The partnership will see SANOFI collaborating with ERH for up to two years to promote general disease awareness, training of healthcare workers, disease screening and educating people living with diabetes and hypertension.

The DHC programme is aimed at bringing healthcare closer to the people and help diabetes and hypertension patients in particular to receive effective easy healthcare access.

In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said Dr Kwame Anim-Boamah, ERH Hospital Director at the program's launch, expressed concerns about the rising number of diabetes and hypertension cases in the country but commended the efforts of SANOFI for making ERH the first hospital to benefit from the program.

Madam Folake Odediran, the General Manager Rx and Country Chair, Sanofi Nigeria-Ghana, said the rising burden of diabetes and hypertension was a more concern which required the collaboration of all stakeholders.

She said SANOFI believed that life was a health journey, adding that, "as a health-journey partner, we support patients by providing them with healthcare solutions along their health journey. This underscores our decision to launch diabetes and hypertension clinic in Ghana as a corporate social responsibility project."

Dr James Appiah-Kusi, Physician Specialist and Head of Diabetic and Hypertension Unit at ERH, expressed gratitude to SANOFI for choosing to collaborate with the hospital and pledged the commitment of the hospital and its management to ensure that the project delivers on its expectations.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, diabetes and hypertension are popularly referred to as "silent killers" because those who have them may be unaware while the diseases may damage the body, reduce the quality of life and ultimately cause premature death.

NCDs are major public health concerns and development challenge as they force people and families into poverty due to huge expenditures on treatment. They impact the quality of life and undercut productivity.

In Ghana, NCDs contribute significantly to illness and disability. The prevalence of adult hypertension appears to be increasing and ranges from 19 per cent to 48 per cent. The prevalence of adult diabetes in Accra and Kumasi is 6 per cent to 9 per cent.

 However, NCDs are largely preventable and can be effectively managed by taking actions to tackle the risk factors and providing access to quality healthcare.