It may appear the fight against the dreaded coronavirus pandemic cannot be won without the availability of some basic logistics and PPEs to institutions and individuals, which in fact, is the reality.
The level of education on the preventive measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID – 19 has gone wide across the world and around the country.
However, many institutions, communities and individuals have constraints in adhering to, and applying these safety measures to the latter, for some of them, not because they do not want to, but because they simply lack the basic resources it takes to make it happen.
<strong>HOSPITAL DONATION</strong>
WUZDA Ghana upon visits to various health facilities across the Tamale Metropolis, Sagnarigu and Savelugu Municipalities, realized a huge shortfall in the largely preached “Social distancing”, as a means to containing the spread of the virus.
The Out Patient Departments are mostly congested with including children, people sitting very close to each other for non-enough sitting space to allow for spacing while sitting, and many others.
It was by this worrying situation that WUZDA Ghana decided to intervene in the situation, one health facility at a time, to help reduce congestion and to identify some critical equipment that health facilities would need in dealing with cases of, or suspected to be COVID – 19.
It came out that the facilities even though have varied needs depending on the type and class of facility it is, all have needs for very basic equipment to help them take care of patients who show up at the OPD even with normal health conditions.
In this case, it would not take any great number of COVID – 19 cases to get the facilities overwhelmed in capacity.
In the interim, WUZDA Ghana identified one of the health facilities, the Tamale West Hospital, which is the most pressured at this COVID – 19 season apart from the Tamale Teaching Hospital, where we found out that their congestion at the OPD is more serious than the others, because of the numbers of general medical cases they have to attend to on a daily basis.
We decided to provide the hospital with a two-room canopy, plastic chairs and ‘Veronica” hand washing facilities and gallons of liquid soap, to help ease the congestion at the OPD and to allow for attendants to keep to the first basic safety protocol in these times, which is washing hands with soap under running water.
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200508_113524-480×360.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6513″ width=”480″ height=”360″> Tamale West Hospital; Two-room canopy erected in the background, with hand washing facilities being handed over to the hospital management by WUZDA GhanaWUZDA Ghana also presented some surgical gloves to the Tamale West Hospital, to help medical officers safely attend to patients without having to endanger themselves by touching patients with their bare hands, which raises their risk of getting infected if the patient has contracted COVID – 19.
<strong>PRISONS SCHOOL COMPLEX – A24Y</strong>
WUZDA Ghana has over the last one year been running a project in the Prisons School Complex titled the “After 24 Years Before Marriage – A24Y”. Under this project, 100 girls are being targeted together with either of each of their parents, totaling 100 as well.
Several girl child empowerment activities have been undertaken with the girls especially on matters around child marriage within the period.
The students have been declared Child Marriage Ambassadors after series of engagements with them on how they can spot a likely threatening issue of child marriage, as well as how and where to seek help if it involves them or someone they know.
The COVID – 19 Pandemic has undoubtedly dealt a blow to the education of these girls due to the closure of schools in Ghana by the government to help manage the spread of the disease.
As part of the organization’s activities to help limit the spread of COVID – 19, WUZDA Ghana presented various safety items to the girls to help them stay safe.
The items include nose masks, hand sanitizers and liquid soap. These are part of the basic safety items people need to be able to stay safe and protect themselves from contracting the virus.
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200507_105633-480×360.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6514″ width=”480″ height=”360″> Presentation of items by Hajia Rumainsha on behalf of WUZDA Ghana, to the Prisons School Complex, received by the HeadmistressThe girls were also reminded of the need to adhere to the safety etiquette being pushed by the government as a way to deal with the COVID – 19 spread.
<strong>TAMALE METROPOLITAN ASSEMBLY</strong>
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200511_114035-1-365×480.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6516″ width=”365″ height=”480″> Alhaji Saani Abdul-Razak, right, presenting the supportive preventive items on behalf of WUZDA Ghana to the Tamale Metro Assembly through the Coordinating DirectorThe Tamale Metropolitan Assembly is a close partner in the implementation of WUZDA Ghana’s Emergency activities on COVID – 19, to help in limiting the spread of the disease, which are being funded by Bread for the World and Mundo Cooperante.
From the discussion stage of the activities, the Assembly was roped in to help in crafting ideas on the key things that need to be done to help the people in the metropolis understand how serious the COVID – 19 disease is, as well as what they can do to help limit its spread.
WUZDA Ghana understands that the Assembly has a lot of responsibility to the people, but with huge constraints when it comes to the availability of resource.
It is in this light that the organization though it wise to present some safety items to the Assembly, to help its staff in the frontline management and monitoring of the implementation of the safety protocols of public gathering and others.
The items included nose masks, hand sanitizers and gallons of liquid soap. Northern Regional Director of the NCCE, Alhaji Saani Abdul Razak presenting the items to the Assembly on behalf of WUZDA Ghana, said the fight against COVID – 19 should be everybody’s business.
Receiving the items on behalf of the Assembly, the Tamale Metropolitan Coordinating Director, Mr. Abdul – Rahaman B. Ahmed Said the initiative by WUZDA Ghana is one of the many that organizations can embark on to help the government to deal with COVID – 19.
<strong>VERONICA HAND WASHING FACILITY DONATIONS</strong>
Other individuals and partner institutions including households were given ‘Veronica’ handwashing facilities to support them adhere to the basic preventive measures of hand washing with soap under running water.
The individuals and institutions that benefited from the hand washing facilities donations include Tears of Widows and Orphans, National Commission for Civic Education, CIAHT Ghana, Tamale West Hospital, Alhassan Auto electrical shop, Shizey Auto mechanic shop, Alhaji Issah Salifu, Alhaji Issah Abdulai and Mahama Abdulai Zakaria.
WUZDA Ghana’s project beneficiaries were also targeted directly to benefit from the hand washing facilities. They include the farming communities where the organization is implementing the ‘Farm – Promoting Urban Organic Waste for Food and Livelihood Security’ Project, which consist Dunyin, Libiga, Datoyili, Manguli, Wovogu and Wovoguma.
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG-20200511-WA0019-480×270.jpg” alt=”” class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-6517″ width=”480″ height=”270″>
The Prisons school Complex was also targeted as a beneficiary of WUZDA Ghana’s A24Y Project, which seeks to empower 100 teenage girls on issues of Child Marriage and how it can be eliminated from the communities.
<strong>RADIO STATIONS</strong>
Radio stations in Tamale were not left out in WUZDA Ghana and partners’ emergency activities on COVID – 19. The washing of hands with soap under running water has been one of the key preventive etiquette which are being pushed to help limit the spread of the disease.
The radio stations that took deliveries of ‘Veronica’ hand washing facilities with gallons of liquid soap from WUZDA Ghana include Radio Tamale, Radio Justice, Bishara Radio, Tawasul Radio, Zaa Radio, Diamond FM and Might FM.
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Photo-2-360×480.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6275″ width=”360″ height=”480″> Radio Justice <img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200508_115306-480×360.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6518″ width=”480″ height=”360″> Zaa RadioThe radio station became key targets in the donation of hand washing facilities because of their role in the communities of informing and educating the public on what to do during these times.
It is also earmarked as a public place where individuals move in and out of, for programmes and other businesses.
<img src=”https://www.wuzda.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200508_112022-480×360.jpg” alt=”” class=”size-medium wp-image-6519″ width=”480″ height=”360″> Bishara RadioWUZDA Ghana together with its partners are looking to do more in especially the rural communities where vulnerable groups are found, to help in the management of COVID – 19.
WUZDA Ghana 
