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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Dr Jane Aceng, the Minister of Health is rooting for mandatory Blood Pressure testing in all government health facilities.
Aceng suggests that everyone who goes to access medical services from the facilities must be tested to ascertain whether or not they are suffering from hypertension.
She explains that mandatory testing would enable easy management of the disease which she says is a silent killer disease among Ugandans.
“And the majority of people with Hypertension are not aware of their Hypertension status, we must ensure regular medical check-ups to know our status, Every time you visit a government health facility ensure they test to know your blood pressure status,” Dr Acheng emphasized.
Dr Aceng was on Friday addressing mourners at the burial of Joshua Engola, 32, the son to Minister of State for Defense and General Duties, Colonel Charles Okello Engola in Oyam District.
Hypertension can lead to severe complications and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and death. Normal blood pressure is supposed to be 120 over 80 millimetres.
Currently, more than 11 million Ugandans are believed to be having Hypertension.
According to the post-mortem report read by Brigadier Dr Peter Ocen from Bombo Military Hospital, Engola died of acute cardiac attack caused by the hypertension.
Aceng also cautioned Ugandans against bad eating habits and alcohol abuses compounded with inadequate physical exercises saying it’s the leading causes of hypertension among Ugandans.
Minister Engola said that his son collapsed while they were travelling to Kampala.
“I Know he had been suffering from Hypertension for some years,” Okello said.
Last week, Dr Isaac Orech, a senior medical officer in charge Amach Health Centre IV, Lira district decried the lack of availability of BP Machines. The centre has only one BP monitor which cannot serve all the user departments at the facility.
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