Members of Dzatsui Keep Fit Club, a community-based youth group and scores of people from the Nima community on Saturday joined a non – profit organization called the Endometriosis Foundation Ghana in a health walk dubbed “Endomarch 2018”.
This event is held worldwide every year in the month of March, which happens to be the endometriosis awareness month.
[ads1]Dr Mary-Anne Zuolo, medical officer and member of the organization led the talk on endometriosis. She explained that endometriosis is a condition whereby the tissues that resemble the inner lining of the womb(endometrium) is found outside of it. She also explained that the condition that affects females during their reproductive years is mostly characterized by pain; which makes it difficult for them to go about their day-to-day activities. However, according to Dr Zuolo the way the condition presents itself usually leads to a lot of women being misdiagnosed for dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation) resulting in an average of 7 years or longer before the patient can receive an accurate diagnosis through laparoscopy.
She advised parents whose children go through severe menstrual pains causing them to miss school and other important activities to have it checked by a gynecologist. She emphasized on the need for women to have regular check-ups, especially regarding their reproductive health since endometriosis could also be painless.
Madam Fareeda Serwaa Brobbey, founder of the organization reiterated that, early detection of the condition could help improve the quality of life for women who may be suffering from the condition. Also, early detection can also improve fertility since the condition has been associated with infertility in some women. She encouraged women to adopt healthy lifestyles through proper diet and exercise.
Madam Brobbey stated the need for more awareness campaigns and urged participants of the health walk to use the opportunity to spread the news to others. She was hopeful of more events to be held across the country in subsequent years. She further appealed to government and other stakeholders to commit to conducting more research and also implementing detailed policies about issues affecting female sexual and reproductive health.
Endometriosis Foundation Ghana is a non-profit organization founded in 2016 to create awareness on endometriosis; a condition that affects 1 in 10 women and yet very difficult to diagnose in Ghana due to lack of widespread laparoscopic services.
This year’s event was sponsored by Ginapharma Limited, Healthilife, Nallem Clothing and supported by the Fabolous Woman Network and Fitvolution
