Public Health System needs shake up- Dr Browne

Kumasi, Nov.7, GNA - Dr. Nii Laryea Browne, Head of the Department of Community Health School of Medical Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), has called for a shake up of the Public Health System to enable it to respond effectively to the health needs of the people.

"We are not up to the challenges, too many people are dying from causes which are preventable and curable", he said.

Dr Browne was speaking on the topic: "Changing Lifestyle and Diseases Trends", at the scientific session of the 45th annual general meeting of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) in Kumasi on Thursday. He noted that the country's health facilities have not improved because the top ten causes of morbidity had over the past decade and a half, not seen any significant decline with the exception of diarrhoea.

These include malaria, respiratory tract infection, skin diseases, accidents, complications in pregnancy, eye infections, intestinal worms, hypertension and gynaecological disorders. Dr Browne pointed out that, malaria, which continues to be the leading cause of morbidity had witnessed a slight increase from 37 percent in 1985 to 42 percent in 2002 while hypertension cases had gone up by more than 50 percent in the past decade.

He said mental diseases, typhoid fever, pneumonia and anaemia had also increased.

He said he was satisfied with the mass measles campaign through the expanded immunisation programme saying "generally the child health indicators have improved significantly".

Dr Kofi Agyeman Boateng of the Department of Medicine, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), who spoke on "Emerging Diseases", said the last 10 years had been marked by a progressive increase in the number of diabetic cases reported to the health facilities.

He said as at the end of September this year, over 1,000 cases of the disease had been recorded and said this showed the failure in the sustenance of the diabetes programme launched some years ago. Dr Boateng stated that there was a strong relationship between obesity, diabetes and hypertension, adding, "obesity is the most important single factor predisposing people to hypertension".

He expressed worry about the unbridled advertisement on herbal preparations of unproven efficacy and said this was transforming the country into high-risk environment for diabetes and hypertension.