By Samuel Akumatey
Ho, March 19, GNA – Mama Atrato II, Queenmother of Ho Dome in the Volta Region, has called on the Government to acquire more dialysis machines for the country to cater for the many kidney diseases being recorded at the various hospitals.
She said the Government should also consider banning excessive alcohol intake among the populace to reduce the prevalence of the disease.
The kidneys filter harmful substances from the blood, one of which is alcohol. Alcohol can cause changes in the functioning of the kidneys and make them less able to filter the blood.
Mama Atrato said the present burden of kidney related diseases required more enhanced effort by the government, particularly in the improvement of health facilities and the regulation of alcohol consumption.
She made the call during a stakeholder engagement by STAR Ghana to collect inputs for political party manifestos, where she raised the alarm over the citizens’ alcohol indulgence, and the lack of adequate infrastructure at the various health centres for kidney care.
She said it was time for the Government and stakeholders to consider those challenges for redress, adding: “I want to appeal to the government that if they will not bring in more dialysis machines, then they should ban the consumption of alcohol.”
Mama Attrato was among traditional rulers drawn from the Eastern, Volta and Oti regions of the country participate in a series of engagements and activities to help collate the needs of the citizenry within the political administrations.
Other participants were civil society and non-governmental organisations, and representatives of associations of persons living with disability, as well as labour, and women groups.
The engagements covered health, education, and social issues with resource persons leading participants to better appreciate the situation within the various sectors.
Madam Eunice Agbenyadi, the Head of Programmes, STAR Ghana, said views and ideas being collated were timely, as political parties were in the process of drafting their manifestos.
“Manifestos have become a very major tool for development, and it is important that these voices are captured. We will present the issues to the manifesto drafting committees of the major parties,” she said.
STAR Ghana hoped to engage the minor political parties also in a dialogue while tracking the manifesto promises of the various parties for implementation.
GNA