Accra, April 3, GNA - Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Health, on Thursday reiterated that the country's dream of becoming a middle income country by 2010 would be a mirage if people failed to adopt healthy lifestyles.

"If you are not healthy, you cannot produce wealth for the country. The country requires a healthy population but a lot of expenditure is being made on curing preventable diseases due to unhealthy lifestyles," he said.

Major Quashigah was speaking at the launch of the 27th Health Week Celebration of the University of Ghana Nursing Students Association (UGHANSA) which is on the theme, "Preventive Healthcare: The sure way of attaining wealth."

He advised that people should adopt healthy lifestyles in order to live longer and use their God given talents to assist in the socio-economic development of the country. "Water, food, exercise, rest and change of lifestyle are essential for preventing diseases. We need to eat well, sustain our health and increase our life expectancy in order to fulfil our talents to the glory of God."

Major Quashigah called for the inclusion of Health Education and Nutrition into the curricula of schools to ensure that students became the change agents of promoting healthy lifestyles. He noted that there were many people who were ignorant of the dangers posed by bad lifestyles like alcoholism and smoking to their health.

"How many women know that if you drink alcohol while you are pregnant you will develop Foetal Alcohol Syndrome? When they give birth to children with some form of abnormality, they shift the blame on poor old women branding them as witches."

Major Quashigah appealed to Ministries, Departments, Agencies, organizations and individuals to support the Ministry's Regenerative Health and Nutrition Programme to ensure that health promotion and prevention became the new paradigm in the country's healthcare delivery system.

Mr Kwaku Asante-Krobea, General Secretary of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association (GRNA), called on student nurses at all levels to identify their distinctive roles and specialization before being integrated into the regular workforce of health professionals. Mr Asante-Krobea advised policy makers to act positively and decisively to ensure the creation of a positive environment for practicing nursing where innovative policy frameworks should address issues such as caregiver recruitment and retention, strategies for continuing education and upgrading, adequate recognition, compensation and the need for sufficient equipment and supplies. Mr Daniel Owusu, President of the University of Ghana Nursing Students Association (UGHANSA), said the Association conducted screening services in some communities in Accra and its environs and found out that the number of potentially sick people suffering from preventable diseases far outweighed those who had already been benefiting from the use of health facilities Mr Owusu said the Health Week celebration was aimed at updating the nursing student with new ideas in the healthcare system, promoting unity and making relevant suggestions to policy makers and stakeholders in the health sector. Professor Charles Mate-Kole, a Professor of Psychology at the University of Ghana, advised that psychologists must be allowed to play a role in all the health units of the country. Mrs Margaret Mary Awuah, Medical Delegate from Nestle Nutrition Ghana Limited, advised that people ate foods that contained energy giving nutrients and vitamins in order to stay healthy. Activities marking the celebration include free health screening, football matches, educational trips and donations.