Ghana News

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as one of the most significant health and development challenges of the 21st century.

By Dr Joana Ansong,

By Dr Leveana Gyimah, WHO Ghana Mental Health Technical Officer and Abdul-Lahie Abdul-Rahim Naa, Communications Officer- WHO Ghana, on World Mental Health Day

Accra – Charity Damoah, 36, lost count of the number of times she was admitted to hospital with malaria while growing up in Sunyani, in Ghana’s Bono region. But things are different now for her two-year-old son John.

Unlike the many other Ghanaians who had lived daily with the threat of the disease, he has never had malaria.

Accra ‒ In 2020, the death of his best friend, Tawiah, reminded Nii Ayittey about the real dangers of AIDS. So when he heard of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as an effective HIV prevention method, Ayittey did not hesitate to enrol in a PrEP programme.

Now a champion, Ayittey has dedicated his life to educating and encouraging his peers to use PrEP as additional protection against HIV.

Accra, Ghana ‒ Samuel Kofi*, 19, from Takoradi in Ghana’s western region discovered he was HIV positive in November 2022. A situation that left him in shock and in complete denial as he thought death was staring him in the face.

“I did not suspect I had HIV when I went to do the test that Wednesday,” Kofi recounts the day he knew his status. “But when it came out positive, even after a confirmation test, I concluded that was the end of life for me.”

Accra ‒ The death of his mother six years ago was a rude awakening for Saviour Yevutsey. “What started as a simple cough led to a diagnosis of pneumonia,” he recalls. “After several medicines were administered without any improvement, my mother was referred to another district hospital and later to the teaching hospital for further treatment.” 

Yevutsey spent a fortune on medicines that did not deliver the needed relief to his mother and she died, a memory that still brings him pain.