The Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund has intensified its education efforts by incorporating more than two hundred health workers in the training programme for the COVID-19 anti-stigmatization campaign.
The initiative forms part of the awareness campaign dubbed ‘Let Love Lead. End The Stigma’, which seeks to change people’s mindsets about COVID-19 and debunk myths and misconceptions about recovered persons and their families. It also aims to reduce fear, communicate support for frontline workers and encourage people to play their role in the fight against stigmatization.
Apart from training persons in the media, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), corporate bodies and security services, the Private Sector Fund recognized the need to train health professionals as they play a critical role in bridging the information gap on COVID-19 and its related issues.
Over 200 health workers were taken through a three-day virtual training on the general knowledge on COVID-19, the psychological impact on persons who are stigmatized after recovery as well as addressing the myths around COVID-19 recoveries.
The Managing Trustee of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, Senyo Hosi, commenting on the inclusion of health professionals in the training programme, stated: “The role of health workers in intensifying the COVID-19 preventive and stigma education cannot be overemphasized. Apart from this, they deliver preventive and curative care when it comes to COVID-19 treatment.
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We are happy to be contributing to the health sector by sharing knowledge with our health workers. We believe our efforts will enable health professionals to relay needed information on COVID-19 in an accurate and more agile way to the general public”.
President of the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association, Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, expressed satisfaction at the initiative by the Private Sector Fund. She stated: “It is very encouraging to see the support that the Fund is giving to health workers through knowledge-sharing. I believe participants will make good use of the knowledge they have received and educate the general public on the need to desist from stigmatizing COVID-19 recovered persons and their families”.
The ‘Let Love Lead. End The Stigma’ anti-stigmatization campaign is an initiative of the COVID -19 Private Sector Fund, sponsored by the Ghana National Petroleum Authority (GNPC), with support from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Psychological Association (GPA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Global Media Alliance.