The Vivahealth Medical Foundation has successfully held its second major medical outreach and donation exercise of the year 2022 in the Knife traditional area of the Ho municipality in the Volta Region.
This comes on the back of an earlier successful event held in May in the communities of Pupuni and Tortibo in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region.
The foundation and its rich membership of healthcare professionals, development experts, financial developers, civil servants, religious leaders, lecturers, counsellors and enthusiastic volunteers carried out a series of health screening exercises, counseling, confidence-building and mentorship sessions as well as donation activities.
The health screening included tests on hepatitis B and C, high blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), diabetes and childhood malnutrition. Sexual health counsellors also engaged teenagers on issues of HIV-AIDS, teenage pregnancy and other sexual reproductive health topics.
Civil servants and volunteers of reputable occupations, on the other hand, engrossed the communities’ youths and working class in discussions about how to explore opportunities that are beneficial to their development. All of these activities were augmented with a donation exercise in which community members received clothes, stationery and other relief items to help improve their living conditions.
The one-day event saw hundreds of people come from the villages of Dome, Achiatime and Demete of the Klefe traditional area. Other scores of people from neighboring villages of Lume, Ziavi, Agove, Akrofu, and Hoviefe, among others, were present to take part in the screening and donation exercises.
The CEO of the foundation, Major (Dr) Carl Nutsugah expressed his contentment over the success of the medical outreach and thanked volunteers and donors for their unwavering support in reaching out to communities in need of healthcare and general assistance.
“It has been the second consecutive successful event. When we arrived, we found a large number of people who were very welcoming to us. They challenged us to give it our all on the day, which we did with enthusiasm. These situations just serve to remind us that people need healthcare, and we are only encouraged to do more and reach as many people as possible”, Dr Nutsugah, who is also an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) resident surgeon and a senior medical officer at the 37 military hospital said.
“Our membership, volunteers and donors have expanded. The aid they provide for free is invaluable. The communities we serve, the foundation and I, are heavily indebted” he added.
The Regional Minister, Hon. Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, who was present at both the beginning and end of the event, also extended his appreciation to the foundation for undertaking such a life-changing programme and guaranteed his continuous support in future outreach programmes in the region.
Some attendees, as well as the assembly member for the electoral area, Hon. Raphael Worlasi Kwaku Dogbey, professed their delight at the event, calling it the “biggest” of the five organized this year in the area.
According to the assembly member, the numbers and the mood of the people tell how important medical outreach is. “This is the fifth outreach in this area this year. But the others have addressed specific health issues. This is the only one addressing general health issues. It is the biggest”, he said.
“I have attended a few similar outreach programs held this year. I wasn’t attended to because it focused on prostate cancer and another on eye screening. Today, everyone has been sorted” a resident of the area added.
The Vivahealth Medical Foundation intends to carry out many more outreach programmed in Ghana’s hard-to-reach remote areas with the goal of providing specialized treatment.
