Media urged to collaborate with NGOs to prevent Ebola

An orientation on Ebola and cholera has been organised for the media with a call to actively collaborate with non-governmental organisations to help educate the people on disease prevention.

The Hope for Future Generation (HFFG), a non-governmental organisation, and facilitator of the programme, made the call as it embarked on a six- month awareness creation project on Ebola and cholera.

The project is supported by the Department for International Development and being implemented in the Greater Accra, Volta and Western regions.

Ms Jackqueline Daku Mante, Project Co-ordinator of HFFG, said the media was a leading body in ensuring that the right messages were communicated towards the prevention of the disease, hence the orientation to reduce the fear and panic about Ebola.

She said the project was aimed at making at least 70 per cent “at risk groups” in Ghana knowledgeable on the modes of transmission, signs and symptoms of Ebola and cholera and ways of prevention.

She said currently Ghana and other West African countries were confronted with the Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Ms Mante said Ghana has so far recorded over 20 suspected cases of the Ebola disease, all of which proved negative upon testing by the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research.

According to experts, symptoms of the disease start two to 21 days or three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headaches.

New figures that had emerged from a study conducted by the World Health Organisation suggest that 70 per cent of individuals infected by Ebola in the sub- region have died, a rate higher than previously reported.

According to the study, Ebola infections were likely to increase to 20,000 by November, 2014, if efforts to tackle the outbreak were not stepped up.

Dr J.B. Eleezah, Public Health Specialist of the Ghana Health Service, asked Ghanaians to stop making fanfare about dead bodies since the Ebola is transmitted through body contacts.

He urged the media to reduce the discussions on politics and let the dissemination of information on Ebola and cholera engage much of their time in an effort to sensitise the people.