<<Print>>

The Chief of Staff, Mr Prosper Bani, has asked church leaders in the country to support the government�s efforts by using the pulpit to educate their members on how to prevent Ebola from entering the country. �You are the ones the people trust, and that is why it is very important to partner with you to drum home the message,� he said. Mr Bani made the call at meeting with the clergy organised by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Ebola in Accra. He noted that the church played a significant role in shaping the mindset of the citizenry. Involving the clergy He said the government would involve the clergy in developing specific messages based on hope and faith that would manage the psychosocial expectations associated with the Ebola viral disease (EVD) The Chief of Staff said that the disease had stigmatised the three most affected countries to the extent that some airlines had suspended their flights to those countries, thereby making it very difficult to travel to those areas. �It is sad to mention that due to Ebola some of our beautiful cultural activities like shaking hands and embracing each other during church services and other gatherings may have to be to be curtailed. Stricter personal hygiene practices like washing hands and using hand sanitisers to prevent and reduce the spread of Ebola should be adopted,� he said. He said the government was aware that it was a normal practice during the period leading to Christmas for churches and other religious organisations to hold international meetings and other activities, but inasmuch as the government was not against the holding of such meetings, the safety and security of all Ghanaians should be taken into consideration. Mr Bani appealed to the leadership of the various religious organisations and the general public to abide by the government�s directive of restricting the holding of international meetings which had been extended to December 31, 2014. Support The leaders of the various churches expressed satisfaction to the presidency for involving them in the fight against the EVD. They recognised the leadership role Ghana had played in the sub-region as the logistical base of the United Nations Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), and the central role taken by ECOWAS and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) to coordinate the sub-region�s support to the three affected countries. They, however, expressed dissatisfaction at not being involved in the initial planning process and expressed the hope that from now, they would be provided the opportunity to be part of efforts to prevent Ebola from Ghana. They reassured the government that they would continue to promote preventive health measures such as no handshaking, provision of hand sanitisers at vantage points, and revised communion practices to help fight EVD.