The chiefs of Hohoe in the Volta Region have for the first time broken their silence on the Ebola vaccine trial in the area after it was aborted following fears resistance against the exercise.
The chiefs and people of Hohoe say their decision to allow the impending Ebola Vaccine trial to be conducted in the area is to save humanity.
According to them, they were initially worried due to the uncertain nature of the disease but recent public education by stakeholders and previous achievements of the center has restored confidence in the Research Centre.
[contextly_sidebar id=”V6mH8vNONMxE2YdX7fQ2wGDmv965D04H”]The Research Centre they said was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1986 and has since made giant strides in conducting an array of clinical trials.
The Paramount Chief of Gbi traditional area Togbe Gabusu said “I have never doubted this because when they [Researchers] came, they called all the traditional heads. They met us, talked to us and we were satisfied before the hullabaloo came. We have a Research Centre in town here, it has been here for many years…and they have been working. So why this? ”
He said as one of the international names in clinical trials, the Hohoe traditional area would continue to support the WHO and other key stakeholders to eliminate such diseases that plague humanity.
This was revealed at a training workshop organized in Hohoe by the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) for journalists in the region.
In their new initiative dubbed the AMMREN-Plus, the workshop sought to among other things, train journalists to effectively and accurately report on diseases such as Ebola and other non-communicable diseases.
Speaking at the forum the lead scientist and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Prof Fred Binka insisted the trial is safe adding that the vaccination was basically to introduce a non-replicable “image” of the virus to the body so that the body systems can develop enough arsenal to fight the real disease.
Some of the residents who spoke to Citi News said the forum was an eye-opener and that they have whole heartedly accepted that the trial be done in Hohoe as part of their contributions to save human race.
“Presently the explanations given here, questions and answers, have actually cleared our minds and the nation must be ready, society must be ready to accept that there is nothing evil about it.”
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By: King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana