• About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV
Friday, August 12, 2022
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Citinewsroom - Comprehensive News in Ghana
No Result
View All Result

COVID-19 not death sentence, don’t stigmatize – Mental Health Authority

Daniel Abugre AnyorigyabyDaniel Abugre Anyorigya
April 24, 2020
Reading Time: 3 mins read
ShareShareShareShare

The Mental Health Authority has urged the public to desist from stigmatizing COVID-19 affected persons and health workers.

This call comes in relation to recent stories shared by COVID-19 survivors, patients and health workers over various acts of discrimination meted out to them by sections of the public.

The authority, therefore, called on the public to “respect coronavirus but do not panic. COVID-19 is not a death sentence. Do not stigmatise and build your resilience to withstand all stigma.”

President Nana Akufo-Addo in his seventh address Sunday, April 19, 2020, cautioned citizens against stigmatizing persons who had contracted the disease as it will rather drive people away from getting screened, tested and treated.

The Chief Executive Officer of Mental Health Authority Dr Akwasi Osei in a statement said: “The stigma puts affected persons under stress and this can worsen their plight and make it difficult to improve from the COVID-19 and if they improve, can deter them from taking an active part in enjoying their lives, from engaging in their daily business, and can worsen any underlying medical or mental health condition.”

Also, the authority encouraged people affected by the COVID-19 to “watch against self-stigma, increase resilience to ignore the public stigma.”

COVID-19 cases in Ghana

Ghana has a total of 1,279 confirmed cases, 10 deaths, 134 recoveries, and 1m135 active cases as at 22nd April 2020.

Below is the full press release

Message from the Mental Health Authority

Let Us Avoid Stigma of Covid-19

It is now certain that for the next couple of weeks and perhaps months, Covid-19 is the new visitor we have got to live with, like it or not. Since 12 March 2020 when the first two cases were recorded in Ghana, the Minister for Information has announced that as of 22 April 2020 we now have 1,154 cases with 120 recovered and nine deaths. The number of cases is expected to increase as the test results of the backlog of samples taken trickle in and enhanced contact tracings and testing are done.

As our containment measures are reaping fruits with very low mortality rate of 0.78% compared with the world trend of 4% the concern, however, is the stigma associated with persons with Covid-19. A survivor gave his story that after his recovery, he and his family know no peace because of stigma. A health worker has also reported that a landlady of a colleague she visited in uniform threatened to evict her for ‘you nurses go to hospital and bring the Covid disease to us’. A taxi driver refused to take her in her uniform.

Stigma is when one is tagged for shame and discrimination for having a condition. Stigma arises out of fear, the fear is from ignorance and the ignorance leads to our avoidant behavior and attitude of rejection. When you stigmatise, you are telling us that you do not have enough information about the condition. Seek knowledge.

Stigma has three forms: the public stigma which you receive from the public because you have the condition; self-stigma which you associate with yourself because you have it; and association or courtesy stigma which others close to you receive because of your condition. Stigma puts affected persons under stress and this can worsen their plight and make it difficult to improve from the Covid-19 and if they improve, can deter them from taking active part in enjoying their lives, from engaging in their daily business, and can worsen any underlying medical or mental health condition. We need to stop stigmatising people. Stigma can prevent people from seeking help knowing that they will be stigmatised. Then they will harbour the condition, suffer the consequence in silence and spread it to others. This will defeat our efforts to combat this enemy, the coronavirus. Let us stop the stigma for tomorrow it could be you.

While urging all to stop public stigma, people affected should also watch against self-stigma, increase your resilience to ignore the public stigma and tell yourself that you have been blessed to have survived and no amount of stigma from the public can discourage you from enjoying your health and freedom from the virus.

Keep observing the personal hygiene principles of handwashing, hand sanitization and social distancing. Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing, eat healthily, stay at home as much as possible and wear your face-mask when going out. Respect coronavirus but do not panic – Covid-19 is not a death sentence. Do not stigmatise and build your resilience to withstand all stigma.

Dr. Akwasi Osei,

Chief Executive, Mental Health Authority

ShareTweetSendSend
Previous Post

Polytank supports Ghana’s COVID-19 fight with water tanks

Next Post

Fortnite’s Travis Scott virtual concert watched by millions

Related Posts

Top Stories

Marburg virus: One more person dies; 40 quarantined in Savannah Region

July 25, 2022
Top Stories

Ghana records two suspected cases of Marburg virus disease

July 7, 2022
suicide
General

Divorce, breakups among leading causes of suicide in Ghana

July 7, 2022
COVID-19
News

GHS worried over rise in COVID-19 infection among children in Accra

June 23, 2022
General

ICGC’s Life Walk supports Mental Health Authority with GHS 200,000

March 28, 2022
General

WHO donates medical equipment to Ghana Health Service

February 25, 2022
Next Post

Fortnite's Travis Scott virtual concert watched by millions

TOP STORIES

Ghana Gas to construct 259km pipeline from Aboadze to Tema

August 12, 2022

Chiefs commend Akufo-Addo for appointing Kwabre East MP as Deputy Gender Minister

August 12, 2022

Upper West Regional Minister appeals to Passion Air to resume Wa-Kumasi flight

August 12, 2022
Load More
ADVERTISEMENT
Citinewsroom – Comprehensive News in Ghana

CitiNewsroom.com is Ghana's leading news website that delivers high quality innovative, alternative news that challenges the status quo.

Archives

Download App

Download

Download

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Photo Gallery
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Citi TV

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Showbiz
  • Coronavirus
  • Infographics
  • Livestream
  • Videos

© 2021 All Rights Reserved Citi Newsroom.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT