THE Tema Metropolis alone recorded a total of 310 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in 2009, out of a total of 678 cases collated in the Greater Accra Region.
The Metropolitan TB Coordinator, Ms Katherina Kwao, disclosed this at a sensitisation programme for residents of Tema on the pandemic H1N1 influenza and tuberculosis (TB).
The programme, put together by Zerah Foundation, a Tema based non-governmental organisation, in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and facilitators from the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, was aimed at developing interventions to reduce poverty among marginalised communities.
The forum also discussed the mode of transmission of the H1N1 influenza, signs and symptoms, as well as its prevention and treatment.
According to Ms Kwao, tuberculosis, a contagious disease, often spread through sneezing and coughing and affected the lungs primarily, but can also damage other parts of the body.
The co-ordinator, said TB has symptoms like the loss of appetite, weakness and chronic coughing, and could lead to barrenness if not properly treated.
He, therefore, commended the foundation for organising the sensitisation programme to complement the Ghana Health Service’s efforts.
The HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Ms Margaret Asante, who educated participants on the H1N1 flu, indicated that the influenza, which first occurred in Ghana in August 2009, had infected over 700 people. Schoolchildren are the most affected and Greater Accra has the highest number of recorded cases in the country.
She urged the general public to adhere to the various preventive measures such as the washing of hands with soap, drinking of fluids and avoiding contact with infected people.
The Executive Director of Zerah Foundation, Mr Michael Awuni, stated that the programme had become necessary owing to the rapid rate at which the two diseases were spreading.
He said the 700 reported cases nationwide was an indication that awareness of the pandemic had been minimal.
According to him, the foundation was working on three cross-cutting thematic areas; reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, advocacy and influence, and gender development and would extend the programme to the rural communities within the Tema and Ashaiman.
“These interventions are parts of interventions put in place to ensure that access to information is not restricted to only urban dwellers and the affluent in society,” Mr Awuni noted.
He called on sister NGOs, as well as public spirited Ghanaians to join hands as health authorities made efforts to combat the disease.
Mr Awuni expressed optimism that participants would ensure that information shared at the forum would be beneficial to their households, neighbours and their entire community.
Zerah Foundation is a pro-poor NGO, which is committed to the promotion of equity and equality among the less privileged in society.
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