Accra, Feb. 28, GNA – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Medtronic LABS Ghana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to screen, diagnose and mange diabetes and hypertension for people in the Upper East Region.
The project is expected to screen 25,000 members of the population and 500 pregnant women in 12 months.
Persons who are diagnosed with any of the two conditions after the screening would be referred to health facilities for subsidised medication and offered free tele-consultation on how to manage the conditions.
The project will be implemented in ten Community Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, three health facilities and one district hospital in the Region.
Senior Deputy Country Director for KOICA Ghana, Mr. Seungmin Oh, said the project was aimed at improving primary healthcare delivery with a focus on maternal, neonatal, and children’s health in the Upper East Region.
He said the programme would proactively identify early warning signs of pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.
Mr Oh said the programme was cost-effective, and that patients would be managed with less than $20 per year, stating that the Government of the Republic of Korea would continue to focus on improving preventive care.
Mr Akwasi Obeng, Head of Field Operations, Medtronic LABS Ghana, said they were excited to be partnering with KOICA to introduce life-saving community-based screening and management programme to the people.
“Our key objective is to improve access to primary care and ensure meaningful clinical outcomes, by addressing maternal health and NCDs together,” he said.
As part of the programme, Medtronic LABS will provide standard kits that comprise BP machines and glucometers to ensure that patients are managed at the CHPS and community level, thereby reducing transportation barriers.
Mr Obeng said the community-based management approach would ensure frequent, local follow-up for conditions that would typically require visits to health centres, which could be challenging and impractical in the Upper East Region.
He said the programme leveraged Medtronic LABS’ digital health platform, SPICE, to provide longitudinal patient records and had a linkage to referral facilities to ensure that patients were not lost in advanced care.
GNA