The Christian Council of Ghana has debunked claims that the Ebola viral disease is a punishment from God.
According to the council, Ebola is a disease that can be treated andshould be treated as such.
The council announced the commencement of a sensitisation programme to educate the public on it.
Support to the council
A press release signed by the General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, called on the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to support the council and other religious organisations with the needed resources to draw attention to the disease.
“To be able to fight the epidemic successfully, the council is of the view that the disease must be demystified,” the statement said.
The council said that the disease can be stopped from spreading in the West African sub-region if the various health ministers within the region map out strategies to strengthen surveillance and treatment of patients.
“We also call on the government to quickly train and equip community health workers in each region to be able to detect the Ebola virus for early treatment,” the statement said.’
Treatment of Ebola
The council also appealed to the Ministry of Health to immediately set up treatment centres in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale to cater for infected persons, adding that “it must quickly commit enough resources to a special fund to develop what it takes to fight the Ebola virus”.
“The council, however, commends the Ministry of Health for activating a screening system for all passengers, especially from countries that have recorded cases, and for setting up the inter-ministerial team to fight the disease in case it spreads to Ghana”.
The council urged Ghanaians to quickly seek medical attention when they begin to detect symptoms of the disease.