Ghanaians have been advised to celebrate patients that have recovered from the coronavirus and embrace them back into society rather than stigmatising them.
Mawuko Afadzinu, Head of Marketing and Communication of Stanbic Bank, gave this advice in an interview with the B&FT on Monday when a team from the bank’s wealth unit celebrated Frederick Drah who recovered from the virus, and presented food items and financial support to him at his residence at Mataheko, near Afienya.
To him, Ghanaians should instead go to the recovered people, ensure social distance, and learn from their experience and stop stigmatising them in their community.
“There is this important story every Ghanaian must hear; first, that it is possible to be healed from COVID-19. Secondly, it is wrong to put a mark on somebody who has been healed. The right thing to do is to celebrate him; the proper thing to do is to applaud him and be grateful for what God has done. And that celebration must be expressed in so many forms,” he said.
Benjamin Mensah, Head of the Wealth Unit, indicated that the team are grateful to God for Mr. Drah’s fully recovery and applaud him for the bold step he took in talking about the virus to Ghanaians. He emphasised that stigmatisation is needless and should not be encouraged by Ghanaian society, explaining the fact that the virus is everywhere and anybody could be infected.
“COVID-19 is a global pandemic and we have people in the world who are getting it, and there are lots of people who have come out to boldly say that they have gotten it – people like Prince Charles, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and other celebrities in the world are sharing their experience.
“I think you (Mr. Drah) took a bold initiative to come and speak today so the rest of us who do not have it will learn a lesson. Indeed, it is a sad outcome that this is what is happening after your recovery, and we want to show our support with this little token just to support your family in these trying times,” he said.
