Features
Stop toying with the lives of our babies and infants!
Historically, Ghana has had the full range of childhood diseases that are endemic to a sub-Saharan country. There are six target diseases of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). These are measles, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, and tuberculosis. In recent times, hepatitis B and pneumonia have been added to the list of childhood killer diseases in Ghana.
And as the medical experts will put it, pneumonia is the leading infectious cause of death among children under five years old, killing approximately 700,000 children a year in many parts of the world. A child dies from pneumonia every minute, even though the disease is entirely preventable and can be managed early with antibiotics.
ROUTINE VACCINES
From eight weeks of age, your child needs to be offered routine vaccines to protect him or her against the most common infectious diseases, such as polio, whooping cough, measles, tetanus, and hepatitis B, among others. Other vaccines, which include BCG, are offered to babies who are considered to be at high risk of catching certain diseases. This will protect them against tuberculosis, the flu, and hepatitis B.
For my readers and other patrons who may not be familiar with the six childhood killer diseases, their causes, and symptoms, I will like to take them down memory lane with some of these diseases from the research I have conducted as a journalist to show them how deadly they can be to children and infants so that when people are toying with their lives, they can easily speak out.
MEASLES
Measles is a highly infectious disease and spreads when someone with the disease sneezes or coughs. It starts like a bad cold, with a rash appearing after three days. The disease can lead to ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, and convulsions (seizures or fits). In rare cases, the disease can cause inflammation of the brain. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection of the chest and throat. It spreads when someone with the disease sneezes or coughs. The symptoms include a thick, white coating on the throat and breathing difficulties. A severe case can cause damage to the heart and nervous system or even be fatal.
TETANUS
Tetanus, sometimes called lockjaw tetanus, can cause painful muscle spasms and stiffness. The disease can be fatal if not treated. The bacteria that causes tetanus is found in soil and animal manure and can enter the body through a cut, wound, or burn. Tetanus can also get into the body through animal bites, body piercings, and tattoos. Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease. It spread through coughing and sneezing. It starts like a cold, but the coughing spasms with a distinctive “whoop” become severe. Babies and young children are most at risk of developing complications such as pneumonia, vomiting, dehydration, weight loss, and, rarely, brain damage and subsequent death.
POLIOMYELITIS
Although the majority of people who catch polio are able to fight it off without noticing any symptoms, more serious complications can happen. In about one per cent of cases, the virus attacks the nerve tissue in the brain and the spinal cord, which can cause temporary and sometimes permanent paralysis. Hepatitis B is an infection of the liver caused by hepatitis viruses that can lead to serious liver disease in later life. It can be caught from infected blood and passed from mother to baby at birth. People can carry the virus in their blood without being aware of it.
MENINGITIS
Meningococcal bacteria are the cause of meningitis and blood poisoning (septicaemia). The bacteria have several strains, and this vaccination is against most B strains. Meningitis is a serious illness that can cause long-term damage to the brain and nervous system and even be fatal. Flu is another disease cause by infectious virus and can be treated with antibiotics. Children are more likely to have the flu during the winter season. The symptoms are similar to a cold but also include a fever, aching muscles and joints, a dry cough, a runny nose, diarrhea, and vomiting.
SIDE EFFECTS OF VACCINES
All medicines, including immunisation, can cause some mild side effects, even the safest ones. It may help to know what to expect, just in case your child does experience side effects.
The issue that has brought about this piece of education was the recent report in the Daily Graphic over the widespread shortage of vaccines used for the routine immunisation of babies from birth to 18 months, including those for polio, hepatitis B, measles, and tuberculosis.
REASONS FOR SHORTAGE
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) attributed the shortage to the depreciation of the cedi vis-à-vis the importation of vaccines abroad and assured the general public that efforts were underway to resolve the problem within weeks. However, the Pediatric Society of Ghana (PSG) has warned that the childhood diseases could quickly spread if the vaccines are not made available in good time.
It is worthy of note that for about six months now, nursing mothers have been complaining of the shortage of vaccines meant for babies from birth to at least 18 months. The situation became worse in February this year after major health facilities in 10 out of the 16 administrative regions of Ghana, kept turning nursing mothers away due to the erratic supply of vaccines. Hear one of these nursing mothers speak to the Voice of America (VOA) in an interview: “My baby girl missed one of the key vaccines last month, and the situation has not changed after combing three health centers on Monday. It has been frustrating moving from one hospital to another”.
UNICEF’S OBSERVATION
According to the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), timely vaccination of children has been proven as a method for saving lives from vaccine-preventable diseases. It can also help attain some targets, like UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all. It noted that the UNICEF Ghana office had seen a significant fall in deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. For example, since 2003, there have been no deaths caused by measles, while in 2011, Ghana was certified as having attained elimination status for maternal and neonatal tetanus.
PAEDIATRIC SOCIETY OF GHANA
Meanwhile, Dr. Agyeiwaa Bomedie, a member of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, has urged the government to act now in order not to erode the gains made so far. “It’s the first time I am hearing of such widespread shortages. We do have shortages from time to time; however, those are in very limited circumstances. The problem this time is that it has gone on for several months. This should actually be a thing of the past. The government should be encouraged to do what we call ring-fenced funding so that budgetary allocations for vaccines are actually protected no matter what other dire or pressing needs the country has; the children should be secured in that light,” she pointed out.
Health Minister Before Parliament
Realizing the seriousness of the shortage of these childhood vaccines and how it is affecting babies and infants, who are the most vulnerable in the country, Parliament recently summoned the Health Minister, Kwaku Manu-Agyeman, to appear before the House to answer questions concerning the shortage and how best his ministry and, for that matter, the government are doing to remedy the situation. In his reaction, the minister allayed the fears of Ghanaians and promised that the vaccines would start arriving in a few weeks, stressing that “no child has died yet as a result of the shortage.” Indeed, the country has received a first shipment of the vaccines, which we are told are being distributed throughout the country.
POOR SHOW BY GOVERNMENT
Honestly, the government has not done well with the handling of this shortage of childhood vaccines in the country. How can we sit down and allow the vaccines to finish completely before taking steps to tackle the situation? We were told that the country has been in debt to its suppliers since 2022, and we should have settled this debt in order to plan ahead.
It was time our leaders placed the interests of the people above their personal interests and stopped investing money in winning elections because it was the people who put them in positions of trust. We are interested in spending money to issue voter’s and national identity cards, but we do not want to provide the needed funds to procure childhood vaccines. What kind of behaviour is this?
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
HYPERLINK “mailto:ataani2000@ yahoo.com”ataani2000@yahoo.com 0277753946/0248933366
By Chales Neequaye
Conflict at work is more common than you might think. According to 2022 research by The Myers-Briggs Company, more than a third of the workforce reports dealing with conflict often, very often, or all the time in the workplace.
Addressing a dispute might feel tense or awkward, but resolving the conflict is typically well worth it in the long run. Whether you are trying to mediate conflict between colleagues or are directly involved. Last week we looked at three and this week is the remaining four steps you can take to manage workplace conflict.
4. Find common ground
The best way to handle workplace conflict is to start with what you can agree on. Find common ground between the people engaging in conflict. If you are directly involved in the conflict, slow down and focus on results instead of who’s right.
If you are the mediator for conflict resolution between coworkers, observe the discussion and help point out the common ground others may not see.
5. Collectively brainstorm solutions
When deciding how to handle workplace conflict, it can be tempting to problem-solve on your own. Sometimes, it feels easier to work independently rather than collaboratively. However, if you want to achieve a lasting resolution, you will need to motivate your team to get involved.
Brainstorm possible solutions together, and solicit input from everyone involved on the pros and cons of each option until you settle on a solution that feels comfortable to everyone. This will help all team members feel a sense of ownership that can help prevent future conflicts.
6. Create an action plan
Once you have created an open dialogue around workplace conflicts, it is time to resolve them. Just like any other work goal, this requires creating a concrete plan and following through.
Create an action plan and then act on it. It does not matter what the plan is, as long as you commit to it and resolve the conflict as a result.
7. Reflect on what you learned
All conflicts offer an opportunity to grow and become a better communicator. Identify what went well and what did not.
Work with your whole team to gather learnings from the conflict so you can avoid similar situations in the future.
Today, I continue with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland, with a focus on Mr Joseph Osei Amoah.
Mr Amoah is one of the senior members of the Ghanaian community in Finland and a top member of the Ghana Union Finland, an association of the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
He is an active and a well-respected person in the Ghanaian community in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah moved to Finland in the mid-1990s, and he has lived in Helsinki all this time.
Accomplishments and honours
It is important to recount accomplishments as part of the success stories of the personalities of Ghanaian descent in Finland in order to highlight their exploits both within the Ghanaian migrant community and in the wider Finnish society.
Mr Amoah holds a Master’s degree in Demography from the University of Helsinki. At the time he came to Finland in 1994, he had majored in Economics at the Bachelor’s level at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Sometimes affectionately called “Chairman” in the Ghanaian migrant community, Mr Osei is a former Chairman of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) branch in Finland, assuming office around 2015, a few months after the branch was formed, until 2019 when he did not run again for the elections. He helped to bring vibrancy into the NPP Finland branch.
Religious life
Mr Amoah is a prominent member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland. In spite of his busy working life and other responsibilities, he remains a committed member of the Global Methodist Church in Finland.
He plays a key leadership role in the church, which is attended by many Ghanaian migrants and other African migrants, Finns, and those of other nationalities.
His position in Asanteman Finland
Mr Osei Amoah is an outstanding member of the Asanteman Finland, where he is the Gyasehene, a prominent position as a sub-chief in the Asante (and Akan) royal hierarchy, in the functioning of the traditional authority systemgenerally in Ghana.
The Asanteman Finland is an association formed purposely with the aim of supporting each other as well as to ensure unity among its members and others outside of the group.
One of its top priorities of Asanteman Finland is to display the Asante culture in Finland. Mr Osei Amoah finds this as very important since by upholding the traditional culture and heritage, the association enables its members and especially the young ones to get the chance to learn and appreciate Asante and Ghanaian cultural values. They do this through rites such as marriage, the naming ceremony, and death and funeral rites, which makes the people to learn more of their provenance and not forget their origins.
“My point is that, by displaying the traditional heritage it helps people to learn more about their provenance. For, I think it will be embarrassing to go home and see that even the young ones have much knowledge about how to perform certain rites whilst those of us in the diaspora may be deficient in understanding those practices”, he argued. It is also very important for the young ones who are born in Finland to learn what the culture of their original society is, he continued.
The Finnish educational system
Mr Osei has a lot to say about the Finnish educational system, which he sees as very good. “When we came to Finland, education was free. There were library books and manuscripts readily available in the library, and one could print or make as many photocopies as possible for your studies. There was more flexibility. One could read books and write exams on them for the necessary grades in order to complete your studies”. In his opinion, Ghana could learn much from the Finnish system, which is one of the best in the world.
He said the only initial challenge he found in Finland was how to master the Finnish language, without which it was difficult to get a job befitting one’s status after the studies. But things have changed today and there are many English courses so it is easy to study and get a job that matches your studies, especially in the area of ICT, he said.
His role in the Ghanaian community
Mr Osei Amoah has been very active in the Ghanaian community, as I have indicated earlier. He is still very active in the Ghana Union Finland, and has played a leadership in many functions organised by the Union, as a non-governmental organisation for the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland.
Mr Amoah has been a counsellor and mentor who has guided many young Ghanaian migrants on their career paths and has also been part in settling various kinds of conflicts between opposing parties or persons. In conclusion, I would say Mr Osei Amoah has succeeded in embossing his name in the golden pages of visionary Ghanaians in both Sweden and Finland.
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
