By Gifty Amofa/ Peace Doe Agbotui
Accra, March 8, GNA – The Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA) has joined women globally to celebrate International Women’s Day with a call on government to support health personnel to make their work effective.
Mrs Perpetual Ofori-Ampofo, President of the Association, who made the call, said items such as modern equipment, emergency drugs, better working conditions, would help them render better service to the public.
The theme for the World event is “Inspire Inclusiveness” but GRNMA chose, “Invest in women: Accelerate progress” as its theme.
She explained that women, who formed majority of the Ghanaian population and for that matter 90 per cent of the GRNMA, if given the needed support would feel recognised and valued for their unique contribution to Ghana’s growth.
The President said privatisation and monetisation had become visible after the COVID-19 pandemic which was impeding their services and called on government to intervene.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Human Rights Lawyer and Activist, a guest speaker, said she had joined women around the world to seek for a world on inclusiveness for women, adding that GRNMA’s theme was apt, reflecting on how personnel can progress as professionals.
She said women contributed immensely to society such as nurturing, nursing, ensuring the wellness of the family, among others.
However, womanhood was struggling when it came to accelerating gender equality and counting women as part of leadership.
Also, a former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Addo said not only had women invested in themselves but also the society but not without struggle due to the fact that they live in a male dominated environment.
She said in sub judicating women, religion, social norms and culture had played their respective roles, citing that some proverbs (a woman behaves like a child and must be guided all the time, a wealthy woman changes into a man, a woman is like a chicken, maize is used to lure her) demotivated women and it was time to treat them with equality and not as second-class citizens.
Nana Oye said the Domestic Violence Act was promulgated in Ghana to protect women but gender-based violence against them had not reduced.
She appealed for decentralisation and expansion of mental healthcare at the health centres for people with mental health conditions who ran to lawyers instead of psychologists as well as sexual assault centres at the tertiary hospitals to cater for children who had been defiled.
Brigadier General Anita Asmah, Director General, General Headquarters, Defense Civilian Establishment, a guest speaker, advised the health professionals to remain devoted and work selflessly but balance their lives, attending to their family and friends too.
Whilst they remained self-disciplined and sacrificed their lives in their field full of uncertainties, they should also find a hobby to de-stress to enable them to return to work.
They should develop themselves to keep up with new professional trends as the more knowledgeable they were, the more confident they would be in their practice.
She commended the health professionals for their sacrifice, adding that no organisation could survive without them and urged them on as their work would not go unrecognised.
Mrs Olivia Boateng, Director, Tobacco and Substance of Abuse Directorate, Food and Drugs Authority, said investing in women was not a moral imperative but economic empowerment that contributed to society’s wellbeing and economy.
She said supporting health professionals with the necessary tools must not be fleeting but sustained.
GNA