From Sebastian R. Freiku
The Queenmother of the Mampong Traditional Area, Nana Agyakumah Dufie, has, on behalf of the queenmothers of Ghana, presented a Kente cloth, native sandals (Ahenema) and a stool to the First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, for her tremendous efforts at improving the lot of Ghanaian women.
The commendation was bestowed on the First Lady at the regional launch of the OAFLA Ghana chapter at a durbar at Mampong, during which the Ghana AIDS Commission engaged in a community campaign on the prevention of mother to child transmission, as key to an HIV free generation to keep mothers alive.
The exercise entailed HIV testing and counseling, breast and cervical cancers screening, syphilis screening, blood pressure checks, blood sugar testing, weight, and information and education on HIV prevention, stigmatisation and discrimination, condom demonstration with free medical screening, and interaction with heart to heart ambassadors to encourage mothers to know their status.
The First Lady entreated men to always persuade their wives to go for early screening and detection of breast, cervical cancers and HIV, saying early detection of the diseases helps to save their lives. She disclosed that some mothers and children were dying out of ignorance, and advised them to consider early testing for their own good.
Dr. Angela El-Adas, Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, said HIV has a feminine face in Ghana, as women and children, together form about 70% of all HIV cases. She stated that in 2013 alone, 2,407 children under 15 years were infected with HIV.
She said cervical and breast cancers are the commonest causes of cancer-related deaths among women in Ghana, as close to 5,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and another 2,900 with breast cancer.
According to her, there are very simple measures to reduce the needless infections transmitted to children and to prevent and detect diseases affecting the reproductive health of our mothers. She was happy for the OAFLA and queenmothers collaboration for the programme at Ashanti Mampong for the benefit of mothers.
