More than 150 residents, predominantly market women and traders at Agona Nkwanta in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region, have benefited from a free medical screening exercise organised by the Member of Parliament for the area, Mavis Kuukua Bissue.

The outreach formed part of activities marking the maiden Ahanta Heritage Month celebration and was organised in collaboration with the Ahanta West Municipal Health Directorate as part of efforts to improve access to quality healthcare for residents.

Participants underwent comprehensive health screening for a range of medical conditions, including blood pressure, malaria, hepatitis B, blood sugar levels and many more.

The initiative was designed to provide accessible healthcare services, early diagnosis, medical consultations, and free prescription medications, particularly for economically disadvantaged residents who may find it difficult to access routine healthcare.

Speaking after the exercise, the leader of the MP’s mobile clinic team and Physician Assistant at the Agona Nkwanta Polyclinic, Evans Afful, disclosed that the screening uncovered worrying health trends among the beneficiaries.

According to him, of the more than 150 people screened most of whom were market women between 40 and 45 percent were diagnosed with high blood pressure, while approximately 35 percent were found to be suffering from upper respiratory tract infections.

“We have been able to screen over 150 people, most of whom are market women. Out of this number, about 40 to 45 percent were diagnosed with high blood pressure, while about 35 percent were also diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infections,” he said.

Afful attributed the high prevalence of hypertension to the inability of many traders to visit health facilities for regular medical check-ups due to their busy work schedules.

He also blamed the significant number of respiratory infections on the dusty condition of roads within the municipality, noting that constant exposure to dust poses serious health risks for traders who spend long hours in the markets.

“The situation is largely due to their failure to go for regular medical check-ups because of their busy schedules, coupled with the dusty roads in the area,” he explained.

He revealed that all beneficiaries diagnosed with various health conditions received free prescription medications, health counselling, and consultations with medical professionals to ensure they received the appropriate care.

Afful expressed optimism that the medical outreach would have a lasting impact on the health and well-being of residents, especially market women, by encouraging early detection and treatment of diseases while promoting regular health screening.

Many of the beneficiaries expressed appreciation to the Member of Parliament for bringing healthcare services closer to the people.

They described the exercise as timely, saying it had enabled many residents to know their health status without incurring any cost.

The beneficiaries further appealed to Ms. Bissue to make the medical outreach a regular programme and extend it to other market centres across the constituency so that more residents could benefit from the initiative.