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The wealth of a nation depends on healthy citizens -
Quashigah
Accra, April 3, Ghanadot/GNA - Major
Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health, on Thursday
reiterated that the country’s dream of becoming a middle
income country by 2010 would be a mirage if people failed to
adopt healthy lifestyles.
“If you are not healthy, you cannot produce wealth for the
country. The country requires a healthy population but a lot
of expenditure is being made on curing preventable diseases
due to unhealthy lifestyles,” he said.
Major Quashigah was speaking at the launch of the 27th
Health Week Celebration of the University of Ghana Nursing
Students Association (UGHANSA) which is on the theme,
“Preventive Healthcare: The sure way of attaining wealth.”
He advised that people should adopt healthy lifestyles in
order to live longer and use their God given talents to
assist in the socio-economic development of the country.
“Water, food, exercise, rest and change of lifestyle are
essential for preventing diseases. We need to eat well,
sustain our health and increase our life expectancy in order
to fulfil our talents to the glory of God.”
Major Quashigah called for the inclusion of Health Education
and Nutrition into the curricula of schools to ensure that
students became the change agents of promoting healthy
lifestyles.
He noted that there were many people who were ignorant of
the dangers posed by bad lifestyles like alcoholism and
smoking to their health.
“How many women know that if you drink alcohol while you are
pregnant you will develop Foetal Alcohol Syndrome? When they
give birth to children with some form of abnormality, they
shift the blame on poor old women branding them as witches.”
Major Quashigah appealed to Ministries, Departments,
Agencies, organizations and individuals to support the
Ministry’s Regenerative Health and Nutrition Programme to
ensure that health promotion and prevention became the new
paradigm in the country’s healthcare delivery system.
Mr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, General Secretary of the Ghana
Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), called on student
nurses at all levels to identify their distinctive roles and
specialization before being integrated into the regular
workforce of health professionals.
Mr Asante-Krobea advised policy makers to act positively and
decisively to ensure the creation of a positive environment
for practicing nursing where innovative policy frameworks
should address issues such as caregiver recruitment and
retention, strategies for continuing education and
upgrading, adequate recognition, compensation and the need
for sufficient equipment and supplies.
Mr Daniel Owusu, President of the University of Ghana
Nursing Students Association (UGHANSA), said the Association
conducted screening services in some communities in Accra
and its environs and found out that the number of
potentially sick people suffering from preventable diseases
far outweighed those who had already been benefiting from
the use of health facilities.
Mr Owusu said the Health Week celebration was aimed at
updating the nursing student with new ideas in the
healthcare system, promoting unity and making relevant
suggestions to policy makers and stakeholders in the health
sector.
Professor Charles Mate-Kole, a Professor of Psychology at
the University of Ghana, advised that psychologists must be
allowed to play a role in all the health units of the
country.
Mrs Margaret Mary Awuah, Medical Delegate from Nestle
Nutrition Ghana Limited, advised that people ate foods that
contained energy giving nutrients and vitamins in order to
stay healthy.
Activities marking the celebration include free health
screening, football matches, educational trips and
donations.
GNA
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