Accra, Dec. 24, GNA – Some Health Practitioners have called on parents and guardians to prioritize the nutritional needs of girls to help them, particularly in their educational activities.
They observed during a health screening that many girls were anaemic and needed supplements, mainly after going through their menstrual cycle.
The screening held in collaboration with the Good Shepherd Methodist Church Girl’s Fellowship of the North Kaneshie Circuit of the Methodist Church Ghana formed part of activities for the 41st Anniversary celebration of Mid Way Hospital in Accra.
Dr Emmanuel Bortey, Leader of the Medical Team, told the GNA that the large proportion of the population screened was healthy but anaemia was common amongst girls in their menstrual cycle.
“….what we are picking up by and large is anaemia amongst young women and it is understandable, especially when they get to their reproductive cycle where they begin to lose blood monthly.
Losing blood every month meant losing some iron from the system and that would not augur well for brain functioning,” he added.
Dr Bortey explained that low haemoglobin meant the girls would be able to give their optimal contribution by engaging their minds and they, therefore, needed adequate iron intake.
He said it was necessary parents and guardians gave them the necessary nutritional support to help them improve on their activities.
Dr Gifty Quarshie Ngissah, Medical Director of Midway Hospital, said they decided to engage females from age zero to eighteen to find out problems they had, those they could treat and educate them on and how to avoid problems associated with women.
She entreated parents to spend time and cook better meals for their children regardless of other competing needs, adding that junk foods were dangerous for their health.
Dr Ngissah called on health practitioners, agencies and organizations to intensify public health education particularly in schools.
She believed that interacting with children and their parents about eating the right food was paramount and as a nation, there was the need to have a big discussion on the kind of healthy diet children and adults needed.
Girls numbering over two hundred were screened for malaria, haemoglobin levels, and sugar to check on type 1 diabetes, urine test and hepatitis B.
They also had their eyes and body screened with a pharmacy unit available to dispense drugs to deserving ones.
Source: Ghana News Agency
