By Ishaya Ibrahim
Acting News Editor
Joseph Takon, a Nigerian born American doctor and presiding pastor of the City of David Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Atlanta, Georgia, USA is kicking off Vital Health, a weekly health radio show which will enlighten the public on issues of public health and answer many health-related issues bothering them.
Takon is an alumnus of Satcher Health Leadership Institute of MoreHouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, board member of African Missions North America (AMNA), a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) as well as American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He graduated from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife in Osun State.
He runs a free clinic in his Atlanta base for indigent and uninsured persons in America.
He explained why he was offering health education talk on radio.
“I was born a twin in far away Cameroon. My parents from the then eastern region of Nigeria and I recall growing up and hearing the story of Mary Slessor who was a British nurse who had come and leave in my part of the country. If you go to Calabar today you will see a statue of she holding twins on both sides of her hand. And she lived in my part of my country and that was how the culture of killing twins was eradicated. Essentially, if Mary Slessor did not make the sacrifice of coming, I would not be alive today. That is a personal story to me.
“The other personal component of this mission is that I have had friends who died of conditions that were preventable simply because they were not well treated. I’ve had a cousin who died of badly managed typhoid. I’ve seen people died who did not need to die partly because they did not get good information, they were not properly educated or they did not get good treatment,” he said.
He said avoidable deaths in Nigeria was the major reason he was undertaking this project. “For instance, more than 90% of hypertension cases (which affects about 20 million Nigerians) are preventable.
The programme would focus on lifestyle and nutritional habits that could boost healthy living, especially as people eat 300% more quantity of salt than is required in their meals.
The programme, he said, would address several health issues ranging from cancer to diabetes. Others include heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, malaria among other diseases and health conditions and will be disseminated in simple ‘Elementary Four’ language, accessible to all.
Vital Health will take off early 2017 on Star FM, Lagos on a weekly basis and according to Takon, will evolve into a daily programme as well as running on multiple media platforms including radio, TV, print and social media.
Betty Abah, a journalist and Executive Director at CEE-HOPE, a child’s right and development NGO, commended Takon for the initiative.
“We encourage other Nigerians in the Diaspora and indeed other similarly good-spirited individuals to emulate him,” she said.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
