Four out of 10 Ghanaians die of diseases like stroke, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, asthma and other lifestyle-related diseases collectively known as Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
More worrying is the fact that younger people are dying of these diseases compared to some years ago.
In these times of the coronavirus pandemic, people with one or more of these NCDs, normally termed as people with underlying health conditions, stand at higher risk of succumbing to the disease when infected.
To reverse this trend, the Ghana Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance has reiterated its calls for the government to pay needed attention to NCDs, now that it seems like the spotlight is on battling COVID-19.
The Chairperson of the Alliance, Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai made these calls on the Citi Breakfast Show on Monday.
“It looks as if the NCDs have been pushed aside. We know that people with NCDs are those who suffer the fatality when they contract COVID-19. Why don’t we protect them rather? Why don’t we find some space for such people? Majority of people diagnosed with COVID-19 have these diseases. So why are we waiting? Some people already diagnosed with NCDs are even scared of going to the hospital. Some of them are turned away when they go to some facilities,” she noted.
“Rightly so, some units have been closed but can we look at this again? Can we look at our health system? In other places, persons with NCDs have opportunities to go for their retail elsewhere and not necessarily going to places where they can contract the disease. Can we start arranging for such services for our people?” she questioned.
Initial calls
The Ghana NCD Alliance had earlier challenged policymakers, health care institutions and professionals not to relegate the health needs of patients with cancers, stroke, hypertension and diabetes onto the sidelines, as they focus on rolling back COVID-19 cases.
“Though COVID-19 is fatal and deserves the needed attention, we are nonetheless encouraging hospitals to give equal attention to NCD patients as evidence has shown that underlying conditions, predominantly NCDs, rather hasten the death of COVID-19 patients, hence the need to fight both head-on.”
The chairperson of the Alliance, Dr Beatrice Wiafe Addai, who appreciated the urgency in fighting COVID-19, however, said patients suffering from Non Communicable diseases, risked being crowded out, and encouraged health caregivers to give as much treatment and attention to NCD patients while attending to COVID-19 patients.
