Government To Absorb Cost Of Hypertension Treatment And Care

The Stroke Association Support Network-Ghana (SASNET-GHANA) and the World Hypertension League (WHL) have called on the government to absorb the cost of treatment and care of hypertensive patients.

They said already people living with hypertension were faced with numerous challenges regarding access to quality healthcare and high cost of medications, adding that most of the hypertension drugs were not on the list of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

A statement issued by Mr Ad Adams Ebenezer, the Executive Director of SASNET-GHANA to mark this year’s World Hypertension Day said in Ghana hypertension accounts for three quarters of all cases and death and possibly resulting in strokes and heart-related issues.

The theme for the Day is “Measure your blood pressure, control it, and live longer.”

The statement urged the government to address the unavailability issue of hypertension drugs in some of the health centres across the country and to supply them with functional digital blood pressure measuring devices for accurate measurement to minimize possible misdiagnosis, which could lead to complications or death.

It said it was important that the government strengthened the healthcare system in Ghana to offer integrated care that addresses not only hypertension but also chronic illnesses.

The statement said: “It is estimated that more than 61 per cent of the COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized had hypertension, 52 per cent had diabetes, and 45 per cent of people aged 60 to 69 who died from COVID-19 also had hypertension, according to, the World Health Organisation article.”

It stated that the high rate of increased blood pressure was a great concern and that more than 50 per cent of Ghanaian adults were living with hypertension, which they were unaware of, and among those who were aware, half do not take any action to modify their lifestyle or medication.

It said approximately four in 10 adults older than 25 years had hypertension, meaning 75 per cent of the world’s hypertension population were at risk and were potential candidates for heart disease, strokes, kidney disease or even sudden death.

The statement said as part of marking the Day the SASNET-GHANA in collaboration with partners would hold a screening exercise in Ahafo Region and organise a virtual symposium to commemorate the event.

It commended the government for successfully launching Ghana’s National NCD Policy and the Strategic and Implementation Plan and that SASNET-GHANA and WHL would collaborate with the government to implement the policy, especially in the areas of hypertension, stroke, cardiovascular disease and obesity.