Alzheimer`s Ghana in collaboration with Vision Allied Health Institute in Maryland, USA organised a (2) day training programme for Doctors, Physician Assistants, Nurses, Health Workers and Workers NGOs in the Health Sector on 13th-14th May 2014. The programme was a success. In pictures; (Demonstration of resuscitating a chocking dementia patient.)
In line with our strategic action plan of creating Awareness and Advocacy, Alzheimer`s Ghana participated in a collaborative programme with the Ministry of Children Gender and Social Protection to sensitize people from age 55 and above on dementia. This followed an invitation from the Minister whose Ministry is also undertaking free biometric registration (NHIS card for old people aged 55 and above). Alzheimer`s Ghana awareness creation team delivered talks to the recipients on Dementia, causes, Signs and Symptoms, available Therapies and Care for people with Dementia. The team participated in the joint programme at Ashaiman on Saturday the 24th of May, Nungua on Saturday, 7th of June and Korle-Bu on Saturday the 14th of June 2014. Each programme covered about 500 old people from the various communities. Response had been positive as questions were asked about the disease and its implication on families. The volume of calls received daily on our 24hour helpline has so far increased putting pressure on our committed team of volunteers. The Minister was very excited but pointed out that the Government has a serious economic problem at the moment. She has however pledged her future financial support for Alzheimer`s Ghana.
Our next trip will be on Saturday 21st of June at Agona East in the Central Region where we have been invited by the Regional Minister to undertake the same educational programme on Dementia to about 500 elderly people. Here are some of the pictures.
AWARENESS TRIP TO ASHAIMAN IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION ONTHE 24th MAY 2014
AWARENESS TRIP TO NUNGUA IN ACCRA IN THE GREATER ACCRA REGION ON THE 24th MAY 2014
TRIP TO KORLE-BU IN ACCRA ON THE 14TH JUNE 2014
In pursuit of our strategic goal of education on Dementia, Alzheimer`s Ghana organized a lecture on dementia on the 10th of June 2014 at Narh-Bita Hospital, Tema for Doctors, Nurses, Nursing Students and some elderly people. Dr K. Menyah, a Ghanaian born Geriatrician resident in the Illinois, USA who is also now a volunteer of Alzheimer`s Ghana was the resource person for the programme. Ghana Radio FM called Obonu and a Television Station called TV3 were present to cover the lecture followed by an interview with Alzheimer`s Ghana.
In pursuit of our broad strategy on Dementia Awareness Creation, strong relationship with the media, Venance and Esther were invited for a short interview on TV3 Television Programme on 5th of June 2014 which was a live broadcast.
Discussion was centred on dementia, its causes, signs and symptoms, its prevalence in Ghana. It also touched the effect of the disease on families, the infrastructure capacity of the country to deal with the problems and Government`s readiness to collaborate to manage the situation in Ghana. The programme was a success as it gave Alzheimer`s Ghana a very wide coverage to dementia awareness message to every corner of the country.
Also in participated in a radio interview and call in programme on Ghanaian radio station called Obonu FM in Tema on 7th May 2014. The awareness programme was centred on the bad treatment (abuse) to victims of Dementia and Alzheimer`s Disease and our work as an NGO in creating awareness sensitizing the public on the need to recognize dementia a disease condition that needs good care and management.
Alzheimer’s & Related Disorders Association of Ghana was invited by WHO to participate in a three day workshop with the topic “Scaling-up Ageing and Health Interventions in Ghana. The workshop which took place in Accra from 13th to 15th August 2013 included senior policy-makers and programme managers from Ghana Health Services and Ministry of Health from the different districts, other partners from UN and bilateral agencies, NGOs, and researchers from academic institutions. This initiative is part of Global Knowledge Translation for Ageing and Health project developed in partnership, and with financial assistance from Age UK. The objectives were to
Present at the meeting was the Deputy Director General of Ghana Health Service, Dr John Beard WHO President Geneva, Dr Mary Brantuo WHO, Ghana, Dr. Peju Olukoya, Consultant to WHO, Dr. Islene Araujo de Carvalho, WHO Geneva, Prof. Britwum, Ms Jan Killeen, Consultant to Alzheimer’s Disease International to mention but a few.
During the workshop participants were tasked to further describe the main ageing and health problems being faced in Ghana and develop Five Country Scale-up Plan. Each Country Scale up Plan addressed in detail one specific problem, and presented evidence based implementation strategies to tackle these problems. This process was facilitated by an extensive review of Ghana Ageing and Health Policies, Plans and programmes.
Ghana SAGE Report was also used as the main source of data, complemented by document review, sites visits and key informants interviews. In addition to the information in the Ghana Country Assessment report and SAGE report undertaken in 2010, the National Ageing and Health Task Force supported by WHO, tried to identify, in advance, existing evidence and information in relevant sectors related to the problem in the country or on the options proposed to address those problem that were identified. In the workshop, we developed a minimum of five Country Scale up Implementation Plans which served as a basis for implementation. The EVIPNet methodologies was used in the workshop and focused on the context of Ghana. The participants worked on developing a draft of a country scale up plan for each identified problem.
Further, Dr. John Beard President of WHO Geneva, Mrs Jan Killeen a consultant from Alzheimer’s Disease International in conjunction with Alzheimer’s & Related Disorders Association of Ghana and a representative from Help Age Ghana facilitated an opened discussion of additional problems identified by participants, related to policies for ageing interventions in the health system
Interactive plenary sessions were followed by work in small groups of 5, (ideally 5 to 6 people in each group). This allowed workshop participants to grapple with the questions in light of the issues on which they (departments, directorates, or institutions) worked on or addressed. During the discussions the salient problems such as affecting the ageing were identified to be:
Clarification of the problems were then made to successfully develop policy and action plans in the area of how the problem came to attention, the size of the problem, the cause of the problem, and how it was framed or described. In relation to this, policy options were suggested and implementation strategies were developed and were incorporated in the scale up plan for action. Following the presentation of the findings for implementation, a final session was held which then focused on steps to be taken to finalize the country scale up plans leaving how to finance the plan to be discussed in a donor’s round table.
On behalf of ARDAG Susanne Spittel attended the 2nd Africa Regional Conference of Alzheimer’s Disease International, Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa, 9 – 11 May 2013.
About the Conference
The Africa Alzheimer’s Congress has been created to provide education, information, conversation, and inspiration about Alzheimer’s and other memory related diseases.
Learn about everything related to the disease and the social factors that influence the health and wellbeing of communities.
Leave with important connections and an enlightened approach and the knowledge to enrich the community that you work in.
Objectives of the Conference
The Africa Alzheimer’s Congress, a first of its kind in South Africa, will focus not only on the Pharmaceutical and Medical needs of Alzheimer’s patients, but also on those of the Caretakers.
The conference, which targets doctors, specialists and care givers will feature a wide range of topics as can be seen in the Scientific Schedule.
This unique opportunity will bring together leading experts to explore international research on diagnosis methodology, as well as current and future treatment options for Alzheimer’s.
It will be an event to share knowledge and experience, develop collaborative thinking and inspire the next generation of our best and brightest young people to take up a career in this field.
Mrs Esther Dey, Executive Director of Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Association of Ghana (ARDAG) said at the weekend that victims of witches and faith-based camps in the country could be suffering from a medical condition referred to as Dementia.
She defined dementia as an umbrella term which covers a whole range of signs and symptoms that are related to certain conditions or illnesses of the brain, which is of grave public health consequence.
Mrs Dey made these known to participants at a public outreach programme to create awareness on the disease for the aged and Churches at Bodada and Ayoma in the Volta region.
She said dementia was characterised by a progressive decline of a person’s mental ability, namely the ability to remember, make rational judgement, undertake daily tasks and to communicate.
Mrs Dey indicated because the disease affected the brain and the nervous system, sufferers could exhibit insanity, uncoordinated thoughts and abnormal traits that could give the obscure reason for their detention in witches and faith-based camps to undergo such inhumane abuses.
She said they were crimes perpetrated by relatives and community members acting from stark ignorance of the disease.
The Executive Director disclosed that according to the World Health Organisation, the number of people suffering from dementia around the globe was expected to reach 65.7million sufferers by 2030.
She added that by 2050 it was likely to rise by 70 per cent above today’s figure of 35.6million sufferers and it was expected that 7.7million new cases of dementia would be reported each year – with a new person diagnosed every four seconds.
“The estimated annual cost of treatment and care is $604 billion (£379 billion)” she stated.
Mrs Dey said the common types of dementia included Alzheimer’s disease (constituting about 70 percent of cases), vascular, dementia with Lewy bodies and Pick’s disease.
She said conditions which may develop into dementia included Parkinson’s disease, genetic/inherited illnesses (Huntington’s disease), Down’s syndrome resulting from infection, HIV, and Creutzfeld-Jacob disease.
Mrs Dey said studies revealed that dementia affects the brain structure, especially the frontal lobes, and had rather higher rates in advanced economies compared to those of developing countries, where less studies had been done.
She said its outcomes included differential survival rates, the hiding of cases by relatives because of stigma, reluctance to seek medical assistance, the feeling that the old person had come to the end of his/her useful life, mis-diagnosis and defective case-finding techniques.
She said ARDAG, a not-for-profit entity was positioned to create awareness about the disease and establish state-of-the-art rehabilitation centres for sufferers of dementia across the country.
The Executive Director said the passage of the mental health law would help increase the national consciousness about such illnesses but appealed to the authorities to expedite action on the promulgation of the law on the aged.
MrsDey advised relatives, families and community members to familiarise themselves with the disease to avoid subjecting sufferers to inhumane abuses at camps, stating that dementia was a medical condition that could be controlled by experts.
Following an interview granted to a freelance journalist based in London in March 2014, an article was written and published in the New African Magazine in London by Ms Martha Yankey with the title: To enhance its future, Ghana must protect its old people and was future in the May Edition of the Magazine.