Cape Coast, Feb. 15, GNA - The Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Coast, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, has bemoaned the high rate of neglect of the aged, who he said, were mostly left to fend for themselves. He said it was on this backdrop that he decided to provide healthcare for the aged, who needed the attention of the younger generation. The MP said this at a free healthcare and screening exercise, organized by his office for about 1,000 persons aged 65 and above in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

The beneficiary communities of the three-day exercise were Abubonko, Duakor and Cape Coast. Some diseases reported during the screening included malaria, hepatitis B, high blood pressure as well as eye-related problems. Drugs wer= e administered to them and those without National Health Insurance cards were registered for free.

Mr Barton-Odro noted that eye disease was a predominant ailment in th= e Northern part of Cape Coast and that his outfit was drawing up a plan to provide medical treatment to them aged in the course of the year. He said funding for the exercise came from his office, philanthropists, as well as some pharmaceutical agencies who donated drugs. Mr Barton-Odro said he hoped the initiative would encourage other institutions, especially the Ministry of Health to carry out health outreac= h programmes in the region. He urged the beneficiaries of the exercise to take very good care of themselves in order to live longer.

The Principal Medical Assistant at the Elmina Urban Health Center, Alhaji Ibrahim Yahaya, noted that if medical screening exercises of this nature were continuously carried out, it would foster healthy living and reduce the number of diseases among the public.

He advised them to adopt healthy eating habits and observe good healt= h practices such as exercising frequently, taking in lots of fruits and reducing their sugar and oil intake. For his part, the Metropolitan Director of Health, Dr Joseph Teye Nuertey, was worried about the recent outbreak of cholera in the country an= d advised them to observe personal hygiene. The MP, after the screening provided the beneficiaries with food and drinks. The aged expressed their gratitude to the MP for the gesture.