Health analyst, Samuel Arthur has called on the Ministry of Health to issue a red alert notice over the rising number of yellow fever cases and reported deaths, questioning why authorities waited until the situation escalated before intensifying public warnings.
According to Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, Ghana recorded about 450 suspected cases of yellow fever between June and September this year, with confirmed cases and fatalities reported particularly in the Upper West Region’s Sissala East Municipality.
Reacting to this on Starr News, Arthur expressed frustration that the numbers had been building as far back as July without earlier decisive action.
“From what the minister is saying, as far back as July to this point, we have these numbers. So what have we been waiting for? Do we always want to have several people lose their lives? Do we want issues to get escalated before we raise our flags and raise a red alert?” he asked.
He said lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic should have sharpened Ghana’s surveillance systems to detect and respond to outbreak signals at the earliest stage.
“I thought we had learned a lot of lessons from COVID and how it devastated our communities. And I felt that our surveillance systems had been sharpened to the point that it could pick some of these signals just at the point where these outbreaks come in,” he said.
Arthur questioned what had been happening in the affected areas that prevented earlier flagging of the problem.
READ: Yellow fever outbreak: ‘Deaths have already triggered panic’ – Public Health Analyst
He argued that intensive education, awareness campaigns, community engagement, and vector-control measures to reduce or eliminate the mosquitoes spreading the disease should have been deployed much sooner.
He noted the frightening nature of the disease, with some community members likening its haemorrhagic symptoms to Ebola or even COVID-19.
Reports of deaths have varied, with figures of around seven circulating alongside higher claims from local chiefs of about 30.
“For me every life matters, and I don’t know when the minister wants to raise the red alert and let us know that this thing is quite damaging. Losing one life is not something we should countenance,” Arthur stated.
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While acknowledging the minister’s efforts to reassure the public, the health analyst insisted that authorities must clearly communicate the true scale of the situation, flag high-risk areas, and guide citizens on the steps they need to take immediately.
