Nakolo community supports health centre with items to fight coronavirus

The people of Nakolo, a community in the Kasena-Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, have donated assorted essential medical equipment and materials to the Nakolo Health centre to support its efforts at combating the Coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic.

The items, worth Ghc3,000 included ‘Veronica Buckets’, Gallons of liquid soap, Gallons of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, Boxes of surgical and examination gloves, Brooms, Mops, nose masks and tissue paper.

The people also presented a packet of roofing sheets to the health centre to support it repair some leakages in the roof of the structure which torments and affects their smooth operation in rainy seasons.

The donation, which was made possible by contributions from the people of the community both home and way, was handed to the district health authority on Thursday at the premises of the facility.

Part of the donation will be given to the clinics in the Kuliya and Boania communities, which are suburbs of Nakolo.

The idea to procure the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) was birth by leadership of the Nakolo Students Union (NASU) who felt the need to support health workers in the area considering the nearness of Nakolo to neighbouring Burkina Faso and the associated risks in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease.

Leader and financial secretary of the project, Charles Wese Kufiah, making the presentation on behalf of the people said it was the responsibility of Nakolo to support health workers in the community to effectively discharge their duties without fear of the viral disease.

He said though the contribution would not be enough, it was the hope of the people that it would help address some challenges as authorities work to add more support.

“Nakolo is a community which shares the border with our neighbours Burkina Faso, who are worse hit by the Coronavirus. So, if our health workers must work without fear, then we have a responsibility to help them. In that direction, we (people of Nakolo) have come together to contribute something small to purchase some items to support the facility and our health workers”.

Mr. Kufiah urged the people to adhere strictly to guidelines given by health professionals and the President, observe good hygiene and obey the social distancing protocol to prevent the spread of the disease.

He thanked the indigenes for the tremendous support to the cause and passionately called on other well-meaning indigenes of the community to inculcate the spirit of togetherness and to at all times support meaningful projects for the betterment and development of the area.

For his part, the Kasena-Nankana West district director of health service, Hypolite Yeleduor who received the items, thanked the community for prioritizing the wellbeing of health workers by providing some items to safeguard them against the infectious disease.

He said the gesture was a commendable one worthy of emulation by other communities.

He assured that the donation would be put to judicious use to help prevent the spread of the disease to the area and take care of the people.

Mr. Yeleduor used the opportunity to remind and urge the staff of the facility to be professional in their line of duty and continuously play their frontline roles and not abandon suspected cases of the Coronavirus.

“I will urge my colleague health staff to make very good use of them (the items). You are the captains of the ship. You are the last persons who are expected to leave the ship when it is sinking. When everybody is running away from COVID 19, you should be at the forefront”. He reminded his staff.

The Medical Assistant in charge of the Nakolo facility, Nubanoe Padmore in appreciation said the items such as the hand sanitizers, nose masks and gloves would give protection to the staff as they go about their duties.

Speaking to Senyalah Castro, he said “as you can see, some of our staff are not wearing nose masks and other protective equipment. So, this donation would go a long way to help give protection to us”.

He appealed for more support in the form of protective equipment and the renovation of the facility which has not received proper facelift since establishment in 1986.