The Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International has conducted free health screening for more than 300 kayayei (head potters) and their children in the Central Business District of Kumasi.
They were screened for malaria and sexually transmitted infections, including hepatitis, after which they were given general medical advice on nutrition and well-being.
The screening was part of the humanitarian and charity obligations of the Club.
Professor Joslin Alexei Dogbe, Charter President of the Club, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Club was targeting women living on the streets to find lasting solutions to their health problems and give them sustainable vocations and trades.
Women were giving birth in the streets and producing generations of families there, with many diseases and other health issues, he said.
The Rotary Club of Kumasi-Premier International, he noted, was therefore partnering with the Pediatric Society of Ghana and the Hope Change Medical Centre to collect data and have a profile of the less-privileged in the city.
“After this screening, mini clinics will be held, which will serve as a continuum of the normal health screening,” he said.
Prof Dogbe said the Club, recently chartered, would expand its humanitarian activities such as peace eromotion, fighting diseases, providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene, maternal and child health, and environmental protection.
Ms Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo, the Service Project Chair of the Club, said in instances where the screened kayayei required further health attention, they would be referred to the HopeXchange Medical Centre.
She advised the women to take charge of their health and cautioned them not to let the thoughts of not having much money hinder their willingness to seek medical attention.
