sexually transmitted diseases in Ghana held a free health screening exercise for the residents of Nima – a suburb of the Ayawaso East Municipality.
The event was on the theme, “Promoting Healthy Communities: Combating STIs and Hepatitis”.
More than 30 different bacteria, viruses and parasites are known to be transmitted through sexual contact, hence the move by the Visionary Norman Foundation to encourage residents of Nima to be aware of the need to always know their health status.
Municipal Director of Health Services at the Ayawaso East, Doctor Abena Yeboah, said the Health Campaign Outreach is aimed at addressing pressing health issues, including the prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and Hepatitis B. She said Ayawaso East has an estimated population of about 52,000 with 50% of it consisting of the youth, which why it is important to vuew the whole exercise as health screening rather than a health campaign.
“Because most of our youth are recording very high rate of STI infections, hepatitis B & HIV, so this campaign today is to raise awareness for the youth to choose a healthier lifestyle, safer sex so that the whole community can be protected,” she stated.
She said they had a Hepatitis B screening and also vaccination for those who come out with negative results.
“We are doing HIV screening which is not compulsory, it’s optional. We are also doing the BP check and blood glucose or sugar monitoring. We are doing COVID vaccination alongside and then we also have the NHIA registration.”
At the end of the program, “we are hoping that the community, especially the youth, will be properly educated on healthy lifestyles, safer sex and contraception use, so that we can cap the rates of STI’s infection, hepatitis B and HIV,” she stated.
Medical superintendent of Nima Polyclinic, Dr Jude Kwaku Adomako, emphasized on how increasing the infectious rate of STIs are currently.
“Actually, this whole exercise is to educate the entire population about STIs, including Syphilis, Chlamydia, HIV, AIDS, Human Papilloma Virus and Hepatitis B which most of the time we forget. So, over 1,000,000 people globally get an STI every single day. 1,000,000 / 1,000,000 people go down with one form of STI or the other.”
He said everybody is at risk hence the more reason we must make it a serious public health concern. “740 million new infections of curable STIs are recorded every day. By that I mean gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia and all that 374,000,000 globally it could be anybody. So, this is something we should be concerned about people in a reproductive age”.
Dr. Jude said “the reproductive age and the status is that the more STIs you get the tendency of you getting HIV and AIDS”.
“Half a million people are at risk of getting HIV and AIDS daily in Ghana. If you come to Ghana, three out of every five males and five out of three of every 100 males and five out of every hundred females have had one STI or the other”.
Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso East constituency, Hon. Naser Toure Mahama, who was present at the program could not hide his excitement for such an initiative for residents of Nima.
“We are one of the constituencies that need so much help. I’m sure some of you if you enter Nima, you know that Nima is a deprived area”.
“People have a serious health issues. We want to thank you very much for bringing this program here. I’m sure it’s going to help the people who have; you know “petty, petty” health issue”
Spearheaded by the founder Abraham Noman Nortey, The Visionary Norman Foundation, is committed to creating a beneficial influence in society and hopes to extend this Health Campaign Outreach to other communities in and out of Accra.
By Mercy Aboagye