Administrator of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, Adjoa Obuobia Darko-Opoku, has raised concern over what she describes as the growing number of children in Ghana being diagnosed with chronic and non-communicable diseases.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Madam Darko-Opoku said her experiences visiting hospitals and interacting with patients had exposed what she called an alarming rise in childhood illnesses, particularly cancers and other long-term medical conditions.
According to her, diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions were once commonly associated with older adults, but recent developments suggest that more young people and children are now being affected.
“When we were growing up, when you heard somebody had diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, obviously you thought that person was older,” she stated.
“Until I got into this business, I didn’t know that even children have these conditions,” she added.
Madam Darko-Opoku recounted visits to oncology centres where she encountered several children undergoing treatment for various forms of cancer, describing the experience as deeply worrying.
“When you go into the oncology centre at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and you see all these kids there, you’re wondering what is happening to us,” she said.
She noted that the increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses among younger populations highlights the urgent need for stronger investment in specialised healthcare services, early diagnosis, treatment infrastructure and medical support systems.
According to her, the Ghana Medical Trust Fund was created partly to help address the growing burden of chronic and non-communicable diseases in the country, particularly conditions that require expensive long-term treatment not fully covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Madam Darko-Opoku explained that the fund is expected to support patient treatment, medical research, healthcare infrastructure development and specialist training to improve care delivery for people living with chronic illnesses.
She further indicated that the initiative aims to ease the financial burden on affected families while improving access to specialised healthcare services nationwide.
The Administrator also cited data from the World Health Organization showing that approximately 43 per cent of deaths in Ghana are linked to non-communicable diseases.
Health experts in recent years have repeatedly warned about rising cases of hypertension, diabetes, cancer, stroke and cardiovascular diseases among younger populations in Ghana, attributing the trend to changing lifestyles, poor diets, stress, limited physical activity and delayed medical screening.
Medical professionals continue to call for stronger public education, preventive healthcare measures and increased investment in specialised treatment facilities to help manage the growing health burden.
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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