Rotary Accra-Achimota embarks on 'Hepatitis Zero' campaign

The Rotary Club of Accra-Achimota is embarking on an ambitious campaign to prevent and wipeout Hepatitis B & C from Achimota and its surrounding communities by mid-2020.

The Rotary Club, in a special collaboration with the Rotarian Action Group for Hepatitis Eradication (RAGHE) has therefore rolled out a series of activities to engage the communities in order to achieve such hepatitis zero target.

The Club and its partners on Saturday, August 31, 2019 organized a free screening for Hepatitis B & C at the new Achimota Market for people living in that area. The screening witnessed nearly 300 men and women from the Achimota, Apenkwah and Akweyteman areas being screened by the medical team drawn from the Achimota Hospital.

Speaking at the event, the President of the Rotary Club of Accra-Achimota, Rotarian Richmond Worgbah, reiterated Rotary International's areas of focus in the world which are Peacebuilding and conflict prevention; Disease prevention and treatment; Water, sanitation, and hygiene; Maternal and child health; Basic education and literacy and Community economic development, as well as the commitment of the Rotary Club of Accra-Achimota to providing relief and special interventions to impact communities positively.

“As a service club that has health as one of our key focus areas, Hepatitis is disease that must be tackled head on to avoid people from dying. The health of the community determines how strong the community is hence the need for this free screening,” Mr. Worgbah said.

The President said this was their first project for the 2019-2020 Rotary Year which spans from July 2019 to June 2020.

The Club President used the occasion to highlight some key community service projects that have been done by the club in the recent past, some of which include provision of medical outreach programs at the Achimota-Apenkwah Cluster of Schools and book donations to deprived schools at Winneba and Ho.

Others include a cervical cancer prevention campaign and donation of cervical cancer screening equipment at the Ridge Hospital, Amasaman Health Centre and the Okomfo Anokye Hospital. The campaign was aimed at improving women's awareness of Cervical Cancer, the nature of the disease and how it could be prevented.

The Club also undertook other projects such as building of a three-unit classroom block for the Fiakonya Community in Dodowa, building of a community health centre at Samsam, supplied and installed equipment for testing Vision and Hearing Impairment to the Assessment and Resource Centre for Children at Achimota at a cost of $21,000 among others.

He promised there were several other projects earmarked for implementation between now and June 30, 2020 as their club marks its 30th anniversary celebrations. He encouraged the working public, business professionals and entrepreneurs to join Rotary to help increase their reach in society.