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General News for Saturday, May 9, 2020
Source: Peace FM
2020-05-09
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Professor Joseph Osafo, head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Ghana, has called on the government to involve religious leaders in providing public education about the new coronavirus pandemic.
According to the professional psychologist, many Ghanaians have placed their trust in their pastors and take their word as the end of a problem.
He related ridiculous spiritual directions from some pastors to his congregants and followers who have no scientific basis and have not been shown to be effective medications for the treatment of coronavirus or any disease.
He alluded to a recent spiritual directive from a pastor that people should search their Bibles and find a pen that will miraculously cure the coronavirus and other unsubstantiated claims by some religious leaders of having medicinal properties.
Professor Joseph Osafo, speaking on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, noted that pastors and churches have a strong influence on their members as members turn to them for medical advice rather than consulting with health professionals. Health.
“In an Accra city in Ghana, more than 25% of them called their pastors and asked for their prayers, and even asked their pastors what they should do. So, you can imagine that if the Pastor who believes in taking medication, will tell you to stay home and pray. The role they play is a critical role. Some pastors even tell their members not to undergo surgery for the reason that they will die if they do so and instruct them to trust their prayer as the person deteriorates, “he said.
He called on the government to enlist some genuine faith-based institutions to help educate Ghanaians on the impact of the pandemic and the seriousness of strictly adhering to health instructions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
He believed that religious leaders are part of the “front line workers” and their role is crucial in the fight against the pandemic.
“. In fact, they are an important source of health information now… And under pandemics, what you want to avoid is miscommunication, rumors, unvalidated claims. You want to avoid that because it can make people react to health workers. They won’t even reveal if someone is infected. They will keep it. So, some of them are calling their pastors … people called their pastors. They never called doctors. Therefore, they are important tools for Health information and the government should look to highly organized churches and provide resources to pastors. It is even a WHO policy recommendation that you work with religious organizations, “said host Kwami Sefa Kayi.
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