By: Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee/Freelance Journalist
Currently Ghana’s most popular, affordable, and safest ride-hailing app, Yango Ghana, has supported Xoese Ghana, an NGO with a focus on ending infertility stigma against women and couples.
The support was for Xoese Ghana’s 2023 polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) Awareness Seminar which took place on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at the Christ the King Parish, Accra.
The seminar was held on the theme: “Polycystic ovarian syndrome: Enlightening toward an infertility stigma-free society”. And had two experienced medical professionals – Dr. Samuel Gyedu Owusu, of the LEKMA Hospital in Accra; and Dr. Yaa Owusu Baah, the Medical Director for Tema Women’s Hospital, as resource persons.
In an interview with Amaghanaonline.com, the Country Manager of Yango Ghana, Mr. Tom Ofonime, asserted that Yango is excited to have supported the initiative that seeks to empower women because it falls in line with their corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
He emphasised that PCOS is a very important topic that needs all the attention it can get in order to save the lives of women, therefore, it was in the right direction that Yango supported Xoese Ghana on this course.
“We are excited to support such an amazing initiative. PCOS is a very important topic that needs a lot of attention. Early detection can save a woman from infertility and the stigma associated with it,” Mr. Ofonime disclosed.
He added that as a business, the safety, health, and well-being of Yango riders and the general public is their goal.
“As a business, the safety, health, and well-being of our riders and the general public is of prime importance to us. That is why we decided to be a part of this.”
He was hopeful that the lives of many women and families at large will be touched in a positive way with Xoese Ghana’s PCOS Awareness Seminar.
Meanwhile, the Director for Xoese Ghana, Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee, who also doubles as a journalist and gender advocate, thanked Yango for the support.
She sang the praises of Yango Ghana as a caring company that has the welfare of the society at heart to have supported the PCOS Awareness Seminar.
Speaking on the need for the seminar, Ms. Aryee noted that PCOS is responsible for 70% of infertility cases in women, however, little to no information is available on the condition.
She quoted a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that 8-13% of women of reproductive age have PCOS, while 70% are undiagnosed. This means that out of 100 women, 8-13 of them have PCOS.
Sadly, Ms. Aryee stated, these women do not know they have this condition because of a lack of education and information-sharing on the condition and have ended up in places such as prayer camps praying about something that is purely medical.
“This is why we saw the need to hold this awareness seminar. Can you imagine how many women are suffering from infertility and the stigma it comes with because of PCOS but they are not aware of the situation? She quizzed.
The Xoese Ghana Director believes that the seminar would go a long way to solve most of the infertility issues related to PCOS, and it is the reason why the organization is so thankful to Yango Ghana for its support.
She disclosed further that the PCOS Awareness Seminar will be held annually in September which is the official Awareness Month.
Naa Cindy, a participant in the seminar shared her experience. According to the 45-year-old who has been trying to conceive for many years without success, it was her first time hearing about PCOS.
She revealed that she had all the symptoms shared by the medical doctors, but she did not know it was the cause of her inability to have a child after many years.
She was thankful to Xoese Ghana for the seminar, and wished it had been done years earlier as that could have solved her infertility problem.
Many other experiences shared by the participants point out that the seminar came in handy.
