A critically ill woman is sandwiched precariously and uncomfortably between a motor bike rider and a caring relative or friend, as they rush to a health facility. Meanwhile, nearly one hundred brand new ambulances, bought with tax payer dollars and delivered to Ghana several weeks ago, are deliberately packed idle, ostensibly awaiting an opportune politically advantageous moment for their distribution. But one minister claims the issue of the delays is neither here nor there, since “people started dying a long time ago.” Really?
*Just a few days ago, I came across images of a pregnant woman delivering her baby in the open carriage of an improvised tricycle taxi.
These women could have been any of our own relatives. They remind me of my sisters who worked hard and supported my widowed mother to get me educated.
These images and scenarios are repeated several times over, every day across our dear nation.
*I (want to) believe that the president has a good heart and means well for the average Ghanaian citizen. Some would argue that deploying the new ambulances wouldn’t end all situations like these, but even if it’s one Ghanaian life that’s saved by the new ambulances, wouldn’t that be a good thing?
* Do we really believe and accept the “reasons(s)” for keeping the ambulances idle and un-deployed?
* Isn’t a partial solution better than a withheld or deliberately delayed solution?
* Couldn’t we research and identify the most needy parts of our nation and deploy the ambulances that have arrived as we wait for the rest to be delivered?
WHAT IS “RIGHT” WITH US?
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS TO OURSELVES?
HOW MUCH VALUE DO WE PLACE ON THE LIVES OF OUR PEOPLE ?
[Photo and description from Kobby Blay.]
