By Bernice Bessey
In order to bring healthcare service delivery to the doorsteps of the rural poor, a women’s rights-based non- governmental and non-profit organisation, Women in Law and Development in Africa-Ghana (WiLAF), has reached out to 5,324 people in two districts in the country.
The districts – Ga West Municipality and Akuapim North – had their residents screened for HIV/AIDS, Malaria, cervical cancer, Hepatitis B, breast cancer, diabetes, family planning, blood pressure and other general healthcare.
WiLDAF’s passion to reach out to residents in these localities was to address issues relating to maternal mortality and other health challenges that confront women’s survival and development.
The community outreach programme is a 3-year project, sponsored by the European Union and other development partners to support healthcare.
Esenam Ahiadorme, Programme Officer WiLDAF, Ghana, said the organisation decided to deliver healthcare to the doorsteps of the people, because majority of the villages have poor road networks, making it difficult to access clinics or hospitals in times of emergency.
In a recent mobile health clinic organised in Akuapim North precisely, Addo Nkwanta, she said WiLDAF recorded a high tendency of teenage pregnancy and expectant mothers who are not seeking antenatal care.
She noted that some expectant mothers, especially the teenagers that were screened, had high risk pregnancies that needed emergency medical attention.
The Programme Officer revealed this to The Chronicle in an exclusive interview in Accra. Mrs. Ahiadorme said the complaints they received from the pregnant women were that they didn’t have the means to register for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), or pay for antenatal care.
“Some of the teenagers refused seeking healthcare, because they are verbally abused by the nurses, but after we introduced them to the hospital, they don’t stop,” she added.
On other crunching health concerns such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, the Programme Officer called on the Ghana Health Service and Ministry of Health to immediately visit the area, since, in all their screening exercise, new cases were recorded.
She said the screening, which is carried out every two quarters in a year, discovered three or more new cases of HIV/AIDS. Her worst fear was that some of these patients refuse to accept the fact, and instead of seeking help at the hospital, rather go to spiritual healers for assistance, and sometimes blame it on witchcraft.
“In the course of our screening, we met a woman who has been tested positive of HIV about a year ago, but refused to accept the truth. She became pregnant and never sought health care. As I’m speaking to you, she has given birth and her baby is infected with the disease,” she added.
Mrs. Ahiadorme stated that WiLDAF was working hard to create awareness on the need to seek medical attention at all times. She also called on the government to expand the NHIS registration to remote villages, improve road poor road networks, and provide health facilities that are closer to the people.
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