HAS COVID-19 EXPOSED OUR FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE COUNTRY?

The deadly COVID-19 has been on the desk on many discussion platforms in almost all countries in the world since its breakout in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. With the World Health Organization recording 2,245872 confirmed cases, and 152707 deaths across 213 countries, areas, or territories as of April 19, 2020, the virus can be termed a no-friend in a country.

Countries, Health organizations, and Institutions have shown their muscles in finding a cure or vaccine that could stop the spread of this pandemic but it seems all efforts have proven futile.


Considering the cases in Ghana, the country recorded its first two cases of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020, on two individuals from Norway and Turkey. The country as of April 19, 2020, has recorded 834 confirmed cases, 99 recoveries, and 9 deaths across the country in just 1 month and 1 week since the arrival of the pandemic in the country.


Currently with the fact that the virus does not have a cure or vaccine to battle it, every individual and country at large can never boast of success over the pandemic but rather can prevent the spread when abiding by the directives major institutions have laid down. Ghana as a nation is in a very chaotic state since there are fundamental problems that exist in the country but due to negligence and ignorance of our Head of State, they could never find a way around it.


HEALTH ISSUES (Isolation Centers & Research and Testing Institutions)


In relation to catering to individuals who contact with the virus, it is highly expected for them to be quarantined in centers that can help the medical doctors look after them and carry out various testing of individuals who show signs of the pandemic. Now it has been a public agenda about how many health institutions currently in the country can be used as centers of isolation and testing.


The country currently cannot boast of 15 well-equipped hospitals that could be used as isolation centers for patients of COVID-19 or testing centers. As of now, the well-equipped Ridge Hospital and Tema General Hospital have been dedicated as coronavirus centers by the ministry. Inadequate health facilities in the country have been a major issue in the country since young children, pregnant women, and sick individuals always do not get the immediate treatment they need in times of illness. As a country, we’ve had times where pregnant women die on their way to delivery at situated hospital that is far away from their vicinity, patients slept on floors because of a lack of hospital beds at the centers. (To mention a few).


As a country boasting of gaining independence back in 1957, in times of unusual situations like this, we beg for Senior High School institutions to be used as centers because of our negligence. (WHAT COULD BE THE REASONABLE REASON TO REJECT HEALTH FACILITIES BEING PUT UP BY PREVIOUS GOVERNMENTS WHEN THERE IS A NEW ONE?) As a country hoping for the best for our country, we need to desist from the act of abandoning projects that previous governments initiated.


TOOTHLESS LOCAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS


This has been on the minds of many citizens in the country, the issue that the local government officials or stakeholders (Assemblymen, DCEs, and some MPs) can’t be seen functioning in various locals but can only be seen when elections are approaching. (NOBODY SEEM OPTIMISTIC TO KNOW THE REASON). It is very baffling to see local stakeholders not taking up their achieved status seriously enough to develop the locals, it proves stasis.


In times of this pandemic period, where citizens have been asked to vacate their various working stations and the roads (hawkers) and stay home in relation to the measures to prevent the spread of the virus, this period proves the best time where we need our local stakeholders the most but we still hear wailing about these stakeholders not making themselves available to the people. In our quest to fight the virus by creating awareness among both illiterate and literate individuals in our social world, nothing could be used to speed up the awareness apart from using our local officials as front liners but here lies the case of absolute dormancy among some of our elected officials.


This has resulted in community members fighting against government directives and opposing commands that the President gives.


A good example is when residents in the Central Region gang up against the idea of using some institutions such as Winneba Secondary School, St. Augustine College, and Aggrey Memorial Zion Secondary School as isolation centers in the region.


The people have realized that despite the fact that it’s a bad idea to gang up against that idea, they could only articulate their views to the top through demonstrations and picketing.


Some citizens even feel that this pandemic is a blessing in disguise at this period as it has revealed our measure on the development ladder.


TO MENTION FEW……………………..

#THISISMYOBSERVATION

Location: Ghana

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