The Chief Executive of the Akrofuom district in the Ashanti Region, Maurice Jonas Woode has urged citizens of Akrofuom living in the United Kingdom and Ireland to take advantage of the numerous opportunities Akrofuom presents and invest in the district.

Speaking as a special guest at the official launch of the UK and Ireland branch of the Akrofuom Citizens Association in London, the DCE said the Akrofuom district has received its fair share of developmental projects since he became the DCE, hence, the district opened for investment.

Touching on the plethora of development the district has witnessed in the areas of education, commerce, health, roads, and telecommunication, the DCE assured the natives of Akrofuom that he will take steps to ensure their investments are well protected.

He said they would liaise with the traditional authorities to ensure that they would have access to litigation-free land to invest in.

The Akrofuom DCE further revealed that the District Assembly is in the process of building modern markets to add up to the existing 40 lockable stores and 72 sheds at Akrofuom, promising that he will reserve some for residents in the UK who would want to invest in Akrofuom.

Commendation:

Dr. Maurice Jonas Woode lauded the Akrofuom Citizens Association in the UK and Ireland for their tremendous support back home in the past 3 years of the Association's existence.

He said their support cuts across various sectors of the economy including education, sanitation, and health.

"I want to seize this opportunity to thank the members of this noble association for your support back home. You teamed up with your colleagues in the US to give a facelift to the Methodist JHS and the Roman Catholic Primary school at Akrofuom which we remain grateful", the DCE said.

He also praised them for supporting the Akrofuom Unity and Development Association with bins to be stationed at vantage points. This he said has improved sanitation at Akrofuom.

He thanked the chairman of the Akrofuom Citizens Association, Clement Adjei for the warm reception he gave him during the trip.

The Chairman in his speech thanked members for their continuous support to the group and asked them to be good ambassadors to attract new members to the group.

He further called on natives of Akrofuom based in the UK and Ireland to join the Association to enable them to contribute significantly to the development of Akrofuom.

Akrofuom Citizens Association supports healthcare delivery at Akrofuom:

The association supported an indigene, Winnifred Bosompim to take temperature, BP readings, and sugar levels of residents in their homes and durbar grounds. She has recently been supported by the association to undergo professional training in health care delivery.

Giving her report to the Association about the success of the intervention, she said the rationale behind the program was to imbibe in the people the culture of proactive health measures rather than reactive health measures.

Glucometers and BP monitoring machines were given out to churches to help actualize the purpose of healthy living, not leaving behind the Akrofuom.

According to her, as of January 2024, they have reached out to over 3,100 people who had willingly offered themselves to be checked and/or diagnosed.

Out of these persons, about 948 persons representing approximately 31% have had abnormal cases from their check-ups.

Explaining further, she said that 948 persons whose cases were abnormal, 302 representing 32% were between the ages of 60 and 85, 136 representing 14% were between the ages of 50 and 59, and the remaining 510 people which represents 54% were either 49 or below.

"We can now pride ourselves on an achievement of 3 people who were all bedridden of stroke bouncing back to their feet, through our constant regular monitoring and education. We initially had 5 clients who were bedridden of stroke with an average systolic BP of 196 and a diastolic BP of 123mmHg. It can be recounted that out of these 5 clients, one is demised, and the other has been taken away by her children", she said.

The official launch of the association saw Nana Abenaa Durowaa I, Queen mother of Akrofuom in attendance.

Maurice Jonas Woode and Winnifred Bosompim were given certificates of recognition by the association for their immense contributions to the activities of the Akrofuom Citizens Association.