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Health experts call for lifestyle changes
Ghana joined the world on May 17 to observe World Hypertension Day on the theme; “Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control it, Live Longer.”
The theme reminds all individuals to check to know their blood pressure regularly and to keep it under control to impact overall longevity.
In Ghana, approximately 3.7 million Ghanaians aged 18 to 69 years have hypertension with 1.9 million unaware of their status, with risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol use, driving prevalence rate.
Health experts advise that lifestyle changes particularly with regard to dietary choices could have far-reaching impact on managing one’s blood pressure.
Below are five best foods Ghanaians can eat to control hypertension as recommended by Meatless Monday Ghana, a campaign that seeks to promote healthy eating, reduce disease risk and protect the environment.
Fruits
Fruits rich in potassium like bananas and fresh coconuts are beneficial for blood pressure management. Berries, like blueberries are known for their nitric oxide content and can also help lower pressure.
Again, fruits containing folate, such as limes, oranges, and grapefruits can help increase blood pressure in individuals with low blood pressure while other fruits with potential benefits for hypertension control are watermelon, tomatoes, avocado, and papaya or pawpaw.
Research, funded by British Heart Foundation, has suggested beetroot juice, a concentrated source of nitrates might help lower blood pressure.
Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables like cocoyam leaves, commonly known as Kontomire, Cassava leaves, Gboma, Spinach and Moringa provide a rich source of potassium, magnesium and folate and other relevant nutrients, which can help lower blood pressure.
Wholegrains
Wholegrains such as maize or corn, millet, brown rice, sorghum and oats which contain more nutrients and fiber than refined starchy carbs like white bread, pasta and polished rice.
Eating more fibre has been linked to a lower risk of heart and circulatory diseases while soluble fiber from oats may help in lowering blood pressure.
Lean Protein
Meatless Monday advised Ghanaians to revert to lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, eggs, and beans, which are helpful in lowering weight and blood pressure.
Fortified Plant-based Milk
It said fortified plant-based milk like almond, soy, and oat milk can offer around 240 mg of calcium per cup, which has high levels of calcium strongly linked to reduction of blood pressure.
Similarly, low-fat dairy like semi-skimmed milk and low-fat natural yogurt also give calcium and protein without excess saturated fat.
Meatless Monday campaign believes that diet is not the only factor in reducing blood pressure. It stressed the need for all hypertensive patients to take prescribed medicines and consider being more physically active; stop smoking; and maintaining a healthy weight.
By Abigail Annoh
News
Minister for Education leads monitoring visit to BECE Centres
As part of efforts to encourage candidates writing the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrissu has led a government delegation to the 5 Garrison Education Centre and Emmause Cluster of Schools earlier today in Accra.
The visit aimed at monitoring the conduct of the examination, interacting with candidates, and offering words of motivation.
The minister urged the students to remain focused, confident, and determined, encouraging them to do their best to make themselves and the nation proud.
Accompanying the Education minister were the Minister for Defence, Edward Omane Boamah; Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Davis.
The rest included the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Maamle Andrews; and the Municipal Chief Executive for La Dadekotopon, Alfredos Nii Anyetei.
Other dignitaries present also reiterated government’s commitment to educational excellence and the holistic development of every Ghanaian child.
News
Interior Minister calls for correctional reform as Prisons Service graduates New Officers
Speaking at the Passing-Out Parade of Recruit Course 125 at Ankaful Prison Officers’ Training School in the Central Region, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has emphasized the need for correctional reform in Ghana, highlighting the government’s commitment to transforming the Prisons Service into a modern correctional facility that focuses on rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
He noted that Government remains committed to expanding vocational training, educational programmes and productive inmate enterprises that reinforce rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
The minister pointed out that correctional facilities must become centers of reform, not just detention.
According to him, “is not an act of charity but a strategic investment in national security and human capital. When we empower an inmate with employable skills, we reduce the opportunity for that inmate to re-offend. Rehabilitation and reformation do not occur in isolation but must be linked to purposeful activity.”
To give practical effect to this policy, Muntaka Mohamed-Mubarak announced that Government will scale up support for prison-based ventures, saying that entures such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and industrial operations, including bottled water production, will be central to a sustainable, self-reliant correctional economy.
The Minister also directed all institutions under the Ministry for the Interior to prioritise the purchase of bottled water and toilet rolls produced by the Ghana Prisons Service.
This, he said, will not only reduce the financial burden on the state but also generate revenue and promote inmates’ productivity.
He reassured the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service of the Government’s unwavering support, emphasizing that the commitment goes beyond improving logistics and infrastructure to reforming the very foundation of correctional practice in Ghana.
Muntaka Mubarak urged the new officers to serve with integrity, compassion, and professionalism, and assured them that their actions would reflect the high standards of the Service and the trust the nation has placed in them.
