With its well-curated exhibits and remarkable photo collection, the Museum of the African Disapora in SOMA should be an ideal location for the Project Heart event next Friday to benefit the International Cardiovascular Health Alliance’s disease prevention efforts in Ghana. I’d heard that cardiovascular disease was the main cause of death worldwide, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that billions of dollars annually get passed along to countries that are often ill equipped to cover them. In an effort to do something about it, a friend is helping fundraise for a mid-September trip to Elmina, Ghana, for a team of physicians, public health professionals, outreach workers, and educators. The September 11 event is a better chance to learn more, but I’m impressed with the organization’s efforts to provide communities with cheap and effective tools that could prevent up to 80 percent of the disease:
ICHA volunteer clinicians will train health workers at the Elmina Urban Health Centre, a local clinic that serves over 50,000 patients. Health workers will be taught to quantify risk of cardiovascular events, to promote stringent lifestyle modification, and to administer medications. ICHA’s community outreach volunteers will work with local community leaders to establish population-wide community initiatives including culturally appropriate campaigns for diet modification and exercise groups.
It was dark when I woke. This is a ray of suhnisne.