GHS and John Hopkins University launch health campaign

Accra, Nov. 26, GNA - The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in collaboration with the authorities of John Hopkins University in the US, on Friday launched an innovative approach to help Ghanaians achieve better health status.

The approach dubbed: "Good Life. Live it Well," campaign is an overarching communication strategy that intends to bond the benefits of good health to the attainment of good life by providing a platform from which a wide variety of specific health topics would be promoted. The campaign would also address social and cultural issues related to the prevention of diseases and trigger massive health awareness among Ghanaians by motivating them to take up preventive measures to avoid diseases.

Dr Elias Sory, Director-General of GHS, who launched the campaign in Accra, said it would create a connection between good health and good life. "Good health goes with good life. It is the foundation for a good life," he said.

He noted that by helping Ghanaians to adopt proven preventive behaviours, the GHS would help advance the health and wellbeing of Ghanaians and called on all and sundry to come on board in the attainment of the objectives behind the campaign. Dr Sory said the campaign would become a unifying theme for the many projects and programmes being implemented by the GHS and its partners which deals with health information and behavioural change. "If the new health topics are all linked to a unifying theme, people will see that each new message is a building block towards a common objective," he said. He said the GHS was not only concerned about issues militating against diseases, but on other matters such as growth and development in infancy, childhood, adolescence and good pregnancy, and good reproductive health practices.

"When you are successful at preventing diseases, you and your loved ones stay healthier. This will free up your time, money and energy so that you can focus on more productive, fulfilling things," he said.

Dr Sory appealed to Ghanaians to endeavour to sleep under Insecticide -Treated Nets to prevent malaria, eat balanced diet, reduce the number of sexual partners, use condoms to prevent diseases and also wash their hands with soap prior to eating and after defecation. He urged pregnant women to attend ante-natal clinics regularly, fully immunise their children to prevent deadly diseases and observe continuous breastfeeding of their babies from six months to two years.

Mr Peter Argo, Deputy Country Director of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said the campaign was not only concerned with good health practices such good eating habits, exercise and having enough sleep, but also good behaviours as human beings.

He said "Good Life. Live it Well" is about doing the things we love most, such as watching football matches or movies, chatting with friends, singing, making money, reading, caring for the family and praying." Mr Argo pledged USAID's commitment towards improvement of the health status of Ghanaians. 26 Nov. 10