A final year Natural Resources Management student of the Kwame NKrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Michael Kwadwo Nketia, has appealed to the Ministry of Education to postpone the reopening dates of universities to prevent the spread of the deadly Ebola virus in Ghana.
In his letter to the Ministry which was copied to myJCR.com, he indicated that the arrival of several international students from countries who have confirmed cases of the virus poses a threat to tertiary students and the nation as a whole.
Below is the letter he copied to myJCR.com,
THE EDUCATION MINISTER,
REPUBLIC OF GHANA.
Dear Madam,
POSTPONE OPENING DATES OF UNIVERSITIES TO AVOID EBOLA SPREAD IN GHANA
I write to officially appeal to your ministry to consider delaying the re-opening of various public and private universities across the country as means of preventing the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease that has thrown the West African sub region into a state of fear and panic because of its unprecedented spread and high fatality rates.
With barely a week or two to the commencement of a fresh academic semester, Ghana’s universities and other tertiary institutions awaits huge numbers of international students from sister African countries. With the Ebola Virus proving to be a cross boarder disease, the influx of thousands of students from Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Gabon, Guinea, Togo, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and other sister African nations who could be potential carriers of the deadly Ebola Virus can expose our tertiary institutions and students to a possible contraction of the disease if care is not taken.
Our tertiary institutions risked being turned into ‘breeding factories’ for the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease if these international students are allowed into the country without proper medical scrutiny. People can even carry the virus for weeks before potential symptoms emerge. Our preparedness and readiness to even identifying people with the virus albeit treating potential victims cannot be guaranteed with media reports of doctors and nurses at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital shockingly fleeing upon the arrival of a suspected Ebola patient to their facility and how our boarders aren’t fully equipped to scrutinising foreigners entering the country.
The implications and dangers of international spread of the Ebola Virus Disease into Ghana can best be described by a recent statement by the World Health Organization which states, ” the possible consequences of further international spread are particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns and the weak health systems in the currently affected and most at risk countries.”
Statements alone will not save lives, we require an immediate and serious approach towards curtailing the possible spread of the virus into Ghana. I am humbly calling on your ministry in consultation with the ministries of Health and Interior to urgently evaluate the potential spread of the Ebola Virus Disease into Ghana by international students and delay the re-opening of public and private universities across the country till the disease is curtailed in the west African sub region and for Ghana to become fully prepared and ready to deal with a potential outbreak of the disease.
Signed.
Michael Kwadwo Nketiah
0244 509345 (kwadwonketia47@gmail.com)
Natural Resources Management IV
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
