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Dr Ida Dzifa Dey is the Director of The Rheumatology Initiative, Ghana.
Dr Ida Dzifa Dey is the Director of The Rheumatology Initiative, Ghana.

Dr Dzifa Dey: Caring for people with autoimmune diseases

She hates to see both women and children go through much pain. It is for this reason that she set up The Rheumatology Initiative (TRI) Ghana to increase awareness, provide information, tips and the latest advances in the care of people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases, with special focus on young and adolescent persons with these conditions.

The terms rheumatology and autoimmune rheumatic diseases seem a mouthful and scary. Indeed, they are, as they are not well known in our part of the world like malaria, cancer, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, ulcers, diabetes, cardiac arrest, among others. Interestingly, the few people who have heard about this disease think it is an ailment that does not even exist in Ghana.

This is a wrong notion as there are about 1,000 people in Ghana who have undeniably sought treatment for this disease. It is the desire to curb such needless deaths associated with autoimmune diseases that Dr Ida Dzifa Dey decided to specialise in this area of medicine. She is the first  rheumatologist in Ghana.

Explaining what rheumatology and autoimmune diseases are to The Mirror, she said basically, rheumatologists treat arthritis, autoimmune diseases, pain disorders affecting joints and osteoporosis.

There are more than 200 types of these diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, lupus, back pain, osteoporosis and tendinitis.

Dr Dey further added that the term autoimmune diseases (ADs) refers to a varied group of illnesses that involves almost every human organ system.

It includes diseases of the nervous, gastrointestinal and endocrine systems, as well as skin and other connective tissues, eyes and blood vessels.

“In all of these ADs, the underlying problem is that the body’s immune system becomes misdirected and attacks the very organs it was designed to protect,” she indicated.

She said autoimmune diseases have been cited in the top 10 leading causes of all deaths among women in the United States (US) aged 65 and younger. Besides, these diseases represent the fourth largest cause of disability among women in the US.

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“Autoimmunity is known to have a genetic basis and tends to cluster in families as different autoimmune diseases – a mother may have lupus, her daughter juvenile diabetes and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, her sister Graves’ disease and her grandmother rheumatoid arthritis,” she explained.

According to Dr Dey, different ethnic groups are more susceptible to certain autoimmune diseases. In lupus for instance, people of African descent are two to three times more likely to develop the disease than Caucasian women and to have more severe diseases.

“Nine out of 10 people who have lupus are women. Since the women affected are mostly young women in their childbearing years, a time when they are traditionally most healthy, getting a diagnosis can prove to be extremely difficult,” she added.

She pointed out that symptoms varied widely, notably from one illness to another and even within the same disease. “Since the diseases affect multiple body systems, their symptoms are often misleading, which hinder accurate diagnosis,” she explained.

Dr Dey said according to a survey by the Autoimmune Diseases Association, over 45 per cent of patients with autoimmune diseases have been labelled chronic complainers in the earliest stages of their illness.

Moreover, another survey by the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) found that it takes most autoimmune patients up to four to six years and nearly five doctors before receiving a proper autoimmune disease diagnosis.

Thankfully, there is currently a second rheumatologist female specialist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital who is equally assisting in the treatment of these diseases.

Former Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur with some team members of the foundation.

Why rheumatology?

Dr Dey said she decided to move into this specialised area after observing how young people and women often came with kidney failures at their prime age.

“My mentor, Dr Albert Akpalu, at that time asked me to think about going into rheumatology. As a result, I decided to leave my kidney colleagues and rather pursue a course in rheumatology,” she disclosed.

Initially, she started the course online for a year. However, her mentor again advised her saying, “If you want to be the first rheumatologist, then you have to do it well by going outside there to have a practical experience rather than sticking to the online course. By this, I decided to seek sponsorship to move to the UK to specialise.”

For her, the journey to specialise did not come easy as the trip was full of challenges. “I participated in a conference and afterwards took the contact numbers of all those into rheumatology. Subsequently, I sent them an email and I was lucky to have been invited for a Clinical Rheumatology Fellowship by Prof. David Isenberg of the University College of London Hospitals who is also a distinguished rheumatologist.

While having her Clinical Fellowship, she gained admission for a Master’s programme in Rheumatology at the Kings College London which she completed in 2012. This, she said, was sponsored by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). Upon her return to Ghana after her specialisation, she decided to push for a clinic for Autoimmune Diseases at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital which today attends to several of such cases.

Dr Dey and the man behind her, Kafui Dey.

The Rheumatology Initiative Ghana

She founded the TRI in 2012 as a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing education, advocacy and research into autoimmune rheumatic conditions in Ghana and Africa.

“We ultimately aim to help in finding the causes and cure for autoimmune rheumatic conditions and provide support, services and hope to persons affected with these conditions with a special focus on young and adolescent persons and their loved ones,” she noted.

As part of strategies to achieve their aims, the foundation meets once every month to provide a safe, conducive and affirmative environment for people living with autoimmune diseases, those coping with challenges in lifestyle (marriage, work, school, career choices etc.) and how to deal with relapse, death and dying.

Dr Dey, who is the Director of the foundation, reinforced that for a significant proportion of patients in developing countries such as Ghana, there is limited access to life-saving medications mainly due to financial constraints which limit the treatment benefits that can be offered.

She cited the case of a 16-year-old girl whose parents could not even pay for a lab test for her to commence treatment.

“The girl left and never stepped foot at the clinic for two years. We tried to reach out to her recently but unfortunately her kidney was badly affected but the foundation is helping her with the necessary support and medications. At least it is better than seeing her on dialysis which is much expensive.”

The foundation has also established a Patient Assistance Programme which aims to provide emergency financial assistance to those with a life-altering diagnosis of lupus or other autoimmune diseases and who have a high financial need. They also provide training as a long-term empowering solution.

Dr Dey, whose dream is to establish a lab said, “Here when you diagnose, some of the patients are unable to pay so they end up dying.”

“During my stay in the UK, I never saw anyone dying of lupus but here, I did an audit personally and observed that 48 per cent died. This shouldn’t be happening,” she lamented.

On the average, they provide free or discounted emergency medications to over 65 patients. These can cost between GH¢500 to GH¢1,000 per patient. They have also run 44 support group sessions and activities, with an average attendance of 30 patients monthly for over four years.

About Dr Dey

Dr Dey is married to prominent broadcaster Kafui Dey who is the current morning show host at GHOne. He is also a volunteer of TRI and a Goodwill Ambassador of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

Asked how they met, she said as the Vice-President at the Medical School, they went to former Choice FM to seek sponsorship. It was there she got hitched by him and the relationship blossomed into 12 years of marriage.

They are blessed with three sons: Keli, Eyram and Setri.

Dr Dey had her Ordinary Level at the St Roses Secondary School, Akwatia in the Eastern Region. She moved to the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, Legon for her Advanced Level. This was the era when some of the boys’ schools admitted girls in their Sixth Form.

 Afterwards, she gained admission to the University of Ghana, Legon where she studied a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Sciences in 1991. She continued to the Medical School and is today a consultant.

Her parents are Wing Commander Felix Kuwornoo and Madam Bridgit Ocloo. For Dr Dey, give her kontonmire (palava sauce) with apem (plantain) or plain rice any day and she would jump at it.

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