Media must sustain public education on Ebola - UNFPA

Mrs Doris Mawuse Aglobitse, the Communication and Resource Mobilisation Officer, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has asked the media to sustain the public education on the symptoms and prevention of the of Ebola Virus Disease.

She said though the awareness on the disease among the populace was quite high, a lot more needed to be done for the desired attitudinal change towards maintaining a zero case in the country.

Mrs Aglobitse was addressing a Media Sensitisation Workshop, organised, in Ho, by the UNFPA in collaboration with Hope For Future Generations (HFFG).

Attended by selected media practitioners in the Volta Region, the workshop was on the theme, “Skills on Humanitarian Emergencies and Ebola Prevention”.

She commended the media for its efforts at creating awareness on the disease but said, “It must not end there. It must go alongside the election messages.”

Mrs Aglobitse said though Ghana had not reported any case of Ebola, it was important that stakeholders and individuals remained prepared, should there be any case in the future.

She said it was in that light that the populace needed to take personal hygiene seriously, especially regular hand-washing and the cautious handling of dead bodies.

Mrs Aglobitse said churches and schools must be circumspect about overcrowding and the use of common utensils.

Ms Bridget Asiamah, A UNFPA Project Analyst, asked the media to help build the preparedness capacity of the State.

Mrs Cecilia Senoo, the Chief Executive Director, HFFG, said indications were that Ghanaians had probably forgotten about Ebola, its signs, symptoms and modes of infection and prevention.

She also tasked the media to revive the campaign.

Participants were taken through proper hand-washing procedures and Ebola prevention role plays.