By Samuel Ansah Boateng
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Divine Mother and Child Foundation (DMAC), a non-governmental organisation based in Koforidua in the Eastern region, as part of its activities to climax the just ended ?World Hepatitis B Day?, organised a free screening excercise for two communities in the Volta Region, last Saturday.
The two communities included Woe and Tegbi, with 353 residents benefiting from the free screening and vaccination excercise.According to the founder of the NGO, Mr. Edmund Duodu Atweri, most Ghanaians were vulnerable to Hepatitis B, and that many were those who hardly recognised the signs and the symptoms associated with the Disease. ?But the good news is that, viral hepatitis B can be prevented, and those with the disease can be treated.? He added.
He said statistics had proven that Hepatitis B killed about 1.5 million people worldwide and every year, and that viral hepatitis B was the most cause of liver cancer which led to many of the deaths recorded.
Mr. Duodu suggested that it would be very important if??the Ministry of Health?increased the number of times they organized free nationwide screening or better still added it to the National Health Insurance Scheme and made it all accessible for all citizens
??we are also urging health-care providers to screen their patients and encourage Ghanians to undergo the exercise because most people with the Hepatitis B or C dont know that they have been infected…if undetected, this infection can lead to serious health complications , including liver cancer or death …today more effective treatments for Hepatitis B are available and people have options to take care of themselves before any other complications…the earlier people know their status the better their health outcome.?
The DMAC founder, in an interaction with the media and other beneficiaries of the exercise, explained that people with risk factors or evidence of infection should be tested more frequently, and further advised the youth to abstain from unprotected sex and the sharing of materials like sharp objects and others.
?By identifying and treating these diseases earlier, we hope this improves patients and community health outcome , espercially if most persons at risk of Hepatitis B and C are not regularly screened…if your loved ones may be at risk, they can speak with their medical providers to discuss appropriate testing options …providing this simple test now can mean that they can have their patients avoid liver cancer in the future.?
