The Volta River Authority (VRA) has installed two ultra-modern 3D mammogram machines for its health facilities in Akosombo and Accra.
The gesture, championed by the VRA Ladies‘ Association, forms part of the Authority’s resolve in the fight against breast cancer in the month of October, which is dedicated worldwide as breast cancer awareness period.
Inaugurating the installed machine at the VRA Hospital, Akosombo in the Eastern Region, Chief Executive of the Authority, Dr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa, was hopeful the machines would help reduce the prevalence of the disease in the VRA’s catchment areas and Ghana at large.
“It is my hope that our ladies will clear their minds of any anxiety or fear which keeps them away from annual breast screening exercises. It is sad that some people are so heavily driven by superstition that, they attribute medical conditions like breast cancer to spiritual attacks and therefore do not seek medical help.
“Let this not be the lot of our women. We need all hands-on deck to educate our daughters, wives, mothers, sisters and female friends to take advantage of this facility to know their status,” he said and urged the clergy to dedicate sometime to educate their congregations that breast cancer is disease and not a spiritual attack.
The mammogram machines are to serve women, including the general public, in the catchment areas and are expected to contribute to increased awareness and treatment of breast cancer.
Mr Antwi-Darkwa commended the Ladies’ Association of the Authority for initiating moves to purchase the mammogram until the VRA intervened following an advocacy by two female members on the board; Rev Dr Joyce Aryee and Janet Akosua Gyasiwaa.
“Over the years, the VRA Ladies’ Association has immensely amplified the Authority’s corporate image with social interventions such as girl-child empowerment, breast cancer awareness creation, energy conservation education and other commendable initiatives.
“Without a doubt, they have been instrumental in building and sustaining all aspects of our business. We appreciate you, our ladies,” he said and urged other groups to emulate.
Chairman of the occasion and Omanhene of the Akwamu Traditional Area, Odeneho Kwafo Akoto III, in a statement read on his behalf by the Chief of Akosombo, charged management of the facility to ensure good maintenance culture, so as to ensure that the facility serves the purpose for which it was purchased.
For her part, Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, emphasised the need for women to take their health seriously, saying: “We are the ones you run to. We take our roles as women very seriously and for that matter we must be healthy to deliver. Without good health, we are of no use to our family and the society.”
President of the Ladies’ Association, Stella Dey, meanwhile, was optimistic that the mammogram machines would contribute to reducing breast cancer among women by providing a wholistic treatment.
A mammogram is a machine that uses low-energy X-rays to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening.
