Africa Centre for Peace Building Creates New COVID-19 Website for Ghanaians

2 April 2020

Africa Centre for Peace Building, a URI member group, has created an informative website to complement the efforts of the government and other institutions in Ghana in combatting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Considering the economic effects of the pandemic on the Ghanaians population, we have initiated this project to mobilize resources to help:

  • Provide support (food, water, hand sanitizers, toiletries) to aged, distressed and displaced families
  • Partner with churches, mosques, private and public schools which may be able to offer their facilities to house street children, head porters (Kayayi) and other displaced families to help implement WHO’s social distancing recommendations.
  • Provide support to frontline health workers 
  • Extend public education to hinterlands 

See the website here.


 

URI WEST AFRICA CC IN GHANA LAUNCHES WEBSITE TO FIGHT COVID-19

Ghana COVID-19 Relief Support – www.ghanacovid19.org

A URI West Africa Cooperation Circle (URI member group) based in Accra, Ghana - Africa Centre for Peace Building - has launched a website to complement efforts of government and other institutions in Ghana in combatting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

On March 12, 2020, Ghana confirmed the first two cases when two people returned from Norway and Turkey. There has since been anxiety in the minds of many Ghanaians, both at home and abroad. On March 15, 2020, at 10 pm, President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his first address to the nation on COVID-19, banned all public gatherings including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, church activities and other related events to reduce the spread of COVID-19. He also closed down schools in the country, both public and private.

On Friday, President Akufo-Addo, in his fourth COVID-19 address, announced a partial lockdown of parts of the country, of which Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Kasoa were all affected, starting from Monday, March 30, 2020, for the next 15 days. The partial lockdown of just four of these cities in the country from Monday has already started to negatively impact lower-income earners and those who live below the poverty line. Saturday, a day after the announcement, has seen the movement of people from the restricted areas to unrestricted areas. Notable are head porters (Kayayi) and other porters, most of whom come from the northern part of the country. This has raised fear of possible transmission of the virus to the unaffected areas.

Against this background, the project is designed to help raise resources to support lower-income earners, distressed and displaced families, and head porters in aid of contributing to ending the spread of the virus and supporting the poor who might have been the hardest hit by the economic impact of the pandemic.

The aim of the project is to help stop the community infection and transmission of the virus and support livelihoods of the poor who might have been the hardest hit by the economic impact pandemic.

For most lower-income earners, distressed families, head porters in the cities, and street children, their survival and daily bread depends largely on their daily movements. Therefore, they are the hardest hit by the current lockdown. To support their lives during the lockdown and to prevent their attempts to move in search of their daily bread and possible clashes with the security services, which are already being experienced, the project will:

  1. Provide support (food, water, hand sanitizers, toiletries) to aged, distressed, and displaced families.
  2. Partner with churches, mosques, and private and public schools, which may be able to offer their facilities to house street children, head porters (Kayayi), and other displaced families to help implement WHO’s social distancing recommendations.
  3. Provide support to frontline health workers with facemasks, hand sanitizers, and other supplies.   

WHAT IS NEEDED

  • Donation of food items, water, hand sanitizers, toiletries from the general public
  • Cash donations of any amount from the public
  • Donation of structures to house displaced families
  • Donation of vehicles to help convey relief items to people
  • Donation of fuel

Please contact:

Korsi Senyo, Executive Director of Africa Centre for Peace Building

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +233249155003