Parkinson’s disease awareness campaign launched in Accra

Story Reported by Gideon Kotey

The Anidaso Parkinson's Disease Foundation  (APDF) in partnership with Parkinson’s Africa (PA) has launched an awareness campaign on the Parkinson's Disease (PD) in Accra. 

The three-day campaign, which will commence from June 1 to June 3, 2022 is in collaboration with Colonel Guy Deacon, a retired British colonel, CBE, who was diagnosed with the disease for the past 11 years.PD is the second most common neurological disorder in the world, and it is currently the fastest growing, with cases across Africa expected to rise dramatically in the coming years.

On April 11, 2022 (known globally as World Parkinson’s Day), Col. Deacon embarked on a “Freetown to Cape Town” journey that started in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and it take him through Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Angola, Namibia and, ultimately, Cape Town, South Africa. 

He will meet with people with Parkinson’s, neurologists and health leaders in each of these countries. 

He will also visit some Parkinson’s projects that are growing across the continent.He is keen on meeting the relevant stakeholders who help shape policies that affect these patients and to help Parkinson’s disease organizations and groups to map out  how they can engage policy makers in the interest of the patients.

Col. Deacon will be creating a documentary, following his travels, to portray the difficult realities of living with Parkinson’s in both the UK and Africa, and to highlight the work being done by organisations such as APDF and PA. 

APDF and PA are two organisations with a common goal of improving the lives of Ghanaians affected by disease.

The disease is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder that affects the part of the brain that controls movement and though formal prevalent studies have not been done, we know it forms 12 per cent of  diseases reported at the Neurology Clinics in our four major hospitals in Ghana. 

Many other functions, including mood, memory, cognition and sleep are also impacted.As the disease progresses, the affected person’s ability to move and function independently becomes severely impacted, rendering them partially or wholly reliant on family, relatives and caregivers.

Across the world, neurological disorders, like PD, are now the leading cause of disability. What this means is that as Parkinson’s cases continue to rise across Ghana, and Africa, so with the burden it bears on society as a whole.

Both Anidaso Parkinsons Disease Foundation and Parkinsons Africa are committed to reducing this burden by equipping Ghanaians affected by Parkinson’s disease with the tools and resources they need to make informed health decisions about the best management and treatment options, in order to live as well as possible with the disease. 

About Anidaso Parkinson’s Disease Foundation (APDF) The Anidaso Parkinson’s Disease Foundation is a non-government and not-for-profit organisation which was set up to support and enhance the lives of people living with Parkinson's, their care partners, and their families to achieve their highest possible quality of life through compassion. 

Its focus is to provide information, inspiration, and tools to help people with Parkinson's live better every day. 

The APDF is the first and only Foundation for Parkinson patients in Ghana and has priority goals being directing and leading research into the disease, training of clinicians with relevant knowledge to detect and treat appropriately the disease and engagement with policy makers to make relevant impact in patient lives in terms of medication, education and support for patients and caregivers. 

About Parkinsons Africa Parkinson’s Africa is an Incorporated Trustee and a registered charity in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, respectively. Founded by an African (Nigerian) living with PD, PA was established with first-hand knowledge of some of the significant challenges and vulnerabilities that an African diagnosed with this disease is exposed to. 

As a result, PA is committed to supporting and empowering Africans impacted by PD. 

Its mission is to reduce the shame and stigma surrounding PD by providing education and information about the disease; and to equip those affected with the support and healthcare resources needed to live informed, empowered and dignified lives. 

Dr Vida Obese (Founder and President, Anidaso Parkinsons Disease Foundation) (Specialist Physician-Neurology, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital)

Source: www.truthtvnews.com

Editor: Nii Amon