A former Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital Dr Thomas Anabah has revealed that stress, poor nutrition, tobacco and alcohol use, long working hours and environmental pollution are major risk factors that lead to non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders.
Dr Anabah who is also the Member of Parliament(MP) for Garu, noted that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – including hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and mental health disorders- were fast becoming a major health concern for the country, leading to about 43 percent of deaths in Ghana.
“These silent killers -hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, mental health disorders, and more- now account for over 43% of this in Ghana. Yet most of them are preventable. What is even more concerning are the principal risk factors, such as stress, poor nutrition, tobacco, long working hours, lack of physical activity, and alcohol use,” Dr Anabah said at the first edition of the Ghana Health and Labour Summit (GHL Summit 2025).
He explained that these NCDs lead to a decline in employee output in terms of productivity, appealing to employers to put a premium on the health of their employees.
The GHL Summit 2025 brought together stakeholders from various backgrounds to discuss wellbeing in the workplace, mental health and tackling non-communicable diseases. The summit was under the chairmanship of Dr Anabah.
