Over 900 farmers in Tano North screen for various health condition  

More than 900 farmers in the Tano North Municipality of the Ahafo Region have been screened for various health conditions. 

The free health screening, conducted by the organisers of the Nightingale Prestigious Awards (NPA) scheme was spearheaded by Miss Freda Asante Asuama, the 2024 overall best winner of the Awards. 

Ms Asuama is a public health nurse and midwife at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono Region also distributed1000 exercise books, sanitary pads and other educational materials to some selected basic and Senior High Schools in the area. 

The beneficiaries of the exercise, held at Koforidua, were mostly women farmers, chiefs and queens as well as students and pupils from the various cocoa growing communities in the Municipality. 

They were drawn from communities including Susuaho, Koforidua, Twuahu and Duayaw- Nkwanta, and were screened for high blood pressure, sugar levels as well as eye, ear, nose and throat related complications and given free medications. 

However, those who were diagnosed with serious complications were referred to health facilities for medical care. 

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the side-lines of the exercise, Ms explained that the event was in line with a project she was implementing as the 2024 winner of the NPA. 

She said the project also aimed at inspiring young people, particularly girls to take their education seriously and to achieve high academic excellence, saying the school children need to know their health status. 

Ms Asuama said the distribution of the free sanitary pads would help sustain the interest of girls in schools and thereby improve their studies. 

She also expressed concern about the increasing trend of substance abuse and peddling among the youth, including teenagers, and called for concerted and decisive approaches towards tackling the problem. 

Ms Asuama said substance abuse and addiction could lead duodenal ulcers, foetal alcohol syndrome, infertility, mental disorders, liver cirrhosis, stroke, and heart enlargement. 

She called on parents, traditional authorities, community leaders religious organisations to come together and find lasting solutions contributing to drug abuse and peddling among the youth. 

Source: GNA