The launch of a new book seeking to make hypertension information more accessible to the public is bringing renewed attention to the growing health and economic burden of high blood pressure in Ghana.
My Lay Hypertension Doctor: A Comprehensive Guide for Patients, Lay Persons and Health Professionals, authored by Prof. Dr (Med) Ernest Yorke, the president of the Ghana Medical Association will be officially launched today, Wednesday, September 2 in Accra.
The publication comes at a time when hypertension is affecting millions of Ghanaians, including people in their economically productive years, with consequences that extend beyond hospitals and medical bills to households, workplaces, businesses and the wider economy.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 3.6 million Ghanaians aged between 30 and 79 are living with hypertension, with approximately 2.8 million of them having the condition uncontrolled. Ghana’s 2023 STEPS survey further shows that the burden rises sharply during people’s economically productive years, affecting nearly one in four people aged 30 to 44 and almost one in two aged 45 to 59. These are teachers, traders, entrepreneurs, public servants, corporate executives, drivers, farmers, and other workers whose labour, skills, and experience continue to power businesses, households, and communities across the country.
Hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, has traditionally been viewed primarily as a medical concern, with discussions centred on hospitals, doctors and medication. However, when people develop hypertension and fail to detect or manage it early, the effects can gradually spread into households, workplaces, businesses and eventually the wider economy.
When hypertension is poorly controlled, workers may lose productive hours through frequent hospital visits and periods of illness. Families may also be forced to redirect income meant for education, savings, investments, or business expansion toward medical consultations, medication, and treatment.
Employers can equally lose experienced workers when health complications result in prolonged absences or permanent withdrawal from the workforce. In severe cases, complications such as stroke, heart disease and kidney failure can leave individuals unable to work or result in premature death.
The economic implications of premature death are particularly significant. When a worker dies prematurely, a household may lose its primary source of income, a business may lose years of experience and expertise, and the country loses a member of its labour force. This makes hypertension more than a personal health concern. It is increasingly becoming an issue of human capital, productivity and economic security.
Studies examining the economic burden of hypertension in Ghana have also highlighted the financial pressure associated with managing the condition. Patients not only spend money on consultations and medication but also incur transportation costs and lose productive time while seeking treatment. For households already managing tight budgets, the financial demands of long-term treatment can become significant.
The significance of Prof. Yorke’s publication therefore lies not only in its focus on hypertension but also in its attempt to make knowledge about the condition more accessible to people outside the medical profession. For many patients and families, medical information can sometimes appear complex and difficult to understand, leaving people uncertain about the seriousness of their condition or the practical steps they should take to manage it.
Hypertension has often been described as a silent condition because it may develop without obvious warning signs, allowing damage to accumulate before an individual becomes aware of what is happening. For a workforce increasingly shaped by long working hours, traffic, stress, limited physical activity and changing dietary habits, greater health awareness is becoming increasingly important.
This is why the conversation around hypertension should also concern employers and business leaders. Workplace wellness initiatives and routine health screenings may appear to be additional expenses, but the cost of neglecting employee health can be far greater when experienced workers begin to suffer complications that could have been detected and managed earlier.
A healthy workforce remains one of the most important assets available to any economy. Ghana’s ambitions in areas such as industrialisation, entrepreneurship and economic growth depend heavily on the productivity of its people.
The launch of My Lay Hypertension Doctor therefore offers an opportunity to start a broader conversation about what hypertension is costing Ghana, not only in hospital beds and medical bills but also in productivity, income, experience and human potential. For individuals, employers and policymakers, the question may increasingly be whether the country can afford to wait until hypertension becomes a crisis before investing in the knowledge needed to prevent it.
