Ghana’s superstation Joy 99.7 FM strongly believes in the phrase, ‘Health is wealth’, and has therefore introduced the 'Health and Wellness Series’.

The project seeks to create awareness of the scope and depth of some of the challenges Ghana faces in its health sector. The announcement of the ‘Health and Wellness Series’ initiative was made on ‘Drivetime on Joy’ with host Lexis Bill.

‘Drivetime on Joy’, Ghana’s best late afternoon show, has over the years dedicated its midweek edition to discussing health issues and has proven to be informative and beneficial to its listeners.

CEO of Medicas Hospital, Dr. Yaw Osafo, who is the resident doctor on ‘Drivetime on Joy’, justified the need for Joy FM’s new initiative. “Health is absolutely a precious asset that we don’t appreciate until we don’t have it. So we want to use this platform to get distinguished speakers to come in and share their knowledge and skill with the Ghanaian public”, he explained.

A number of issues that plague the Ghanaian include health-seeking habits, health financing, curative health services predominating over preventive and promotive health services, amongst others. A section of the general public find difficulty in accessing proper health care, but Joy FM understands the essence of private institutions contributing their quota to nation building, thus the introduction of ‘Health and Wellness Series’.

The ‘Health and Wellness Series’ will take off with host Lexis Bill on August 1, at 7pm and will be repeated quarterly. The program will broadcast live on Joy 99.7 FM and streamed on its social media handles.

For its first edition, Dr. Osafo mentioned that the program will focus on mental health, and will eventually touch on other facets in its subsequent editions. He will be joined by Ella Yayra Suka, a Registered Dietician, and Dr. Ruth Owusu-Antwi, a Mental Health Specialist. All three speakers have confirmed their readiness to serve the general public on August 1.

Joy FM, aside aiming to create awareness of the scope and depth of some health sector challenges, hopes to also maintain the culture of periodic professional medical consultation, as well as sustain the platform for interaction between health care professionals and patrons.