By Charles Tawiah, GNA
Nkawie (Ash), Feb. 02, GNA – Dr Justice Thomas Sevugu, the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal Director of Health, has stressed the need for concerted efforts to fight Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in communities.
He said stigmatisation was preventing persons infected by the disease from reporting early to health facilities to seek treatment.
It was, therefore, important for community members to desist from such acts and support persons, who exhibited symptoms of diseases such as leprosy, buruli ulcer, yaws, trachoma, elephantiasis, bilharzia and others, to report to health facilities early for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Dr Sevugu made the call at a community durbar to mark this year’s world NTDs celebration at Nkawie.
The durbar was organised by Rural Relief Services (RRS), NGO based in Dunkwa-on-Offin, in conjunction with the Atwima Nwabiagya South Municipal Health Directorate, the Municipal Assembly, Ghana Education Service as well as the Nkawie traditional council, with funding support from the Anesvad Foundation, a Spanish NGO.
The durbar, which was held on the theme: “Unite, Act and Eliminate: Advancing Efforts to End Neglected was Tropical Diseases,” aimed at creating awareness on significant public health burden posed by NTDs.
Mr Jones Owusu Sekyere, the Project Coordinator of Community Integrated Skin NTDs control project of RRS, said the organisation was implementing some crucial strategies to curb NTDs in Ghana.
These include community public education and sensitisation to promote early case detection, treatment, and management of NTDs.
He said the disease often attacked vulnerable people in underserved communities.
The RRS was therefore intensifying its public education campaign to create awareness of the disease in its operational areas at Dunkwa, Obuasi, and Nyinahin areas.
Mr Sekyere appealed to all community members to join the fight against the disease by spreading information about it in their areas.
Nana Kofi Darko III, Nkawie-Kurontihene, commended the organizers, sponsors and other stakeholders of the program for showing concerns for the health of the people in the area.
GNA
Edited by Kwabia Owusu-Mensah/ Christabel Addo