Ghana’s first charity-driven water brand, Awake Purified Drinking Water has rolled out a health campaign to educate the general public on the importance of the human heart and how to keep it running.

The campaign, “Awake Your Heart”, seeks to share knowledge and steps needed to make the heart stay healthy and also take control of the most important organ of the body.

According to the Director of Water and Carbonated Soft Drinks (CSDs) at Kasapreko Company Limited, Eunice Adjei Bonsu, Awake Water is running this campaign because of the brand’s association with the heart thus supporting persons with cardiac diseases.

“Our campaign aims at educating the public on the simple lifestyle changes that will help one reduce risk for heart disease. It is estimated that the probability of dying as a result of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory diseases for people between the ages of 30 and 70 is 20% in Ghana,” Mrs Bonsu stated.

“Taking care of your heart will improve your overall health and will allow you to enjoy quality time with your loved ones,” she added.

Officials of the company stated that the “Awake Your Heart” campaign will highlight some of the causes of heart diseases; preventing heart diseases; and the essence of drinking water to keep one’s heart running.

It will also see beneficiaries of Awake’s #One4Life initiative with National Cardiothoracic Centre share their life experiences after receiving free cardio surgeries funded by Awake Water.

The World Health Organization has identified cardiovascular diseases as one of the top two causes of death in Ghana after diarrheal illnesses. Studies have shown that out of every 100 children born ten have hole-in-heart condition worldwide and the situation in Ghana is not any different.

Looking at Ghana’s population and birth-rate, it is estimated that about 6,000 to 7,000 new cases of hole-in-heart are added to the existing numbers yearly.

According to the National Cardio Centre, the average cost of a hole-in-heart surgery in Ghana is between US$6,000 to US$10,000.