COVID-19 Private Sector Fund leads anti-stigmatisation campaign

The COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, with support from Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, NCCE, Ghana Psychological Association, Ghana Medical Association and Global Media Alliance has led an initiative to denounce stigma and discrimination against COVID-19 recovered persons, frontline workers and their family members through an awareness campaign dubbed, ‘Let Love Lead. End The Stigma.’

The ‘Let Love Lead, End The Stigma’ campaign seeks to change people’s mindset about COVID-19 and debunk myths and misconceptions about recovered persons and their family members. It also aims to reduce fear, communicate support for frontline workers and encourage everyone to play their role in the fight against stigmatization.

The campaign will take place in the form of radio and social media education, community outreach with traditional leaders, religious heads, market leaders, opinion leaders, heads of schools, as well testimonials from recovered persons. As part of the campaign, the Ghana Psychological Association (GPA) will also train stakeholders whose activities are critical in the fight against COVID-19.

A statement issued by the COVID-19 Private Sector Fund on the campaign said,

“We want to fight the virus on all angles. Working to reduce the stigma around COVID-19 has become very critical at this point. We risk losing all gains we have made as a country in fighting the virus if people do not accept recovered persons but rather discriminate against them.”

“We want to encourage all and sundry, from journalists, politicians, health workers, teachers, religious heads, traditional rulers, etc. to support this anti-stigma and discrimination campaign by preaching love for recovered patients,” the statement stated.

CEO of GNPC, Dr. K.K. Sarpong expressed the rationale behind the company’s sponsorship of the campaign;

“As an organisation, we have observed some of the ill-fated ways in which some recovered persons have been treated and we believe that our collaboration with the COVID-19 private sector fund will enable us to promote a peaceful co-existence through education and various interactions in this period of uncertainty.”

Ms. Josephine Nkrumah, Chairperson of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), major partner of the anti-stigma campaign, stated, “This campaign is very necessary to intensify education around COVID-19 issues and the need to accept recovered patients.

We want to emphasize the importance of building trust with recovered persons while combatting stigma and discrimination among the wider population.”

According to Dr. Wiafe-Akenten, Head, Social Psychology Division of the Ghana Psychological Association, partners of the campaign, “Some Ghanaians have responded to recovered COVID-19 persons and their family members in extreme ways. We want to let people know that stigma and discrimination are barriers to an effective response.”

“We must treat each other in a way that almost assumes that tomorrow we are going to need the support from those who have recovered. We must cut the hate and work together as a country to overcome this virus,” he added.

As part of their support to government in the fight against the spread of the virus, the COVID-19 Private Sector Fund served 144,000 meals to head porters (kayayei) and underprivileged persons during the lockdown, provided high-end tertiary care Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to the National COVID-19 Treatment Centre and is currently constructing a 100-bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Centre as well as a 21-bed intensive care unit and a biomedical laboratory at the Ga East Municipal Hospital.

The campaign which is an initiative of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund and sponsored by the Ghana Psychological Association, is also supported by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Ghana Psychological Association (GPA), Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Global Media Alliance.