Residents of Ofankor in the Ga-North Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region have been advised not to allow various misconceptions on COVID-19 to influence their decision to be vaccinated against the disease.
Speaking at a health sensitisation forum in the community, the health promotion officer for the area, Mr Jacob Agyenkwa asked residents to disregard misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines such as causing infertility, miscarriage among others in order to protect themselves against the deadly disease.
On the issue of lead poisoning, he advised them to desist from using items that contain lead and be mindful of being exposed to it.
“There are lots of items that contain lead and yet many people do not know, children could sometimes go out and even step on substances that contain them and may take them home because they are unaware of it. These may be dangerous to their health, how many of us are even aware of this”. He observed
Mr Agyenkwa stressed that although yellow fever has been in existence for decades, little information is available on it in recent times.
He, therefore, advised members of the community to be concerned about it and take precautionary measures in order not to contract the disease.
He said, “children should be encouraged to take good care of themselves especially by washing their hands regularly as part of the precautionary measures”.
The Chief of Ofankor, Nii Kortey Boi II, on his part commended the Light Foundation for their contribution towards health education in Ghana.
According to him, even though Ghanaians are aware of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed many people across the globe, the initiative taken by TLF to sensitise Ghanaians especially at the community level is highly commendable.
He, therefore, advised the youth to learn from the ongoing sensitisation drive to be able to equally impart their households as expected.
He stated ” a lot of the youths do not know the effects of lead, they work and play with items which contain these toxic substances and yet do not have the slightest idea on how it can affect the human body”
The programme formed part of an effort by TLF with support from UNICEF to sensitise communities in various parts of the country to ensure substances that contain lead, the effect of yellow fever, especially COVID-19 could be understood by everybody within the Ghanaian community.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Light Foundation, Sheikh Ali Abubakar Napari in his remarks emphasised the need for everyone to take the ongoing vaccination exercise seriously in order to protect themselves and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He indicated that the sensitisation effort by TLF with the support of UNICEF in communities has been very impactful considering the responses from residents in the communities on yellow fever and lead poisoning.
“We will continue to work with the stakeholders in various communities and ensure people understand lead poisoning, and also get vaccinated against COVID-19”. He added
TLF as part of its health advocacy project across the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana in 2020 has embarked on various programmes to raise awareness and educate the general public on the effects of some health-related issues.
Meanwhile, TLF in a similar exercise engaged stakeholders from over 18 communities last year.
The next point of call for the TLF/UNICEF community sensitisation forum will be held in the Frafraha community, Ashieyie and Amrahia.
The rests are Ashaiman, Agbogbloshie and Nungua Zongo.
The light Foundation which has operated for over a decade has supported Ghana’s development agenda through peacebuilding programmes, COVID-19 advocacy, educational support, child protection, provision of water to deprived communities amongst others.
Source: Ghana Web