Health Essentials
Walking: Probably the greatest medicine
“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”- Thomas Edison
When Hippocrates said that “walking is a man’s best medicine” he didn’t realise that thousands of years later many more benefits of walking way beyond his imagination would be discovered as we walk our way to great health. We often hear laughter being described as “the best medicine” but the health benefits of walking dwarf those of laughter.
MAKING A CASE FOR WALKING
- Easy to do
- Walking is generally easy to do. No special skills needed. Get a good pair of walking shoes and comfortable clothing and you are on your way to great health. You may join the Health Essentials “Fit to walk challenge.”
- Safe to do
- Walking does not involve a great deal of physical exertion. Many of us can walk even without clearance from our doctor. It is not as stressful to the body as many other exercises.
- Walking; it makes business sense
- You do not need to buy expensive equipment, instructional videos et cetera in order to learn how to walk. Yes it may have limitations in terms of working your muscles and also having adequate space but there are many ways to get round these minor challenges.
- Walking does not lack variety
- Walking is not boring. We certainly can spice things up by walking on flat surfaces, walking up slopes, interchanging walking at a brisk pace with a relaxed pace and even walking while carrying small weights.
- Walking “in place” is possible
- You may not even need to step out of your bedroom or home to walk. Standing in the same place you can “walk” and benefit immensely just by moving your legs up and down. A real miracle, indeed.
- Keeps the doctor away
- If we could pledge to walk briskly for at least30 minutes a day, five (5) days a week, then your long list of benefits will include:
- Weight control
- Blood pressure, blood sugar and bad cholesterol control
- Reduces heart attack risk
- Enhances stamina and energy
- Lessens anxiety and tension
- Eases back pain
- Slows down bone loss
- Manages the negative effects of arthritis
- Improves muscle tone
- Easy on your joints
- Reduces appetite (this is controversial but may result from focusing on a healthy habit hence being more conscious of what and how much you eat)
- If we could pledge to walk briskly for at least30 minutes a day, five (5) days a week, then your long list of benefits will include:
DOING IT RIGHT
Helpful tips that will make your walk more rewarding
- Posture is key
- In order to get the most out of walking, good posture is crucial. Keep your head up and your spine straight and look straight ahead. Keep your arms and shoulders loose. Do look down occasionally to avoid possible road obstacles.
- Take deep regular breaths
- DO NOT hold your breath
- Walk, don’t run
- To get the most out of your walk you should keep a brisk pace but not fast. If it is difficult to breathe easily, slow down.
- Stride
- Try to take long smooth strides. Your motion should be fairly effortless with your arms swinging at your side for balance.
Most people can walk even when they have major health conditions. It’s our normal way of moving from one place to another so just do it more often even if it means for two (2) minute sessions. Eventually it all adds up. Sometimes people dissuade diabetics from walking because it may affect their feet; that is a crime against humanity. Do walk if you are diabetic , after all you walk to achieve most of your activities of daily living; make sure you wear very comfortable footwear as you take this “miracle medicine” and inspect your feet before and after every walk.
Dear friends, even if you cannot afford a gym membership or you find exercising in a gym unduly stressful, start walking TODAY! You may need to challenge yourself later but that is a discussion for the future. Make walking a high priority activity.
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 CobbaEssel
Health Essentials Ltd/ St Andrews Clinic/Mobissel
Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise.
Thought for the week–“STIGMATISATION has no place in fighting this pandemic. It will cause people to hide and not disclose their status, seek medical care late and reduce all the benefits of protocols. We should all be comfortable enough to tell our close contacts when we test positive for COVID-19 so that the proper measures are taken. This is extremely important if we have to win this fight.”- Dr. Kojo CobbaEssel
References:
- Sportline – Walking Guide
Health Essentials
Children Believe, Norsaac present medicines, medical equipment to three Health Directorates
THE Northern, Upper East and Savannah Regional Health Directorates have taken delivery of various medicines and medical equipment to improve care for pregnant/lactating mothers, adolescent girls and children under five years.
The medicines and medical equipment, worth GH¢1.6 million, were procured with funding support from the Canadian Government through Global Affairs Canada.
They included Combined Iron (III) Hydroxide Polymaltose and Folic Acid – 5,500 Boxes, Mebendazole (Wormalex 400mg) – 10,000 Packs, Albendazole (400mg) – 20,000 Packs, Combine Ferrous Sulphate and Folic Acid (Folidyn Tab mp) – 2880 cartons, Tarring Weighing Scale- 18 pieces, Digital Thermometer – 108 pieces, and Height Rod in CMS/Feet HOM Stadiometer – 27 pieces.
The rest were Blood Pressure Monitor Digital, Andon- 27 pieces, Ultrasonic Pocket Doppler, 1.5v Sonotrax Basic – 9 pieces, Glucose meters – 54 pieces, Glucose meter stripes (50’s)- 500 pieces, Delivery set (used for facility-based delivery) – 27 pieces, Hb Testing System/URIT -12 – 36 pieces, Hb Test Stripes (50’s) – 800 pieces, Weighing Scale, Hanging (Salter) HOM- 27 pieces.
Some 96,374 individuals comprising pregnant/lactating mothers, adolescent girls and children under five years in nine districts in the three regions are expected to benefit from the medicines and the medical equipment.
A total of 54 health facilities in the nine districts, namely Bole, Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, East Gonja, Tolon, Kumbungu, Nanumba South, Builsa South, Kassena-Nankana West and Kassena-Nankana North, are to benefit from the supplies.
They were donated by Children Believe, an international NGO, under the Championing Nutrition and Gender Equality (CHANGE) project, which is funded by Global Affairs Canada.
The CHANGE project is being implemented in partnership with Norsaac; the national implementing partner, amongst other governmental agencies.
The overall objective of the project is to improve nutrition for the poorest and most marginalised, especially women and adolescent girls.
Madam Esenam Kavi De Souza, the Country Director, Children Believe, speaking to hand over the medicines and the medical equipment to the authorities of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) at the Regional Medical Stores in Tamale, said it was geared towards achieving the project’s commitment to improve women’s leadership and control resources for community and individual gender equitable nutrition practices.
The authorities of the GHS in the Upper East and Savannah Regions also received their share of the donated items in their respective regions.
Madam De Souza said the gesture followed assessments conducted with the GHS to identify the most critical healthcare needs in the targeted communities. She said the intervention was designed to ensure that the support would make a meaningful difference in healthcare delivery for the poorest and most marginalised populations in the targeted districts.
Dr Chrysantus Kubio, the Northern Regional Director, GHS, who received the items, said they would significantly improve health service delivery in the beneficiary districts in the region.
He said as part of the project, motorbikes and laptops were also supplied to the districts to facilitate the work of health personnel and improve data analysis for health services.
He lauded the project saying such partnerships were crucial in supporting vulnerable populations, who faced financial barriers to healthcare and expressed appreciation to Global Affairs Canada and the implementing partners for their support. —GNA
ZERO Maternal Mortality was recorded at Awutu District Health Service in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Dr Felix Gerald Kwaning Darbbey, the District Health Service Director, disclosed this in a presentation at the 2025 Annual Performance Hearing summit at Awutu Bereku.
The Health Directorate has 30 Community Health Planning and Services compounds, Two Health Centers, Two Polyclinics, five Maternity Homes and three Private Clinics working under it. He said the theme for the meeting: ‘Reboot, Re-Center, Drive Universal Health Coverage,’ encouraged them to think about their journey together, reassess their priorities and confidently work towards their goal for everyone in the district, support the Service and the mission of the World Health Organisation to ensure that people accessed healthcare efficiently without hindrances.
According to Dr Darbbey, 3,258 deliveries was recorded in 2023 against 2,932 in 2024 but increased to 3,280 in 2025. Anemia in pregnant women at 36 weeks reduced from 3,029 in 2023 to 2,815 in 2024 and increased to 2,973 in 2025, skilled deliveries reduced from 3,258 in 2023 to 2,923 in 2024 and increased to 3,280 in 2025, while Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) deliveries dived from 211 in 2023 to 74 in 2024 and further up to 61 in 2025.
According to him, Out-Patient Department (OPD) attendants decreased from 163 in 2023 to 75 in 2024 and increased to 193 in 2025, with clients insured cards increasing to 71,721 in 2023 as against 81,111 in 2024 and to 90,363 in 2025. Hypertension cases went up to 684 in 2024 from 595 in 2023 and rose to 765 in 2025. The Directorate recorded 392 accidents in 2023 against 373 in 2024 and 353 in 2025 at the OPD. 279 tested positive in 2023, 63 in 2024 and 39 in 2025.
Darbbey mentioned some of their major challenges to include deplorable nature of roads which hampered monitoring and supervision, inadequate office at the district level, yet still low reporting rate by private facilities, low skilled deliveries in most facilities, low recording of epidemic and other prone diseases.
“The results came about due to integrating some funded activities with other activities, improved behavioural change communication, mostly on skin diseases and advent of wellness clinics, quarterly TB case searches and mop-up exercises and contract tracing conducted as well as intensified monitoring and supervision at the sub-districts facilities.”
He said Antenatal Clinic attendance reduced from 6,094 to 5,600 in 2024 and increased slightly to 5,829 in 2025, teenage pregnancies reduced from 681 in 2023 to 563 in 2024 and increased to 603 in 2025, pregnant women who tested for HIV increased.
“To sustain our achievement we must have the courage to face issues, we must be honest, welcome new ideas, find new smarter ways, focus on what really matters at providing services, especially on mothers who need care, vulnerable children, teenagers and adolescents who need help in navigating the health issues that they encounter.”
He said to move forward they need to focus on strengthening primary healthcare services which is the solid base of primary healthcare delivery, encourage community involvement at ensuring that persons who had not yet enrolled on NHIS had access to free service delivery when they were sick. —GNA
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