When Theovision International birthed the vision for Tree of Life Clinic, one principal goal was to bring health change to residents of Nmai Dzorn, where the organization is situated, and its environs. 10 months after the opening of the Clinic, hypertension, one of Ghana’s foremost “silent” killer diseases, is receiving a “loud” awareness in Nmai Dzorn.

A free two day monthly hypertensive screening was commenced by the Clinic in March, 2015 and will run till the end of the year for the residents of the community. According to Mrs. Monica Asare, General Manager of the Clinic, the focus on Hypertension is because it is the commonest medical condition seen at the Clinic; two in every five clients seen. She traced the alarming rate of this menace to the sedentary lifestyle, alcoholism and bad eating habits of the people. Unfortunately because of a poor medical check up culture among many Ghanaians, the disease is hidden and it kills silently.

Mrs. Asare also bemoans the lack of awareness of hypertension and its poor management by known hypertensives. She said, “Only recently, I was gutted by a story about a man who was rushed to hospital but died shortly on arrival. His blood pressure was reported very high. Hopefully, we can reduce such “drop dead” incidences through early detection and proper management of the condition, which we have begun with this awareness campaign.”

The maiden edition in March, 2015 recorded 26 attendees out of 20 churches invited. Mrs. Asare says the low attendance was expected because of the peoples’ indifference to medical care, especially as they may feel well currently. Therefore, to reach more people, subsequent editions will be announced in every corner and on every street in Nmai Dzorn.

About the future impact of this campaign, Mrs. Asare refers to an excerpt from the first edition. She says, “Out of the 26 attendees, 10 were referred to the Doctor and one person was detained because of the severity of her condition.” Should this person be counted as a life saved? Sadly, the answer lies with those who have died, silently, from Hypertension.

‍