Don’t neglect vulnerable in society in the name of social distancing – Rev. Opuni Frimpong

Former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev Dr. Opuni Frimpong has advised Ghanaians to as much as possible maintain a connection with one another especially the vulnerable in society while trying to abide by the principles of social distancing.

According to him, in an attempt to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, through the much-touted need for social distancing, individuals who are more privileged should extend a helping hand to the vulnerable and poor people in their communities to prevent death from hunger.

Presidents around the world have advised their nationals to keep a safe distance of a maximum of 1 meter or six feet from each other to as much as possible limit the spread of COVID-19 through bodily contact. As a result, public gatherings have been banned in many parts of the world and people have been advised to stay at home.

Speaking to ABC News as President Akufo-Addo’s 14-day lockdown of Greater Accra and Greater Kumasi regions kick in, the Executive Director of the Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa indicated that if social distancing is not managed well, the country may lose more lives to hunger and loneliness that they would to COVID-19.

“At the moment, the President of our country has issued an instruction for all of us to stay at home as part of the new normal. It’s not only Ghana that we are going through this challenge, you find this in Italy, in Spain, and other countries. For us as a people in this country, our strength is in our community life, closeness, that is how we derive strength in terms of our culture. So funerals, weddings, churches, mosques and other social gatherings, schools have also been asked to distance themselves so this is a challenging moment for us.”

“If we don’t manage social distancing well, then the weaknesses of this crisis will hit all of us. Issues about fear, loneliness, and hunger can kill even before coronavirus strikes and that is why I’m proposing that while we obey the instruction of the new normal, we must maintain a social connection. We must know where our strengths are, we must not ignore friends and family members…we should not isolate in the name of social distancing because it is not only coronavirus that kills, hunger kills,” he told ABC News.

Although Government has set up a COVID-19 fund and opened it up for donations to cater for the vulnerable group in the country, Rev Opuni mentioned that for most of the needy in the country, they will only need the provision of food and basic things and not necessarily money.

“We hear government setting up funds, people are giving money to hospitals but we must not forget about individuals, because some individuals may not be able to access our structured funds as is done by the government. Some people may not need huge money, they need bread and butter, they need basic things and so while we are going through this moment of social distancing, we are calling for social support, we are calling for connection. Let’s hold ourselves together, pray for one another but let’s also provide physical needs. For all of us to come out without leaving people behind,” he added.