Presbyterian Church offers health care to the poor

The Jesus, Others and You (JOY), an evangelical team of the Christ Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has provided free health screening for 187 people at New Asuoyaa, near Koforidua.

Speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Ms Gloria Obuobi, the leader of the team, who is a nurse at the Koforidua Regional Hospital, said the screening include Body Mass Index (BMI), Malarial test and treatment, and Random Blood Sugar (RBS) test.

She said her team referred people with complicated health conditions to the Koforidua Regional Hospital for further observations and treatment.

Mr Godfred Okanta Ofori, a retired Catechist of the Church, said maternal mortality is relatively high at New Asuoyaa and the three other surrounding communities.

He said since there is no health facility in the area, women in labour were transported in canoes across the Densu River to access health care at Koforidua.

Mr Ofori said most pregnant women, as a result, die on arrival or before getting to the health centers in the Municipality.

He, therefore, pleaded with the government, churches and philanthropists to go to the aid of the community to help save the lives of children and women.

Mr Ampofo Kwesi Fianko, a member of JOY, explained that the exercise was in response to the Great Commission given to all Christians by Jesus Christ to reach out to the world, preach the gospel, and to win souls.

The Catechist of the Church, Mr Jonathan Amanor, said it was about time the church attended to the needs of the deprived people in society.

Catchiest Amanor said one of the challenges of the community was teenage pregnancy and expressed appreciation to the team for their support.

The evangelism team later educated the people on the prevention of teenage pregnancy, cholera, and the Ebola virus.

They also provided clothing and shoes to the elderly in the community and distributed locally prepared high-protein cereal food to the women for their children.