A non-profitable organisation, the Ghana NCD Alliance, has collated data on People Living with Non-Communicable Diseases (PWLNCDs) and how their lives has been affected by policy directives in response to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO), with a focus on promulgating healthcare and Ghana’s attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, discovered that issues of PWLNCDs were not really tackled to the core.
Data collected from 127 persons living with stroke, diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell, chronic heart disease, asthma, cancer, and breast cancer from the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, and Northern regions this year, shows that the three weeks partial lockdown severely impacted negatively on them.
Labram M. Musah, National Coordinator of Ghana NCD Alliance, in releasing the information, stated that the essence of the survey was a result of reports that PWLNCDs experienced a multitude of challenges, and the situation was even exacerbated during the Covid-19 outbreak.
He added that though the majority of the Covid-19 cases and mortalities recorded in Ghana are a result of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), yet, PLWNCDs complained they were given less attention when they visited the hospitals for their regular reviews, and the majority reportedly was told not to return to the hospital since the focus was on Covid-19 cases.
He said some PWLNCDs’ concerns include lack of access to prescribed drugs from the community pharmacy, and commuting to different areas was a challenge because of the lockdown. Others said they could not afford the available supplies from the pharmacies.
The concerns of the respondents’ border around NCD medication – often prescribed by doctors but not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) – fear to visit the healthcare centres in order not to contract the Covid-19, and difficulties in accessing prescribed medications.
To address the listed concerns, Mr Musah recommended that the government should, as part of treatment, care and support, absorb the medical bills of PWLNCDs under the NHIS, as well as psychologists should be stationed at all health centres to provide counselling to PLWNCDs to prevent an escalation of their condition.
He advocated for intensified education on the Covid-19 and NCDs to reduce stigma, neglect, and discrimination, while the government should consider the findings in NCDs’ responses, since there is a high incidence of undiagnosed cases, as well as poor levels of control for NCDs, especially diabetes, hypertension, cancers, etc. in the country.
The post PWLNCDs severely burdened by Covid-19 -NGO laments appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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