CSOs to support social mobilization on Ebola

The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health, will soon launch a project in 35 districts to build the capacity of Civil Society Organizations on Ebola responses.

The Coalition will also produce and distribute 5,000 Social, information, Education and Communication (SIEC) materials on the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

A statement from the Coalition issued and signed by Dr. Gabriel Gbiel Benarkuu, National Chairman, said with the support from UNAIDS, the Coalition would implement a social mobilization agenda as our Civil Society preparedness to address Ebola, should it occur.

“We hope to reach out to community-based sub-structures, traditional authorities, media and sub-districts with the Metro and Municipals.”

The statement explained that in Ghana, the missing link in the preparedness on the fight against Ebola was the non-involvement-recognition of civil Society (CBOs/NGOs) in the response effort.

Apart from their policy review dialogues and engagement, research and evidence generation, CSOs had been noted, and were specialized in disaster and relief responses, community mobilization and educational interventions.

The statement said the main strategy would be building capacity of CSOs, CBOs and stakeholders, to embark on mass sensitization and advocacy, to create awareness and address risk factors and stigma associated with the disease.

Ghana has been identified and used as the centre to EVD response to the affected countries within the African sub-region.

Ghana has been playing its role as a member-state of ECOWAS.

As part of health system strengthening, Ghana through the Ministry of Health is to also set up an Ebola response centre which has been done.

Recent Ebola epidemics brought a lot of devastation to our West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

The disease affected over 30,000 persons and their families, the statement said, stressing the urgent need to prevent the disease from occurring in Ghana.