The Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency, Alhaji Alhassan Suhuyini, has organized medical screening and immunization on Hepatitis B for his constituents as well as breast cancer and education on the prevalence of drug abuse in his constituency.
The participants were sensitized on the mode of infection of Hepatitis B, preventive measures and the treatment available for the disease. In addition, the team also highlighted on issues of drug abuse and its consequential impact on individuals and the society in general.
The legislator held the exercise in collaboration with the Foundation of former First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama and Cendar Ghana, a nongovernmental organization to enhance the health and wellbeing of his people.
Dozens of the constituents numbering about one thousand (1000) turned out to benefit from the free health screening last Weekend at Nyanshegu.
Addressing the media on the sidelines of the program, the National Democratic Congress Lawmaker commended the Lordina Foundation and the other partners for providing such humanitarian service to the people of Tamale North.
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the Lordina Foundation, Cendar Ghana and Tiyumba Foundation for finding this a worthy course to support.”
The legislator noted it has become necessary for everyone to be concerned about the prevalence of drug abuse in the communities emphasizing that the menace poses serious dangers to the wellbeing of the general public.
He added, “Even if you’re sure that you’re training your children, or siblings well, you do not know who is not and as a result of the abuse of drugs, [you do not know how yourself and your wards] can become victims of people who are high and that is why we all have to contribute to reduce the incidence of drug abuse in the society.”
“We have to target the pharmacies and the chemical shops [but we also have to target our communities more] because the revelation is that, these days the drugs are sold more in the communities where you have tabletop shops pretending to be selling toffees and biscuits yet under the tables they have these hard drugs they sell to the young ones” he stressed.
Mr. Alhassan Suhuyini on the issue of Hepatitis B stated a lot of people are still unaware about the disease and called for an intensive public education and awareness creation campaign to sensitize the populace about what he described as the ‘silent killer’.
“It is more dangerous we’re told than HIV/AIDS but HIV/AIDS is more known and people fear that and are afraid of it and protect themselves; meanwhile it is more easier for one to acquire Hepatitis B which has almost the same symptoms as HIV/AIDS but there are some things you would be told to do if you know you’re positive [to prolong your health and your life]” he argues.
For her part, Mrs. Seeninyin Prudence, the Northern Regional Education Officer at Narcotic Control Board seized the opportunity to caution the public against the intake of a substance known shisha, stating even though it is not a hard drug but its consumption rate is very worrying.
“…Girls says that [most of whom we have interacted with], they don’t do weed but what they do is shisha because they think that shisha is harmless but unfortunately sitting over a pot of shisha is equivalent to smocking hundred sticks of cigarette at a go and so you may sit over shisha because of the flavor, the sweeting and think that you’re not doing anything to yourself but bear you me, you’re doing a great disservice to yourself” she stated.
Superintendent Kennedy K. Gbandan, the Acting 3rd in Command at the Tamale Central Prisons, commended the Tamale North MP for the initiative and called on other stakeholders to come on board and educate the youth on the dangers associated with drug abuse.
“You would realized that whatever offence that would bringing to someone to prison in one way or the other is related to drug abuse; so I commend the Member of Parliament for taking such laud initiative and entreat all stakeholders to do same – so that together we would be able to reduce the rate at which the youth abuse drugs if we cannot completely eliminate it” he added.
