Ghanaian Foods: How Healthy Is It to Human Dev't?

 Reflecting on the article on the 19th May 2006 Ghanaians Lifestyle, causing more cancers demonstrates that this area have not been tackled head on.

 Thanks to Dr Bosu for realising that the need for greater public awareness on the early detection and reporting of the disease, address stigma and discrimination associated with the condition and highlighted the need to provide more palliative care, high cost of treatment and treatment protocols.

 Dr Bosu article have clearly spelt out the evidence needed for everyone to club together as a team and pull resources together from the Government, International bodies and their expertise in this field, and the general public.

 Our system is so rigid and have the Primary Care System have no room for child surveillance, programmes, post natal programmes, open general health programmes on our TV to alert concerns of these nature.

 Surely the Ministry of Health should have perhaps acted sooner if we have research and development wing in all the Major Teaching Hospitals to flag this out. According to Dr Bosu, the Pathology Department of the Chorale ?Bu Teaching Hospital in a period of 10 years, 1990-1999 recorded a total of 3713 cancer deaths diagnosed at autopsy with 167 being females and 2046 males.

 Dr Bosu, have pointed out that lack of political will, commercial interest of food, alcohol and tobacco industries, environmental regulations on dumping of refuse and unbridled advertising were the threat to the management of the disease in Ghana.

 These specific areas identified may need to have an audit on their strengths, weakness, opportunities and treat in the health economy market.

 The Ministry of Health now has the responsibility, which I?m sure that has started to systematically look into to issues identified as the factors.

 Should Ghana also adopt integrating alternative medicine with formal medicine in view of research throughout many developed countries? So that time is not waste at all in the treatment of these group of patients?

 The article also highlighted that; dietary factors account for 30 % of all cancer with approximately 20 million people suffering from cancer. In addition he highlighted that a figure projected to rise to 30 million within 20 years with the new of new cases annually souring up from 10 million to 15 million by 2020. It is ironic that that more than half of all cancer cases occurs in the developing countries.

 What could the general public do to help reduce ordinary African or Ghanaian do to avoid this evil condition

 Given that Ghana diet is generally poor quality with lots of carbohydrates, too much fat, and lot of salt and sugar intake.

 Could the dieticians and caterers in Ghana and the Ministry of Health team up with the educate the general public by showing programme on our national TV, Radios, schools, Churches, Mosque etc about the dietary balance of our foods.

 The Eastern regions have the have lots of the Kontomire and green plantain known as an (apim) with just a few drops of oil and fish. Observing this group of people they tend to enjoy longevity. Comparing the diet of the Volta region, which is mainly banku and okro soup though rich with vegetables, the carbohydrate content of the dish outweighs the nutritional value of the okro soup.

 In the Central, Western, The South, the diet is mainly high fatty oily contents food such as food and palm soup or peanut butter soup. I would guess that it would be worth analysing the nutritional value of fufu and palm soup and the peanut butter soup. Ghanaians need to know the nutritional contents of this dish. It appears to the desire dish enjoyed by many.

 There is the need to know about all our main dishes. Even in the North with high in take of rice tuwuo zafi, and banku. Once the general public know then we all have a responsibility to do something with the information offered nationally.

 This would create more awareness and people would start to question what they eat and way to having a well-balanced meal. Thus high cholesterol foods would be avoided.

 God have actually showered Ghana with the sun, water, tropical rain forest, mountains etc yet we are not a country who eat vegetables with our meals.

 Most of us whether well educated or not rather love to stick to what we know kenkey and fried fish and pepper or fufu and palm soup or peanut butter etc.

 What would Ghanaians expect from the Ministry of Health in terms of the management of cancer

 There need to nurses trained in this field as a speciality and associated with high pay due to the stress and the emotionally effect on nurses working in this area.

 Respite care for parents, as they still need to fend for the family and work commitment they may have.

 Communities could organise charity events such as marathon run with the individual being sponsored. For example Doctors, or key high profile people could join in the run, have open concerts, auctioning, and others to bring money into that community to support the Homes which is perhaps specially designed to accommodate the need of these patients and the staff.

 The Public health Directorate and Food Standard Board could also contribute significantly by insisting that foods be labelled to indicate the right expiring dates on perishable foods. Government must act on this graphic evidence and to pass a law on the compulsory food labelling.

 Without such policies many vulnerable victims of this dreadful disease in Ghana like the rest of Africa would be marching into their graves sooner and causing a whole trail of problems for the families and friends.

 Ghana Broad Casting Corporation may need to consider a prime time health campaign to highlight health issues and create greater awareness every day or even once a week as an on going programme.

 Communities should also engage in a community simple exercise programme to take the stress off people. For example the Chinese or the Cuban have a simple exercise everyone one participates in an open park.

 It is now hitting home that our rigid lifestyles are our own worse enemy.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.