NCD Advocacy Agenda Launched To Prevent Needless Deaths

The Ghana Advocacy Agenda of People Living with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) has been officially launched to promote the meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs in the Non-Communicable Disease response framework.

It is reported that about 94,000 preventable deaths occur in Ghana each year as a result of the growing cases of non-communicable diseases which is now considered as an epidemic.

With the launch of the advocacy agenda, the response to the growing phenomenon is expected to be strengthened with the involvement of the People Living with NCDs.

Ghana’s health system continues to be under pressure from the several cases of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes which statistically, are said to be responsible for about 43 percent of all deaths in Ghana.

This Ghana Advocacy Agenda therefore serves as a boost for the NCD response at the national, regional and local levels in the country.

The Advocacy Agenda which was developed by the Ghana NCD Alliance (GhNCDA) in consultation with over 100 people living with NCDs and health stakeholders, is the result of a participatory online consultation process and a two-day national meeting involving a varied number of stakeholders.

In his address at the launch, the National Coordinator of the Ghana NCD Alliance, Labram Musah, indicate that the Advocacy Agenda will serve as a compass for civil society and people living with NCDs to demand action from decision makers and further push them to meet global and national NCD commitments.

“If the right impact will be made in the fight against Non-Communicable Diseases in the country, people living with the disease will have to be involved in the policy formulation. It has come to the point where NCDs can no longer be left out of the country’s health and development agenda,” Mr. Labram noted.

The official launch of the Ghana Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs was performed by the Deputy Minister for Health, Alexander Kwodwo Kom Abban on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, who pledged government’s commitment to the completion and adoption of the draft National NCD policy.

“Implementation of NCDs policies in years gone has been a huge challenge but I wish to assure the Ghanaian people that my government is up to the task and that this policy which places people at the heart of the response, will get the full support from the Ministry for effective implementation when it is ready,” he said.