Preventive Health Nurses of Ghana (PREHENS-GH) are calling for urgent government and financial support to combat the growing burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which account for between 40 and 50 per cent of deaths in Ghana.

The appeal was made at their maiden Biennial General Conference held under the theme: Unveiling a Community-Based Approach To NCD Care Through Wellness Centers And Preventive Health Nurse-Led Outreach.

Globally, 71 per cent of deaths are attributed to NCDs, making the issue a major public health concern. In Ghana, preventive health nurses say early detection and community-based care remain key to reducing mortality, especially in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

Chairperson of PREHENS-GH, Ms Dora-Jones Yaidoo, appealed to the government and well-meaning Ghanaians to provide more financial and logistical support to enhance outreach services.

“The appeal I want to make, the regional director has said a lot, but it’s not about motorbikes, it’s not about providing us vaccine careers and the rest. Sometimes we also need to be supported financially to reach into the communities. Even though we are the backbone of preventive health, we need a lot of support, we need but we don’t get it. We write proposals, and we don’t get the support. We want to use this forum to tell the government and well-wishing Ghanaians that when we write to you to come and support such a worthy initiative like this, please give us the attention,” she asserted.

Speaking at the conference, the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Fred Adomako Boateng, emphasised the crucial role preventive health nurses play in screening, vaccination, and monitoring patients within communities.

“This is an occasion that we talk about the great things that they’re doing. One thing that we can also talk about is the cancers, and they really will help us a lot when they give the vaccines, when even people are having it because they’re with them. If we improve the screening mechanisms and they’re empowered to be able to screen because they live in the community, they’re able to pick them very well,” he explained.

He warned that many cancer and other NCD cases become terminal because patients are often left without consistent follow-up.

“One issue that we’re battling with when it comes to cancers or other Non-Communicable Diseases is that you can pick them as early as possible at the stage where you can do something about it, but most of the time, what happens is that these people are left on their own, and they’re lost to follow-up. By the time they reach the facility, it’s terminal. Can we then ride on the PREHENS-GH and form the navigation system?” he added.

PREHENS-GH was formed through the merger of registered community health nurses, community health nurses, and public health nurses to strengthen preventive healthcare delivery nationwide. While the group initially focused on communicable diseases, it says the rising deaths from NCDs require a strategic shift.

Also addressing the gathering, Nana Boakye Yam Ababio, Nkwantakesehene and Deputy Speaker of the Nifa Division of the Kumasi Traditional Area, called on the government to adequately resource preventive health nurses to improve their impact.

“The Preventive Health Nurses of Ghana, they’re doing their part so far as Non-Communicable Diseases are concerned. They have to be resourced to perform better, and because they don’t have the resources, I’m appealing to the government to give them the extra resources so that they can work to reduce NCDs in the country,” he said.

The conference brought together preventive health nurses from across the country to strengthen collaboration and push for a community-based strategy aimed at reducing NCD-related deaths through early screening, wellness centres, and sustained outreach.