The Ejisu-Juaben Municipality is seeing a disturbing rise in HIV infection among pregnant women, something that has become a huge health concern.<\/p>\n
One hundred and fifty-three (153) out of a total of 6,196 pregnant women screened for the infection in 2017, tested positive.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Josephine Ahorsu, the Municipal Health Director, said in the year 2016, 59 of them were found to be carrying the virus.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”j38iobRb4ABFfqOBp8wWaBh7PIrpAPIb”]Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the annual performance review meeting of the municipal health directorate in Ejisu, she indicated that, within the two-year period, 141 HIV-infected pregnant women were put on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).<\/p>\n
She said they had upped the fight against the spread of the infection through the combination of comprehensive public education and screening of pregnant women.<\/p>\n
She added that, their goal was to find the HIV status of those pregnant, properly counsel and provide them with drugs, to prevent mother-to-child transmission.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Ahorsu said they were making good progress as more pregnant women, who had been infected were being identified and supported.<\/p>\n
She pointed out that, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, was critical to save babies born to HIV infected parents from getting the disease.<\/p>\n
She announced that 16 tuberculosis (TB) patients \u2013 nine men and seven women, screened for HIV were also found positive.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Ahorsu touched on hypertension and diabetes, and said these non-communicable diseases were also on a surge with cases of hypertension, climbing from 1,494 in 2016, to 2,791 in 2017, while diabetes rose from 515 to 828, during the period.<\/p>\n
She spoke of significant reduction of malaria cases \u2013 dropping to 40,624, last year, from the 2016 figure of 46,289.<\/p>\n
This notwithstanding, she said, it continued to be the leading out-patient department (OPD) morbidity in the municipality.<\/p>\n
She identified inadequate staff accommodation, lack of vehicles, equipment and logistics as challenges they had been struggling with and called for strong support.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Ahorsu praised the chiefs, municipal assembly and health workers for working together to improve the quality of healthcare.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: GNA<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Ejisu-Juaben Municipality is seeing a disturbing rise in HIV infection among pregnant women, something that has become a huge health concern. One hundred and fifty-three (153) out of a total of 6,196 pregnant women screened for the infection in 2017, tested positive. Mrs. Josephine Ahorsu, the Municipal Health Director, said in the year 2016, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":11509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[3,1756,16646],"yoast_head":"\n