How we communicate about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) is critical in supporting people to take effective action to help combat the disease, and to avoid fuelling fear and stigma. An environment needs to be created in which the disease and its impact can be discussed and addressed openly, honestly, and effectively.
In Ghana, many patients who have recovered from the COVID-19 are facing stigmatisation and discrimination. Stigmatisation is said to create another public health problem for the recovered Covid-19 patients.
There is, therefore, the need to educate the masses on massive behaviourial change towards the recovered patients. Post stigmatisation and discrimination is, indeed, worse than the sordid experience the patients went through during the period of suffering from the disease.
The Chronicle received the news of two members of Ghana’s Parliament and 13 staff having tested positive for the COVID-19 with some trepidation, however, on second thoughts we saw in this bad news some glimmer of hope in the fight against the stigma associated with the novel pandemic.
The mere fact that a Member of Parliament comes out to publicly announce that he or she has tested positive for the Covid-19 will go a long way to disabuse the minds of people out there about the horror and stigma attached to it.
For instance, a BBC report stated that Zambia’s Information Minister, Dora Siliya, has publicly shared her Covid-19 test results. She told BBC’s Newsday programme that she was afraid the stigma would impede the fight against the virus like it did for HIV in Zambia, hence, she put her status out there to help fight against the stigma.
The Chronicle is indeed appalled by the way Parliament rubbished the report of Starrfm. The Minority Chief Whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, a member of the leadership of the legislative house, later corroborated Starrfm’s reportage by revealing that, indeed, two parliamentarians and 13 staff had so far tested positive for the Covid-19.
Much as it will be unethical to mention the names of affected Members of Parliament and the staff due to doctor-patient confidentiality, we also believe that it will help if they leverage their status in society to try to normalise what is otherwise not a normal situation. In times of a pandemic, privacy concerns must be balanced with efforts to protect the general populace.
At a time when politicians are sending mixed messages on hand washing and social distancing to help in the prevention of the spread of the Covid-19, any public figure, be it a politician or celebrity, can help encourage people to follow the protocols and take the disease seriously, when they share their diagnosis, and the fact that they’re abiding by such recommendations.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Health Minister, Nadine Dorries, made public their positive status. The Health Minister, for instance, sent regular updates on social media about how she was self isolating herself and observing the safety protocols
Italy’s Deputy Health Minister, Pierpaolo Sileri; Italian Vice-Minister ror Education, Anna Ascani; Iran’s Speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani, and Iran’s Deputy Health Minister, Iraj Harirchi, all tested positive for the novel Coronavirus and were bold to put it out there.
The Chronicle holds the view that when respected top personalities in all spheres of life share that they have tested positive for the disease, it helps combat the notion that having the COVID-19 is something to be ashamed of.
The post Editorial: COVID-19; The 2 MPs and the fight against stigmatisation appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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