GoodLife Campaign Relaunched
” Over the years, in collaboration with our Development Partners Government has been working to break the back of disease epidemics such as malaria, cholera, HIV/AIDS that plague our nation ” , Hon Alex Segbefia, Minister for Health.
He said, Together, we are expanding access through establishing Community Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds across the country, upgrading health facilities including hospitals and polyclinics, improving the health workforce through capacity building, strengthening of health system and providing support services to deliver quality health care while the National Health Insurance Scheme is creating opportunities for millions of Ghanaians to access and utilize these services.
He said, it is also important to note that in embracing GoodLife as an everyday thing, the role of the service provider cannot be overemphasized. “It will be important for all Health Workers to demonstrate ownership of GoodLife and welcome people to the facilities with a smile, he emphasized.
According to him, we all know that simple everyday things such as washing our hands with soap before preparing food and cooking, before and after eating, after using the latrine, after cleaning a child’s bottom, and after cleaning babies can help prevent needless death from infection. “Unfortunately most people wash their hands with soap only after eating in order to get rid of oil or the smell of the food. Washing with soap needs be constantly done”, Health Minister
It has been well documented that everyday things such as putting the newborn to the breast immediately within 30 minutes after delivery and giving the baby ONLY breastmilk for the first six months of life has been shown to save the lives of infants, increase cognitive ability, and reduces their disease burden even in later years including asthma and diabetes he noted
Breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life has also been shown to reduce the disease burden of the mothers. Timely introduction of complementary foods at six months using everyday foods also helps children to a great start in life, Hon Segbefia.
He said, these simple everyday practices have been forgotten by many families resulting in poor nutrition and stunting of children.
MOH-PR