NGO Provides Free Health Screening To 675 People In East Mamprusi District

MY LIFE FAIR ORGANISATION, a non-governmental organisation based in Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana has provided free health screening to 675 people in Gambaga and Nalerigu communities in the East Mamprusi District. 

The two-day programme which started at the ‘Gambaga Witches Camp’ located in the middle of the Gambaga Township, saw 250 inmates of the Camp as well as some residents of neighbouring communities screened, treated and or referred to well endowed health centres for further treatment or examination.

The rest of the 425 people who also benefited from the health screening were residents of Kolinva village in Nalerigu. All those who came, mostly the aged between 60 and 80 years were provided with free treatment and medicines to take home.

The free health screening programme was supported by the Tamale Teaching Hospital with manpower whereas the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints provided funding for it. 

The organisation operates in the Northern, Upper West and Upper East Regions as well as the northern part of Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. The organisation which has existed for the past six years, seeks to provide social support to the poor and vulnerable particularly women and children.  

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of My Life Fair Organisation Jonathan Gumah Koligu, the health screening was an annual programme instituted to help the underprivileged who could not access healthcare services due to financial problems.

Through the programme, he said, 650 women were screened for breast cancer in 2014 and about 100 of them whose cases were serious, were given free treatment. Unfortunately, out of the 100 women, four of them died due to the high cost of treatment which the organisation could not afford in the course of treatment.

For the past six years, the organisation, Mr. Koligu pointed out, had supported 80 widows to undertake skills training in soap making, batik, tie and dye, beads making and among others. 35 of these women were now totally independent. “Children of these widows have also benefited from donations from the organisation to continue with their education”, he emphasised. 

An inmate of Gambaga Witches Camp being attended to health official

“We have also support persons with disabilities and since 2014 till date about 40 people have benefited from various kinds of skills training. While we consider human rights as a very critical issue for us due to its prevalent nature in the communities we work, the provision of educational resources especially exercise books have also been seriously considered”, Mr. Koligu explained.

A Family Physician Specialist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital Dr. Saeed Gibreel who was part of the team of medical professionals, said the team recorded mostly bodily pains, knee/joint pains, hypertension and sight problems.

Speaking to Savannahnews, he attributed the various medical conditions diagnosed to the advanced age of the people who came for the screening. “Other medical conditions we detected include pains in the feet, gastritis and depression. Very few people were tested positive for malaria”, he indicated.

Suspected cases of breast tumour, bladder tumour, abnormal vaginal bleeding due to fibroid and among others, Dr. Gibreel noted, were also diagnosed and referred to the Tamale Teaching Hospital for further and thorough examination. 

Meanwhile, the next stop of the free health screening programme would be Bongo in the Upper East Region. About 900 people are expected to be screened, treated or referred to the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital or the Tamale Teaching Hospital.