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Check blood pressure regularly – Specialist advises
Dr. Mrs. Lenusia Ahlijah
A Specialist Family Physician, Dr Mrs Lenusia Ahlijah has said that, it is important for every adult especially those above the age of 35 to check their blood pressure at least once a year.
“If you happen to have a family history of hypertension, then it is advisable to check your blood pressure more frequently” she said.
Dr Ahlijah in an interview with The Spectator on Sunday raised concerns that issues of blood pressure were not being given the urgent attention it deserved and more dangerously, there were people who did not even know that they were hypertensive because they do not check their blood pressure.
“Blood pressure is simply the force of blood pushing against the walls of a person’s blood vessels (arteries). If that pressure is too high, the condition is known as hypertension ” she said.
She said it was a condition that showed as a person grew older and was dangerous because it made the heart work harder to pump blood around the body leading to damage of the arteries.
“This results in conditions such as heart attack, stroke and kidney failure” she said.
Dr Ahlijah said even though the exact cause of hypertension was not known, there were several factors and conditions that may play a role in its development and mentioned ageing, genetics, chronic kidney disorders, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking as some of the factors.
Other factors she said included stress, family history of hypertension, too much salt in diet and lack of physical exercise resulting in obesity.
The Specialist Family Physician said some of the symptoms were severe headache, fatigue or confusion, blood in urine, irregular heartbeat, difficulty in breathing, chest pains and vision problems.
She said persons who were at risk of developing hypertension were those who smoked, pregnant women, women on oral contraceptives, people about 35 years and above as well as people with sedentary lifestyle, among others.
Dr Ahlijah said weight reduction, smoking cessation, decreasing stress, restriction of salt and fat intake and increase in aerobic activities could manage the disease and advised that adherence to treatment was important in order to avoid the complications of hypertension.
“It may be suicidal to stop taking your anti hypertensive medications without first discussing it with your doctor” she cautioned.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
