The Ghana Medical Students Association chapter of the University for Development Studies (UDS-GMSA) has embarked on a humanitarian mission to provide free medical services for residents of the Malshegu community and its surrounding areas in the Upper East Region.
The exercise covered various common areas of health concern in the communities – including diabetes, hepatitis B, breast cancer, eye diseases, prostrate diseases and hypertension, among others.
With heightened calls for tertiary students across the country to demonstrate patriotism and contribute their quota to community development, the students embarked on the mission as a sign of their commitment to the development of the communities in which they find themselves.
The exercise was executed in collaboration with an association of some educated natives of Malshegu known as ‘Malshegu at Heart’ and Batieka Hospital, with over 700 residents benefitting from the exercise.
President of UDS-GMSA, Mustapha Zakaria, urged the residents to take regular medical check-ups seriously as such activities would help to know one’s status and the medication needed to get it cured quickly.
“As medical students, it behooves us to give back to society, and we thought it wise to help enhance the health needs of society; that is the reason why this medical screening is taking place,” he said.
He noted that the health screening exercise brought to bear the high rate of hypertension, followed by diabetes, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.
“We also realised that most of the conditions recorded were prevalent among the elderly; we therefore provided some subsidised drugs,” he said.
Ignorance, he noted, remains an issue, saying: “In the last couple of years, there have been some improvements due to the rigorous campaign against self-medication and also the need for people to go for medical check-ups. The rate at which people are resorting to social media for medication is alarming, and therefore one needs to be careful of what one reads online”.
He stressed that not all the information on social media is accurate; so, one needs to be mindful of the prescriptions and side effects before touching such concoctions.
He said the only way to access quality medical care is to get in touch with professional health practitioners for advice, which would go a long way to help in curbing drug abuse.
“Self-medication is not advisable for those who have the habit of taking drugs not prescribed by a practitioner and resort to the Internet due to its accessibility. It can lead to the wrong diagnosis of conditions and pose a risk to human health due to the intake of drugs not prescribed that have wide degrees of side effects,” he reiterated.
Dr. Simon Alhassan, Lecturer at UDS and member of the Malshegu community, emphasised that the exercise was to help residents who may have medical conditions get treatment.
It was also a unique chance for the residents to know their health status, take precautionary measures, and seek appropriate medical attention.
He advised the community members to be serious about issues pertaining to their health by undertaking periodic medical check-ups.
