Editorial
Maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid kidney disease
A startling 13.5 percent of people in the Ashanti region suffer from chronic kidney disease, Dr. Suleiman Suabil, a physician specialist at the Obuasi AngloGold Hospital, has revealed.
As a result, 17.6 percent of patients in the area need dialysis.
What makes it so worrying is that despite the fact that the disease is a silent killer, many people do not know their kidney status until it is too late.
“Most people admitted to medical wards have chronic kidney disease, but only one out of ten people are aware of their kidney status,” he stated at the World Kidney Day celebration hosted by AngloGold Ashanti in the Obuasi.
He revealed that between 10 and 14 percent of people worldwide suffer from kidney disease, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 14 percent and Ghana for 13.5 percent.
Fortunately, some significant causes of kidney illness have been established, in contrast to breast cancer, the cause of which medical experts are still trying to determine.
The most prevalent causes of chronic kidney disease, according to specialists, are diabetes and high blood pressure, but other factors that have been linked to the condition include poor lifestyle choices, excessive alcohol use, smoking, poor food, misuse of herbal medications, inactivity, and excessive weight gain.
To be forewarned is to be forearmed therefore to address this, preventive healthcare interventions must be prioritised.
In order to prevent kidney disease, which is on the rise in Ghana, we as individuals should be health conscious, refrain from abusing herbal medications, get regular checkups, control blood pressure, manage blood sugar, eat a healthy diet, exercise frequently, stop smoking if you do, and refrain from abusing painkillers.
Furthermore, health institutions must regularly plan outreach programmes to provide people with the knowledge they need to safeguard their health, seek medical attention when necessary, and guarantee that communities receive high-quality healthcare at their doorsteps.
Live a healthy lifestyle to extend your life because kidney disease is a silent killer.
Dear Editor,
I wish to use this esteemed platform to urge the traditional councils of Osu and La to call for independent investigation into the recent demolition exercise at Kaajaano.
The exercise rendered hundreds homeless.
Information about the reason for the demolition has been scanty with those desiring to know feeding heavily on social media posts.
One particular name –Jato, has been associated with it but under whose instruction the exercise was carried is also not known.
Sadly, instead of getting to know who ordered the demolition and for what reasons, traditional authorities of Osu and La have been embroiled in a tug-of-war over ownership of the said land.
This is premature. At this moment, they should call for investigation into the exercise to know the people behind it.
When that is done, then discussions about the owners of the site can begin. That would end the posture of the two neighbouring town which has the potential to turn into something else.
Ataa Osa Mensah,
Osu
Dear Editor,
I wish to use your respected platform to draw the attention of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to the behaviour of traders and some drivers about the use of lower denomination coins, specifically the 20 and 10 pesewas.
About two weeks ago, I read in your sister newspaper, The Ghanaian Times about this problem and the caution that followed from the BoG and some economic analysts.
The warning they gave was that the continuous rejection of the notes could create pricing problems which can eventually affect inflation.
I thought that would put to bed that practice or refusal to accept the coins when given out as change or use to pay for particular service.
Unfortunately, the problem still persist among traders, drivers, customers and passengers alike. Only last week, there was as altercation in the Accra Central area where a woman refused to accept five 20 pesewas note totaling one cedi.
As the argument continued, the trader decided not to sell to the customer again after by-standers explained to her that it was still a legal tender and those that refused it could become offenders.
This is an issue the BoG and other regulatory agencies must go and explain to the people and let them know that it is unlawful not to accept a currency that is still in use.
It nothing was done, it could create a much more serious problems.
Mary Osei Badu,
Swedru
