‘Consider delaying reopening of basic, senior high schools’
Child Rights International, a child welfare non-governmental organisation (NGO), has called on the government to consider delaying the reopening of basic and senior high schools in the country.
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It said this should be done until the ministry was satisfied that there was enough information and precautionary and alert methods of handling everything related to the Ebola disease in schools .
A statement signed and issued by its Executive Director, Mr Bright Appiah, on behalf of the organisation, further advised the Ghana Education Service (GES) to, as a matter of urgency, provide intensive education on the disease for teachers, so that they could also educate their students on such issues bordering on hygiene and sanitary practices.
“We believe that children would be most affected in case we record the disease in the country. We are of the firm view that the government, among other steps being taken to equip institutions with knowledge, skills and equipment, must also go further to seek maximum protection for children in these times,” the statement read.
Precautionary measures
As part of the precautionary measures, the organisation called on the government to ban public events that had the potential of bringing children together, indicating that in the event that such ceremonies were held, the organisers must be tasked to educate participants on the disease, modes of transmission and prevention and also ensure that the safety of children was guaranteed.
Additionally, it stated that playing grounds and other centres patronised by children must be regulated by the state, with parents reducing patronage if they were not convinced of the safety of their wards.
“Children hospitals, as a matter of urgency, must be equipped to deal with such issues if need be,” it said.
It also appealed to the government, NGOs and corporate institutions to provide funding and other technical assistance to step up public education on the disease.
The statement indicated that the disease, currently reported in Guinea, Liberia, Serra Leone and Nigeria, had alerted the world and efforts were being made to contain the spread of the virus, but despite these efforts, there was still the need to take adequate precautionary measures to control the disease, since there was no cure for it now.
