Ghana Medical Relief (GMR), a humanitarian non-governmental organisation has begun a five-day free medical screening exercise at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), targeting about 10,000 residents of the Northern Region. 

Beneficiaries were screened for diseases related to obstetrics, dental health, gynaecology and urology, among others. 

The first day of the exercise covered residents of the Tamale Metropolis and Sagnarigu Municipality, while for the second and rest of the five days, the exercise would target residents of other districts and municipalities within the Northern Region, including the seat of Dagbon in Yendi. 

Beneficiaries would be transported to designated health facilities for the exercise, where a team of 100 medical professionals from the United States and Ghana would attend to them. 

The President of GMR, Dr Samuel Owusu speaking during the commencement of the exercise at the TTH in Tamale, said it was to reach out to people with diverse medical issues, especially vulnerable groups. 

“We consider areas of prime interest for our services, most importantly, for the poor, needy and the vulnerable,” he said. 

He said last year, the team undertook a similar exercise in the Ashanti Region and attended to the health needs of nearly 6,000 people in the area.  

Dr Owusu announced that the GMR, as part of the outreach exercise, would purchase about 2,000 insurance policies for residents who needed the policy but could not afford it. 

The Northern Regional Director of Ghana Health Service, Dr Braimah Baba Abubakari lauded the exercise, saying the health needs of the people in the region required some form of external support from NGOs and other philanthropists to help handle the situation. 

On his part, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of TTH, Dr Adam Atiku said the exercise would help to reduce the pressure on the hospital to enable it to channel its resources and expertise towards other areas of equal importance. 

Alhaji Shani Alhassan Saibu, the Northern Regional Minister, commended the team for the exercise and appealed to them to make the exercise an annual event to help reach out to many people in the region.