Aflao, Paga, Elubo – On 21 February, 28 February and 10 March 2023, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD) Ghana, brought together traditional authorities, government representatives, border residents, school children and officers of Border Management Agencies (BMAs) to raise awareness on the need for adequate preparedness against public health emergencies such as Lassa fever and COVID-19.

Border communities are more severely affected by disease outbreaks. Due to the high rate of movements, diseases could spread quickly, escalate and impact cross-border trade and livelihoods, hence the need for border community members to be sensitized. Communities of Aflao in the Volta Region (Ghana-Togo), Paga in the Upper East Region (Ghana-Burkina Faso), and Elubo in the Western Region (Ghana-Côte d'Ivoire) were therefore chosen to host the awareness-raising activities.

“Contagious diseases and sicknesses like COVID-19 do not need visas to travel,” said Superintendent of Immigration, Kenneth Dzimega, representative of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Aflao Sector Commander. He urged community members to “take the jab today and continue to observe the protocols to stay protected, and to help spread the message across all the communities, to avoid devastating impacts from health pandemics in the future.”

Precautions are necessary to prevent the potential spread of public health emergencies and other infectious diseases across communities.

The Queen Mother of Batorme Community, Mama Amedegbeso II, said during the Aflao Durbar: “Sensitizing the population helps to dispel myths and misconceptions while promoting the uptake of COVID-19 prevention protocols.”

The activities included community durbars, drama shows, football tournaments, quizzes, dancing competitions as well as question and answer sessions to educate participants.

"The approach used had a huge impact. Materials such as posters, leaflets and billboards have helped to get the message across to community members so that they remember the health protocols and go for the vaccine” said Samuel Fiafemeti, Head of Port Health in Elubo.

Through the power of football and music, Junior High School (JHS) students (10 to 15 years) were encouraged to act as agents of change in contributing to a safe border environment.

“I always prioritize my education and push that nothing impedes my progress. I mask up anytime I am in school and wash my hands before and after break time. This is what I do to protect myself and all school children should do the same to stay safe from contracting the virus in school,” Said a JHS pupil from Tedam JHS in Paga. Another pupil from the Roman Catholic JHS in Elubo appreciated the awareness raising activities: “We have become more conscious of the risks and dangers associated with contracting the COVID-19 virus and also learnt about the importance of protecting ourselves through these educative sessions.”

The awareness-raising activities form part of the IOM-implemented project “Improving Border Management Capacity for Responding to Public Health Crises including Infectious Diseases/COVID-19” with funding from the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The provision of ambulances, construction of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and installation of prefabricated isolation centres are complementary interventions implemented by IOM in the three border communities.

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For more information, please contact Kojo Wilmot, National Programme Officer, Immigration and Border Governance, IOM Ghana, at kwilmot@iom.int.