ICHA (International Cardiovascular Health Alliance) and EAUMF (Edward A. Ulzen Memorial Foundation) Announce Pilot Program to begin in Elmina, Ghana.
A San Francisco-based non-profit, whose goal is to eliminate the spread of Cardiovascular disease, will begin program in Elmina, Ghana.
San Francisco, CA. – September 1, 2009 – ICHA (International Cardiovascular Health Alliance) announces its plans to begin a pilot program in Elmina, Ghana.
Last month, Obama told the Parliament in Ghana's capital: "To build a prosperous future, Africa needs to shed corruption and tyranny and take on poverty and disease. These things can only be done if you take responsibility for your future. And it won’t be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks. But I can promise you this: America will be with you every step of the way, as a partner, as a friend.”
On September 18, 2009, ICHA will send a team of volunteer clinicians to Elmina, Ghana, to train health workers at the Elmina Urban Health Centre, a local clinic that serves over 50,000 patients. During this outreach, ICHA will provide the Elmina community with the sustainable tools to help themselves address the cardiovascular disease epidemic. Health workers will be taught to quantify risk of cardiovascular events, to promote stringent lifestyle modification, and to administer medications. In addition, ICHA will assist local community in establishing population-wide community initiatives including culturally appropriate campaigns for diet modification and exercise groups.
The choice of Elmina as ICHA’s project site in Ghana is rooted in the fact that the physician leading the group, Dr. Sujatha Sankaran had worked in Elmina in 2005 as a medical volunteer of the Edward A Ulzen Memorial Foundation International Medical Volunteer Programme (EAUMF). The foundation, named after the late founding Registrar of KNUST, has brought 54 healthcare volunteers to Elmina in the last 4 years. Of these, 19 have been physicians working from 2-6 weeks at a time. EAUMF is providing subsidized logistical assistance to the ICHA program and plans to continue in this collaborative effort to improve the health of the citizens of the KEAA District in a sustainable fashion for years to come through such partnerships.
“We know that we are in for an uphill battle, since cardiovascular disease in the developing world is such a shockingly under-appreciated crisis, and the fact that CVD costs developing nations billions of dollars annually seems truly to be one of the best kept public health secrets around. We’re excited to be able to put Obama’s words into action and help a local community,” says Nikka Rapkin, co-founder of ICHA.

About ICHA:

Based in San Francisco, ICHA is a 501(c) organization comprised of a diverse group of doctors, medical students, educators, outreach workers, and other professionals dedicated to the elimination of preventable cardiovascular disease in the developing world.
Since its inception, in January of 2008, ICHA has become a thriving organization of over twenty-five passionate volunteers united to develop and implement sustainable, evidence-based cardiovascular disease prevention programs for under-resourced communities. Through community-based education and strategic alliances ICHA seeks to turn the tide on the crisis of preventable cardiovascular disease in the developing world.

About Cardiovascular Disease:

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide, killing more people globally than infectious disease, nutritional deficiency, and maternal/perinatal conditions combined. Four out of five cases of CVD occur in developing countries. 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Leslie Salomone
lsalomone@ichaonline.org
707-477-5374