According to the Chairman of the National Risk Communication and Social Mobilisation for COVID-19, Dr Da Costa Aboagye, his team at the GHS was working extra hard to overcome the stigma, which was becoming a disincentive to the fight against the disease.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Dr Aboagye, who doubles as the Director of Health Promotion at the GHS, said he feared the stigma and discrimination associated with the COVID-19 by some Ghanaians could have awful consequences which could hamper the efforts by the GHS to curtail the transmission of the virus in communities.

“Dealing with stigmatisation is like fighting the COVID-19 war on two fronts. We have to, as a matter of urgency, nip this in the bud, as stigmatisation could erode all the gains being made.

“For fear of being stigmatised, people could refuse to call for help when they show the symptoms, and that becomes difficult to find them and isolate them for treatment, which will have dire consequences for community spread,” he explained.

More education

Dr Aboagye noted that the stigma towards people, places or things associated with the virus was a source of concern to the GHS, for which reason all efforts were being made to defeat it.

He appealed to community and traditional leaders, heads of faith-based organisations and celebrities in the country to join the COVID-19 stigma education, education on the benefits of isolation centres and the campaign on other preventive measures to help win the war.

“We at the GHS, together with the Ministry of Information, the National Commission for Civic Education and other stakeholders, are committed to ending COVID-19-related stigma as the disease continues to be with us in Ghana.

“We will continue to engage all stakeholders through health education, community participation and social mobilisation that will ultimately lead to behavioural change. As more people are recovering, it is important to stamp out covid-19- related stigma,” he emphasised.

Isolation centres

Dr Aboagye also encouraged communities to welcome the setting up of isolation centres in their areas, instead of kicking against them, saying if the centres were sited in their areas, it would rather inure to their benefit.

That, he said, was because the isolation centres were intended to serve the communities, as it would protect not only people suspected to have contracted the COVID-19 but also every person living in the community and, accordingly, reduce the risk of spread.

He said people had protested against isolation centres being sited in their areas simply because of “the lack of adequate education and information”.

“It is unfortunate that people are kicking against something that will be of benefit to them eventually. Isolation centres are meant to keep in one place people who are infected but who are not very sick, so that they do not infect others. It becomes very important particularly for people who live in homes that do not have adequate space for self-quarantine or isolation.

“Having the centres in a community does not in any way put the residents in danger, unless the necessary precautionary measures are not adhered to. There is nothing to be afraid of or worried about — it all comes down to people being properly informed.

“The committee has realised that many people do not understand the dynamics of the infection and its related issues and so many act out of ignorance. It has, therefore, been decided to step up the educational campaign.

“The focus of this renewed educational campaign shall be on the aspects of public education involving stigma and the many benefits of having isolation centres in communities,” Dr Aboagye explained.

Protests

In Ghana, the decision to turn some facilities into isolation centres has been met with protests by residents of those communities where the facilities are located.

Residents of Community 18, Tema, objected to Rev. Gideon Titi Ofei’s decision to offer his health facility to the GHS as an isolation centre, a reaction that forced him to withdraw the offer.

Similarly, some youth of Prampram, where the Ghanaman Centre of Excellence is located, vowed to violently make it impossible for the centre to be used as an isolation centre for the Covid-19 when the Ghana Football Association (GFA) announced that it was offering it to be used as an isolation centre.

Subsequently, after engagement with the community leaders, the issue was resolved and the centre is now being prepared for use.

Some residents of Abusco Last Stop, near Obuasi in the Obuasi East District in the Ashanti Region, have also protested against the siting of a COVID-19 isolation centre in the community.

The residents want the authorities to reconsider the decision, since the building earmarked for the centre is located in the middle of the town.

Security personnel had to be deployed to the area to restore calm and order and also explain to the residents the need for the centre, as Obuasi has been identified as the epicentre of the infection in the Ashanti Region.