Dr. Vida Nyagre Yakong, Senior Lecturer, UDS and Member of the NDC’s COVID-19 Technical Team has appalled to Government to institute urgent measures to ensure the safety of Head Porters normally called “Kayayei” and “Paa O Pa” in other not to spread COVID-19 Pandemic upon return to their hometowns.
To her, these are the people that need special attention during this period of rapid spread of COVID-19 Pandemic.
In a statement copied to Peacefmonline.com, Dr. Vida Nyagre Yakong stated that: “The GHA is concerned that without any medical screening whatsoever, these returning Kayayie and Paa o paa workers have the greatest potential of carrying the Coronavirus to their rural hometowns in the Northern and Upper Regions of Ghana.”
“In this regard, GHA calls on the government to ensure that all are properly screened in their originating locations and quarantined at their destination locations for the required 14 days and retested before they are cleared to join their helpless families and communities,” she said.
Read full statement below;
Head porters popularly known as “Kayayo/Kayayei” and “Paa O Pa” are mostly young girls and men who often migrate from deprived communities to the bigger cities to perform menial jobs for a living. The majority of them come from the northern part of Ghana. Whilst in the bigger cities, mostly Accra and Kumasi seeking for their so-call greener pastures they face a mirage of challenges ranging from lack of access to accommodation, water and sanitation to food. Most of these people live on the streets and are exposed to all manners of abuses and diseases. They are by all standards, a category of the vulnerable groups in the country that need special attention during this period of rapid spread of COVID-19.
His Excellency the President announced yesterday that Accra, Kumasi and other cities will be lockdown in a bid to contain the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic
Following this announcement, all lorry parks in Kumasi, Accra and Obuasi have seen many residents of these cities travelling to their home towns to avoid the effect of the Virus. The GHA notes that no screening is made of such travellers returning to their home towns. Of biggest concern to the GHA is the return of the many young head porters or Kayayie and young men engaged in Street Hawking and “Paa O Pa” and other menial jobs in these cities.
The GHA is concerned that without any medical screening whatsoever, these returning Kayayie and Paa o paa workers have the greatest potential of carrying the Coronavirus to their rural hometowns in the Northern and Upper Regions of Ghana.
In this regard, GHA calls on the government to ensure that all are properly screened in their originating locations and quarantined at their destination locations for the required 14 days and retested before they are cleared to join their helpless families and communities.
The GHA calls on the government to take the following measures
1. Screen all persons including the Kayayie and Pao o Pa young men
2. After a thorough medical screening the government must transport them in the State Transport and Metro Mass buses to their destinations.
3. The Municipal Assemblies must put up Emergency Medical Teams to receive the Returning persons from Accra and Kumasi etc.
4. The Regional NaDMO should prepare school classrooms to receive and keep the returnees
5. The NaDMO must supply them with Blankets, Sanitary Pads Cleaning and other life keeping materials
6. The District Medical Director should set up District Medical Team to monitor the health of the Returnees, especially the children.
7. The Social Welfare should begin to design Retention Programmes in Vocational and Technical Skills for training post coronavirus pandemic.
This is the time for the government to care for the poor and vulnerables. Let's treat them as human beings deserving of quality of life and not as mere objects of elections.
GHA remains optimistic that government would respond to the call to support these people and save innocent lives.
(Ghana Health Alert is a Civil Society Organization made up of Medical and Public Health Consultants, Senior Health Personnel, Academics and Researchers with the goal of advocating for improved health and educating Ghanaians on the importance of public health)
Sign
………………
Dr. Vida Nyagre Yakong (Senior Lecturer, UDS)
Executive Secretary, GHA & Member of the NDC’s COVID-19 TECHNICAL TEAM)
0506750315
Source: peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Sometimes I just don't get it. Must government do everything.Cant u people also do something about it..mmttcchheewwww
What is the difference between this grouo and a pressure group? There is a problem and you claim thar you will help fight the problem. Yet you rather create more problems than solving the problem at hand! What do you nean by institute measures...? This is the same aa saying we should the affected people. Let us get serious!
All the above comments made are showing political inclinations. Frankly if we stop the politics in fighting the disease we shall overcome it sooner than expected. But one party will do a thing with elections in his mind. Npp is still thinking about new registration of voters ,still trying to get people get Ghana cards for the next election in the mist of fighting corona virus. Ndc won't attend parliamentmeetings,wouldn't support or disagree with certain directives etc. How then can we fight together against this disease to drive it far away from us? I suggest the government contact the Chinese government for medical people help us as other countries are now doing.Get the Cuban doctors on board to help
Madam lecturer, are kayayei not Ghanaians? Does the measures being taken by the government exclude kayayei. This is a needless statement. Is this your rapid response? Pls come again
when the damage has already been bone why now coming out with prescriptions even a class one pupil knows? when the debate was ragging we never heard of you.
Ndc ***barred word*** people. Doing politics at this tine. Shame
Mahama and his people with empty head Koraaaa why? In this critical times, they are trying extremely hard to do Politics amid fears of Corona spreading. Each well meaning citizen of this Nation is doing their part and donations with public education. You are here talking Rubbish. And this male face woman is a Lecturer? Wow. We have one Ghana, One Government and Good Citizens. This period is quite a wrong time for desperate NDC. Kofi