Health Essentials
WHO Country Representative speaks on breast cancer, other matters
Dr. Francis Chisaka Kasolo
As the awareness campaigns against breast cancer wind down, the Country Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr.Francis Chisaka Kasolo, has encouraged individuals to make their health needs a priority as the government and its partners continue working to attain universal health coverage.
He says the government can do its part but the onus is on the citizenry to make a conscious effort to regularly monitor their health status relative to breast cancer and other diseases.
Speaking in an interview with The Spectator, he noted that efforts to reduce breast cancer deaths may be undermined if individuals did not turn up or report early at health facilities to be screened or treated for breast cancer cases.
“The work of government is to provide the services but as an individual, you need to sit and tell yourself that nobody is going to tell me to keep healthy but myself.
“We must be aware of our health needs and invest in promoting our personal health. For instance, you need to tell yourself that I am going to examine my breast to ensure that I do not have a lump developing which may herald the beginning of breast cancer,” he said.
Dr Kasolo, therefore, urged the public not to downplay the essence of regular examination as there were effective treatment for breast cancer when it was detected early enough.
Breast cancer awareness
The Country Director, who was responding to questions in line with breast cancer awareness campaigns held locally, agreed that public education on the disease should be an all-year-round activity instead of solely dedicating the month of October to public sensitisation to the disease which continued to claim many lives.
He admitted that the campaigns in Ghana and most parts of Africa tended to taper off after the month of October but there must be “a more comprehensive approach” and adequate resources made available for a year-long campaign while other sectors supported the efforts put in by the health sector.
“It will not cause a dime for the radio stations to talk about breast cancer from January to December, after all they talked about COVID from January to December.
“It has to be comprehensive rather than picking one disease and creating awareness on that, if we are going to create awareness for Tuberculosis or Malaria, there has to be an opportunity to talk about other diseases and conditions such as breast cancer,” he stated.
On whether there was an end in sight to the fight against the disease, Dr Kasola maintained that the number of deaths occurring as a result of breast cancer could be reduced if people show up at health facilities for the treatment of breast cancer early.
Impact
While encouraging campaigns against cancers in general, he further stressed the importance of establishing well-equipped cancer treatment centres that were manned by well-trained human resources across the country and not just in one region.
“If we can do these, then we can safely say that we are on the road to ensuring that breast cancer becomes a lesser of a problem than it is now, we can safely say that the end is in sight for breast cancer not only in Ghana but globally ” he noted.
Dr Kasolo again emphasised the need to measure the impact of the awareness campaigns and compile comprehensive data that would inform decision makers on areas to direct resources.
He said the WHO was on course with its Global Breast Cancer Initiative aimed at reducing breast cancer by 2.5 per cent per year, which over a 20 year period would save 2.5 million lives.
The strategies being employed to achieve this objective, he added, included health promotion and early detection, timely diagnosis and comprehensive breast cancer management.
Highlighting other initiatives WHO had been embarking on since he took office in February 2021, the Country Representative explained that there was collaboration with the Government of Ghana at improving health governance, health financing and security while other programmes targeted at detecting and managing non-communicable diseases were being implemented.
He said as the country continued to invest in the health sector, the government must ensure that “a significant number of human resources are retained to serve the nation and help attain universal health coverage by year 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal Three).”
Background
Dr.Francis Chisaka Kasolo is an Infectious Disease Physician with specialisation in Clinical Virology. He has worked with WHO in various capacities for the past 18 years.
Prior to his new appointment, he was a Director in the office of the WHO Regional Director for Africa, responsible for advising the Regional Director on policy and strategic issues pertaining to the work of the organisations.
Dr. Kasolo served as Director for Ebola Preparedness with the United Nations Mission on Emergency Ebola Response (UNMEER) in Accra in 2014.
Asked what his legacy would be as Country Representative in Ghana, he said he wants to be “remembered as the person who provided opportunities for Ghana to move forward in achieving universal health coverage.”
“I want to be remembered as the person who advocated rural population to receive a greater share of support not just from the government but from all the partners that are supporting health in Ghana,” he noted.
He again wants to ensure that “Ghanaians working as National Professional Officers are given the same opportunity to become international staff in other countries.”
By Ernest Nutsugah
Health Essentials
Do you want to be happy?
Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the Golden Fleece eludes the majority of us.
Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make us happy and healthy and eventually wealthy.
I will introduce a few everyday activities that are guaranteed to make you happy if you continue practising them.
You definitely do not need to live in Finland to experience happiness even though many people agree that is the “headquarters” of happiness.
1. Wake-Up Ritual
a. Say to yourself that today will be a beautiful day or a great day!
b. Ask God what He has in store for you. Use me Lord (if not a Christian what you believe in will be useful as well.
c. Remind yourself of your purpose in life and get out of bed.
d. Do Not grab your phone as the first thing for the day.
2. Pray
a. Talking to God has a way of calming our nerves. It brings about unexplained peace and when we add praise and worship then the floodgates open. That is how to win battles against unhappiness.
3. Smile
a. Definitely floods your body with feel good hormones and insulates you from stress.
b. Smiling is infectious so the more you smile the better and you set off a smiling OR happiness domino effect.
4. Meditate
a. Extremely good for your brain and an easy way to start is to do deep-breathing and just focus on your “breath” excluding all others. That is what some will prefer to call mindfulness. Being in the moment has immense benefits. Things you never knew existed suddenly spring up.
5. Exercise
a. That wonder drug that trumps virtually all others. Like smiling it does pour out feel good hormones. Strength training even goes an extra mile causing our muscles to act as “pharmacies” that pour out life-changing signals every time they contract.
6. Be kind to yourself & to others
a. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Give yourself a break. Self-care is the real deal!!
b. Being harsh to others has no benefits.
7. Spend some time doing nothing!
a. We need to re-set from time to time. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing. There is happiness and innovation in “idling”. Do not abuse idling though.
8. Spend time with loved ones.
a. This is another powerful happiness “hack”. You have to make time and be intentional about this; talk on phone, send messages, arrange to meet for a drink or meal. Social Wellness ranks very high on the happiness index and it’s fairly easy to plug into it.
b. While spending time together remember that your choice of food and drinks also impacts on how happy or sad or anxious you may feel.
9. Indulge in a hobby.
a. Our bodies and brain love variety. Do you have a hobby? Get one
10. Write in your gratitude diary.
a. That is all it takes – keep doing it regularly.
11. Get a pet.
This list is not exhaustive but definitely a good start. Share your happiness hacks with me via email and together we can keep the world smiling and happy.
At the end of each day ask yourself if you did better than the previous day. That is all it takes. Doing better than the previous day for 365 days, for 5 years, 10 years… How amazing that will be!!!
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Medics Clinic
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer
May 17 is World Hypertension Day and please do not panic. This is not a stress-filled day that aims at increasing your blood pressure but rather it’s a day set aside to increase awareness of a serial yet silent killer. That is exactly what Hypertension it; its killing the young and old at an alarming rate yet in most instances people with high blood pressure may feel absolutely well.
The theme for this year is “Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer”
Do these when you take your blood pressure since the accuracy of the reading matters:
• If you have been walking or running rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes
• No caffeinated drinks or alcohol two or three hours before checking blood pressure
• Sit (sometime you may need to stand or lay in bed) comfortably with your back rested/supported and your arm for the cuff resting on a table of firm surface
• Have your feet flat on the floor and not legs crossed
• Ensure the cuff is the right size for your arm
• If using an electronic monitor ensure battery is working well
• If clothing covering arm is thick remove
• Loosen your neck-tie or belt if uncomfortable
• If you are not conversant with checking blood pressure, get the appropriate training
Global statistics show that only 50 per cent of those with hypertension are actually aware and that awareness in some areas may be as low as 10 per cent while awareness may exceed 75 per cent in a few areas.
The bitter truth is some people do not have enough information about the condition, a significant number do not have easy access to measuring their blood pressure and a few stubborn ones think it is better not to know if something is going wrong.
What do we need to understand about our blood pressure numbers? There are ALWAYS two numbers in a blood pressure reading such as 120/80mmHg. The top figure represents the force of the blood against the artery (blood vessel) walls as your heart beats and the lower value represents the force on the walls in between beats or while the heart rests. Both numbers are important.
Essentially when your blood pressure is higher than it should normally be all organs in the body are exposed to elevated pressures since arteries supply blood to every part of the body. These sustained high pressures will be causing harm gradually every minute of the day.
Prevention of high blood pressure is based mainly on adopting the appropriate lifestyle, while having regular medical check-ups to pick up conditions that can may lead to hypertension if not tackled early. Management of hypertension on the other hand requires a three-pronged attack in most situations;
• Lifestyle modifications
• Regular medical checks to pick up other conditions that be worsen our hypertension or general wellbeing
• Use of appropriate physician prescribed medication
Age and our genes may have a way of increasing our blood pressure or predisposing us to hypertension, but since we have no control over the choice of our family and years rolling by, it may be worth focusing on the above three that we can control to a large extent.
Lifestyle Modification
• Exercise adequately
• Do not smoke
• Limit or avoid alcohol
• Aim at fat (weight) loss
• Manage stress appropriately
• If you have sleep apnoea (intermittent snoring during sleep and feeling tired and sleepy on waking up) seek medical intervention
• Adopt the DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet; low sodium (salt), increased potassium from fruits and vegetables, low or no saturated fats and increased fibre.
• Control conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol challenges and kidney disease.
Exercise need not be rushing to the gym to sweat out only, but taking walks, gardening, cleaning your home, using the stairs and many others. Exercise increases heart function and lowers blood pressure but there is a little hitch: the benefits of exercise on blood pressure do not last beyond 72 hours.
In short frequency is the watch word. Do not be a once a week or once a month exercise fan. The effect of exercise on the heart does not rely on past glory so if you were an athlete years ago but you have now become one with your sofa, I am sorry to disappoint you but you need to get moving NOW!
All types of exercises will benefit you and lower your blood pressure but a word of caution here;
• When your blood pressure is not controlled DO NOT lift weights above your head
• Do not overdo exercises of the upper body but lower body exercises such s squatting will enhance lowering of your blood pressure.
• Breathe properly especially while you train with weights; breathe out during the exertion phase as you lift a weight and breathe in while you relax.
• Of course brisk walking, swimming, use of the treadmill and other exercises that target heart function are also a must
When all is said and done, you can never know our blood pressure without measuring or checking it. Take a few minutes to check your blood pressure and ensure at least one other person checks their blood pressure before the end of the month.
Associations, companies and all identifiable groups should ensure they check their blood pressure and go an extra mile and as a corporate social responsibility help to check the blood pressure of hundreds or even thousands of people. You will be saving lives.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
