Tamale-Ghana, July 03, GNA – Key stakeholders in the Northern Region have attended a day’s sensitisation on Risk Communication and Community Engagement to discuss preparedness against public health emergencies.
It was organised by the Health Promotion Department of the Northern Regional Health Directorate in collaboration with FHI360 under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Ghana Accelerating Social and Behaviour Change (ASBC) Activity.
Topics treated included Risk Communication and Community Engagement during Public Health Emergency, Preparation and Response, Rumour, and Misinformation Management, amongst others.
Dr Hilarious Abiwu, Deputy Director of Health in-charge of Public Health, Northern Region, speaking during the sensitisation in Tamale, said “It is essentially to build some rapport and sensitise all the stakeholders so that in the event that we have an outbreak of a major disease, we will be able to work together adequately.”
Dr Abiwu said, “We are looking at what we need to do to be prepared for a major public health emergency. We need to get everybody informed that all of us need to work together when there is a public health emergency.
“We need to have a clear plan, especially now that we do not have any major public health emergency. In case there is an outbreak, how do we respond? What do we need in terms of money, human resources, technical know-how and logistics or material resources to adequately respond when the need arises?
He added that “Again, you know everything you need to do in your head but because you have not practised for a very long time, when the disaster strikes, you will be thinking, what do I do. So, there is the need also to do training and simulation exercises.”
He expressed need for all the key stakeholders to be working together, put in structures, and “The need to train our people and be doing simulation exercises to prepare for these emergencies, and the idea that we need to look for resources so that in the event of any emergency, we will be able to quickly move in.”
He said after the regional level engagement, “The expectation is that we do similar engagement at the district levels where all the necessary departments will be involved where they will also move down to engage the communities as well to help safeguard the people as far as public health emergencies are concerned.”
Madam Rahinatu Yakubu, Health Promotion Manager at the Northern Regional Health Directorate, spoke about effects of rumours on health care delivery, and said measures had been instituted to detect and curb rumours in health promotion activities and health care delivery to ensure quality health care for the people.
