GhNCDA urges gov’t to take non-communicable diseases campaign to communities

The Ghana Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (GhNCDA) is calling on government to take Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) campaigns to the communities to achieve the desire positive results.

With Ghana joining the global community to mark this year’s “Global Week for Action on NCDs, the GhNCDA says it is crucial government commits to implementing the Global Charter on meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs.

This year’s commemoration of the Global Week of Action on NCDs calls for progress under the theme “we are uniting under the theme of community engagement - leveraging the power and potential of communities to co-create healthier societies. Join the movement and make a difference in your community and the world”.

The Global Week for Action catalyzes activity among the NCD movement everywhere to celebrate successes, mobilize around solutions, and take and demand action.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic globally has reaffirmed the need for governments to protect citizens from NCDs deaths. We have seen through COVID 19 the devastating effects of neglect of NCDs and failure to invest in our health systems – it is time to stop making the same mistake. We must learn and prioritize to put people and communities first.

The youth and people living with NCDs contributions cannot be relegated to all development issues particularly on health and NCDs.

Young people and people living with NCDs are mostly at the receiving end of policies and decisions made by governments with little or no contribution from us. We are a living testimony of vast experience and we cannot allow this to waste. In the spirit of leaving no one behind and as enshrined in the Goal 17 of the Sustainable Development Goal i.e. partnership for development, we call for our inclusion in decision making that affects us directly or indirectly- this way meaningful development is assured.

“Underpinning the foundation of our motivation is the meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs, thus everyone has the right to participate in decision making, helping authorities to deepen understanding of the needs of communities including people living with NCDs,” Christopher Agbega stated.

“When giving the opportunity we can provide meaningful ideas and suggestions that will contribute to addressing the needs and aspirations of young people in Ghana and beyond- we have seen the amazing work of Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg, Pakistani activist for female education, Nobel Peace winner and the environmental activist respectively, indeed we are a force to reckon with,” Vivian Vivian Amenorpe noted.

By prioritizing community engagement through NCDs awareness campaign, especially in hard-to-reach communities, we will contribute to improving health and reducing NCDs related diseases.

As we mark the Global Week for Action on NCDs we call on governments, relevant private sector, international and multilateral organizations to endorse and commit to implementing the Global Charter on meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs.

Further, we urge the government to take the NCD campaign to the communities so that we can all help ensure that commitments, ownership, and the core principles that we believe are fundamental to our ability to make a positive difference to people’s lives are upheld.