Naa Abdulai Dawana, the Chief of Nakore, has appealed to government to consider providing boreholes to all schools in the area to enable children practise proper handwashing when schools re-open.

This, he said would help the schools have access to constant flow of water to properly observe the COVID-19 protocols especially frequent washing of hands with soap under running water.

Naa Dawana said this at a durbar at Nakore organised by the National Population Council on the theme "Putting the brakes on COVID-19: How to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls now".

The durbar forms part of activities marking the celebration of the 2020 World Population Day.

On the issue of electricity, Naa Dawana noted that only 15 per cent of the total population had access to electricity and appealed to the government to address the situation to promote night learning among students in the area.

Madam Mary Gyasi, the Deputy Upper West Regional Population Officer, explained that the objective of the programme was to create awareness on the health and rights of women and girls amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Madam Gyasi pointed out that women and girls had diverse experiences in the Upper West Region in terms of safeguarding their health and rights.
She expressed worry that parents lacked access to adequate information on reproductive health issues, formal education and the fear of exposing their children to information they deemed inappropriate.

That, she said, led teenagers to make decisions that affected their health and safety.
Madam Gyasi was, however, optimistic that females attaining higher levels of education could help improve on their confidence and also help them to take independent decisions in the face of cultural hindrances.

Mr Dambia Osbert Salifu, the Presiding Member for Nadowli-Kaleo District Assembly, highlighted that majority of children in rural Ghana especially the Upper West Region did not have access to basic household technologies, which made it difficult for them to participate in the ongoing virtual studies.
He was of the view that the pandemic would be stopped if the Region underwent attitudinal change by religiously observing all the recommended COVID-19 protocols, adding that the virus was real.