Disabled adolescent girls receive training on how to stay safe

Asiwa (Ash), Sept. 07, GNA – Adolescent girls with various forms of disabilities in the Bosome Freho District have been sensitized on how to stay safe in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was during a sports day organized by the Rights and Responsibilities Initiatives Ghana (RRIG) in partnership with the Alliance for Reproductive Health and Rights (ARHR) for the girls at Asiwa.

Funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the event sought to expose the participants to the basic safety protocols of COVID-19 to ensure that they are not left behind in the fight against the pandemic.

It was on the theme: “Keeping Safe During COVID-19: Protective Nutrition and Reproductive Health Rights”.

Public health workers took turns to educate the girls on the safety protocols as well as eating healthy foods to build a strong immune system.

Officials of the RRIG and the health workers joined the girls in recreational activities such as ludo, playing cards, oware and netball as part of efforts to make them feel inclusive and relevant in national development.

Ms. Esther Dinni Addo, a Public Health Nurse who took the girls through the safety protocols entreated them to strictly observe them for their own safety.

She said the disease was no respecter of persons and that everybody was at risk if protocols were not adhered to at all times.

She demonstrated to them the proper ways to wash hands, wear masks and apply hand sanitizers.

Good nutrition, she said, was critical to the fight against the virus and recommended foods that could boost their immune systems to be able to fight the virus in the event of testing positive.

Mr. Aikins Abebrese Boateng, Project Officer of RRIG, said the event was to build the capacities of the participants who were vulnerable to protect themselves from the COVID-19.

He said it was important to pay attention to such groups who may not have the luxury to follow media discussions and public education on preventive measures being rolled out by the government to contain the pandemic.

GNA