H.E. Edward Boateng
Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company (GMABC) and Kencity Media co-organised an experience-sharing virtual dialogue with a group of Ghanaian experts from China led by H.E Ambassador Edward Boateng.
The virtual dialogue which was under theme; Covid-19, dealing with the challenges: A Dialogue with Ghanaians in China, featured various experts who discussed issues pertaining their fields of expertise.
H.E. Edward Boateng led the discussion around the broader topic of government’s role during the coronavirus outbreak in China.
"The President of Ghana took the decision to keep the Ghanaian students here in China. He thought about the issues thoroughly and decided that the best cause of action was for everybody to stay here in China. And the President has been vindicated, because not a single Ghanaian in China tested positive during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"As an embassy we accepted the President’s directive to stay in China. When other countries started evacuating their citizens, I went back to the president and he said we should keep the student here because it is still the right thing to do. He actually opted to take full responsibility of not bringing the students from China in case of any eventuality’’ he stated.
Dr. Ama Edwin a Physician Clinical Psychologist and Bioethicist at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) who counselled students and Ghanaian community groups during the peak of COVID-19 in China addressed issues of fear and anxiety during a pandemic.
"If we don't handle and regulate the information we expose ourselves to, we will find ourselves dealing with the issue of fear which can cause more problems than the pandemic itself. If we don't calm down, the situation might get worse’’ she advised.
The National Union for Ghanaian Students (NUGS) Chapter President of Wuhan-China, Sampson Opoku expressed profound gratitude to both the government of Ghana and the Ambassador of Ghana to China, H.E Edward Boateng for their efforts that kept them safe in what was the epicentre of the coronavirus, Wuhan.
"The level of cooperation between the Ghanaian embassy, students and other stakeholders was top notch. People from other embassies wanted to know the strategies ours had put in place because our support system was noticed as a remarkable one" Sampson said.
Mr. Abu Osuman, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Ghana in Beijing- China and the coordinator of the embassy's logistics and response efforts, also shared how the embassy worked to ensure transparency.
"For the sake transparency and accountability we made sure the five hundred (500) dollars relief from government for every student in China was wired straight to their bank and WeChat accounts.
Hepatobillary surgery PhD student and Chairman of Ghanaian Association Wenzhou, China Dr. Percy Akuetteh shared his experience as a volunteer at the lockdown checkpoint during the peak of the Coronavirus in China. He advised that cooperation between the government, agencies and citizens is the only way by which we can fight the coronavirus outbreak in Ghana.
"Our pharmacy systems are essential to fight the coronavirus. In China, the pharmacies were not allowed to sell any drugs that reduced fever. Anyone with a fever instead of purchasing drugs from a pharmacy was directed to report to the hospital for testing," Dr. Percy said.
Miss Gloria Akpabla who is the Women’s Commissioner of NUGS-China also worked with Dr. Ama Edwin during the peak of the outbreak to address the needs of the female students in China.
Chief Director of GMA, Emma Wenani who spoke on behalf of the organisers said: "GMABC and Kencity with our platforms e.TV Ghana, Happy FM, Oman FM, Net2 TV and Ash FM worked to give our audience a conversation that is timely, so that we can all learn a thing from their experiences to guide us, as we face our own lockdown and confirmed cases.’’
The discussion was facilitated by Samuel Eshun, Host of Happy Morning Show (HMS) on Happy FM and Abedi Anim, Host of 'The Dialogue' on Net2 TV .
