International Youth Day: Health Service workers union screen residents of Likpe Bakwa

Youth and Women Committee of Health Service Workers Union (HSWU), Volta chapter, has marked this year's international youth day with a free health screening exercise in Likpe Bakwa.

Members of the union held the exercise in Likpe Senior High School and Likpe Polyclinic on Friday (11 August) a day before the international youth day celebration.

Likpe is a farming community, where Saturdays are commonly used for farming activities hence the decision to organise the exercise on Friday.

According to United Nations (UN) "Green Skills for Youth: towards a sustainable world" is the global theme for this year's celebration.

The team led by the district health director, Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) district of Oti region, Abdulaziz Mamudu screened hundreds of the residents.

The students were also given education on drug abuse. In the community, the locals were educated on menopause.

Eye, throat, nose problems, otitis media, suppurative otitis media, impacted wax, and rhinitis were the common illness diagnosed by the team.

Minor cases were treated and put on medication free of charge while severe cases were referred to hospitals in Hohoe and Jasikan for further diagnosis.

Chairman of the youth committee of the HSWU, Mawunyo Mensah said "As youth, we cannot celebrate this year's day without impacting lives positively" hence the idea to organise the outreach exercise. He called for support to enable them to give more intervention.

On her part, chairperson of the HSWU women's committee, Mabel Duvor appealed to government, benevolent people, and non-government organisations to renovate the Likpe Polyclinic and aid the facility with basic medical equipment, to "Attract more clients and motivate the workers," she said.

The health director, Abdulaziz Mamudu applauded the union for the outreach program with a call on them to always organise such exercise.

He reiterated the call to renovate the facility and also call for a district hospital in the SALL district.

Likpe Polyclinic was built in the then-Hohoe municipality in 1966 to serve Likpe and its adjoining farming communities. The area was recently put into the Oti region.