Dr. Frank Enoch Gyamfi, Consultant General Surgeon and Medical Director of the Berekum Holy Family Catholic Hospital in the Bono Region, has revealed that over two million Ghanaians are currently living with hernia. He explained that many endure the condition due to limited access to surgery and a shortage of medical specialists, with rural communities—where manual labour is common—being the hardest hit.
He made the remarks at the closing of a one-week hernia training programme for young medical specialists, organised by the Ghana Hernia Society in partnership with the UK’s National Institutes of Health Research and the Global Surgery Unit of the University of Birmingham. The initiative aimed at improving diagnosis, surgical skills, and overall management of hernia cases nationwide.
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Dr. Gyamfi noted that the training would enhance healthcare outcomes and announced plans to extend hernia services to rural communities, promoting better health and contributing to economic development.
Professor Stephen Tabiri, Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University for Development Studies, said the training had sharpened the skills of participating specialists, enabling them to better manage hernia cases. He stressed that the shortage of surgical specialists remains a challenge, but the programme had built the capacity of two new surgeons to undertake hernia surgeries in underserved areas.
