Friday, 27th May, 2022

Page 8
Paediatric Society of
Ghana’s (PSG) experts
say mothers must seek
immediate medical
attention when they
notice any abnormal change in
the skin, eye, and stool colours of
their babies.
They indicated that neonatal
(newborn) jaundice which was a
serious medical condition occur
when the colour of the skin and
eyes of the newborn baby begins
to turn yellowish in the first 28
days (about 4 weeks) of life, and
it was important that mothers
closely monitored their babies under
bright lights (preferably sunlight),
and quickly report to health
facilities for prompt treatment.
The Society therefore warned
that newborns were at risk of
suffering brain damages from
neonatal jaundice without swift
interventions, saying cases were
often reported too late to health
facilities, when the disease had
already traveled into the baby’s
brain causing irreparable damage.
Existing medical literature
on the illness shows that it is
HopeXchange Medical
Center in Kumasi,
has offered free
health screening to
more than 300 people
at Nwamase, a community in the
Kwadaso Municipality of Ashanti.
Community members were
screened for breast and cervical
cancers, hypertension, diabetes,
and other non-communicable
diseases.
Members, especially the
women, received education on
the causes, signs, symptoms and
prevention of breast and cervical
cancers.
It was done in collaboration
with the Nwamase Community
Health Center with sponsorship
from the United States Agency
for International Development
(USAID).
Residents diagnosed with
various health conditions were
referred to the HopeXchange for
further health care and attention.
Dr Kingley Chibuzor, a
Medical Officer at HopeXchange,
speaking to the Ghana News
Agency (GNA) after the exercise
noted that good health care must
be the priority of everyone, and
called on community members
not to relent in seeking medical
attention regularly.
He said knowing one’s health
status and complying with
medical advice was one of the
surest ways to longevity.
Health
increasing in Ghana, and quite
common in preterm babies often
due to an immature liver, however,
some infections, medication or
blood disorders may cause much
serious cases.
For instance, the use of Camphor
to preserve the clothing of
babies with the blood condition
known as G6PD deficiency and
poor feeding, could lead to such an
infection.
Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, the
Deputy Director of Reproductive
and Child Health, Ghana Health
Service (GHS), at a round table
stakeholders meeting in Accra,
commended the PSG for and
setting aside the month of May
annually as “Yellow Month,’’ for
increased public education and to
also garner support for improved
care.
She said the year’s theme:
“Survive and Thrive: From Yellow
to Hero,” was a call to all stakeholders
and health partners
for holistic support to improve
access and quality care through
enhanced infrastructure (equipment)
and human resource capac-
DAILY ANALYST Friday, 27th May, 2022
brain damages without
swift interventions
ity, to save these babies from the
needless suffering and deaths.
Dr Sagoe-Moses noted that
although neonatal jaundice was
one of the serious illnesses contributing
to high morbidity and
mortality in children, very little
was known about the disease and
its devastating impact on the lives
of individuals, families and the
country.
“There is still so much misconceptions
about neonatal jaundice,
not only among the public,
but also among health workers,
hence the need to ensure continuous
and sustained dissemination
of vital information,” she said.
She urged hospital managers
to provide training for health
workers, with emphasis on
midwives and traditional birth
attendants who were the first
point of call, and pleaded with
District Assemblies and private
sector partners, to make neonatal
jaundice a budget priority for
the procurement of diagnostic
and phototherapy equipment for
optimal care.
The Director suggested a
multidisciplinary approach where
healthcare managers, community
leaders and groups, children and
adolescents were engaged as focal
persons and advocates within
their various spaces for education.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said concrete
strategies must be developed for
Nwamase residents screened of
breast, cervical cancers
Dr Chibuzor emphasized that
people living with hypertension,
diabetes and other known health
challenges ought to comply with
medications backed by regular
check-ups to keep them in shape.
Ms Constance Oppong, a
Midwife at HopeXchange who
led the screening for cervical and
breast cancers, said cancers had
become common in our societies
and must be taken seriously by all.
She entreated women in
particular to have periodic
examinations of their breasts
and cervixes and advised them to
conduct self-breast examinations
often.
Mr Bismark Donkor, a staff of
the medical center who led the
team, said the hospital offered all
kinds of services to clients, which
was why it had reached out to
community members with quality
health services.
He said the HopeXchange
would continue reaching out to
the less-privileged communities
with medical interventions.
Maame Yaa, a resident of
Nwamase speaking with the GNA,
expressed appreciation to the
facility and said she had always
wanted to check her status for
breast and cervical cancers but
could not afford the charges.
She said the exercise had been
beneficial to the community,
saying that it had helped many
people to know their status.
effective resource mobilisation
(both human and equipment), to
ensure equitable distribution and
management of newborn jaundice.
“Considering the debilitating
and deadly effect of the disease,
every effort must be made to arrest
this public health gap,” she said.
During a panel discussion, the
issue of myths about the causes
and treatment of neonatal jaundice
came up strongly, where societal
beliefs such the consumption
of certain foods like groundnuts
and eggs or some fruits, had been
blamed on pregnant women for
the plights of their children.
Other misconceptions included
the use of breastmilk to clear
the yellowish colour on the eyes of
babies.
The panelists admitted that
although antenatal and post-natal
clinics were very important interventions
for mothers and their
babies as they offered key opportunities
for acquiring knowledge and
assessing the health and wellbeing
of both persons, the use of the
Maternal and Child Health Record
book as a holistic tool for informa-
The Management of
Brakwa Health Center
in Asikuma-Odoben-
Brakwa (AOB) District
of the Central Region,
has appealed to the public,
philanthropists, corporate bodies,
and benevolent organizations
to assist in solving challenges
confronting the facility to work
without hindrances.
Dr John Asare Dadzie Mensah,
Medical Officer-In-Charge of
the Center made the appeal at a
durbar organised in collaboration
with Faith Based-Organizations,
corporate bodies, chiefs, and
Brakwa Community Youth
Development Association to raise
funds to refurbish the facility.
Dr Mensah on behalf of the
Ministry of Health and the Ghana
Health Service expressed immense
appreciation to the organizers
for their decision to support the
facility to ease it of its challenges.
He indicated that hundreds
of clients in and around the town
visit the facility daily and cases
beyond them were referred to Our
Lady of Grace Hospital in Breman
Asikuma, the District Capital.
Dr Amoah said the referrals
tion sharing and data gathering
had not been maximized.
They urged the PSG to invest
in advocacy tools by developing a
uniformed material for effective
education throughout the country,
while engaging the private sector
and faith-based organisations
as partners to achieve a solution
where everyone benefits.
Other suggestions included
improving data for effective monitoring
and policy interventions.
Naa Korkor Aadzeoyi, the
Queen mother of Adabraka, a community
in Accra, welcomed the
positive engagement initiated by
the PSG with the traditional leadership
of communities in Ghana,
saying their involvement would
help ‘water’ down the education
at the grassroots, communicating
in the right or appropriate languages
for better understanding
and appreciation of the issues.
Dr Hilda Mantebea Boye, the
General Secretary of the PSG,
thanked all the participants for
their active participation in the
event and for supporting the
efforts of the Society.
Durbar held to raise funds
in support of Brakwa
Health Center
were as a result of lack of
adequate medical equipment
including beds, oxygen cylinders,
paediatric and emergency wards
in the facility which were some
of the key factors affecting their
operation.
Also, most of the patients,
he noted could not afford
transportation cost when referred
and, therefore, making all the
necessary services available
will be of great relief to the
community to access health care
services at their doorstep.
Mr Lawrence Edutuah-Asiaw,
the District Chief Executive
(DCE), applauded the organizers
for taking that bold initiative
to ensure that people in the
community and its surrounding
villages received quality health
care and emphasized the need for
others to complement efforts by
the government to better the lot
of the citizenry in the country.
He announced that the
District Assembly in collaboration
with the Regional Coordinating
Council, was working around
the clock to address the facility’s
challenges and also upgrade it to
the status of a Polyclinic.