As part of activities making Republic Day, Exclusive Aged Foundation (XAF), a charitable Christian non-profit organization in collaboration with Alive Health Check (AHC), a health module under the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), screened the aged at Ofankor, a suburb of Accra.
Over 400 aged ranging between the ages 60 – 75 were screened of blood pressure, glucose, body mass index (BMI) and malaria.
The National Coordinator of AHC, Fred Frimpong, said screening the aged on the republic day was the module’s small way of recognizing the various roles the aged played in the socio-economic development of the country.
“We realize that out of the over 400 aged screened, majority of them have high blood pressure and have been given referral cards to the nearest community clinic for further treatment,” he said.
Most of the aged were excited about the opportunity to be screened and called for regular screening exercises of this kind to be availed to them.
The National Coordinator noted that most of the aged really do not recollect the last time they got screened like the opportunity given them today.
Instead of waiting to organize such screenings on republic day or the UN’s set aside day for the aged (1st October), the National Coordinator advised that other institutions and stakeholders collaborate with government to regularly reach out to the older persons in society.
