Editorial
Know sickle cell status to avoid marital disappointment
Knowing your sickle cell status before falling in love is advised for young adults planning to be married in the future.
As sickle cell disease (SCD) sufferers have terrible experiences, this will help prevent heartaches, disappointments, and even divorce after having children with SCD later in life.
This is essential to keep people from marrying others who have sickle cell in their genes, which would expose them to the potentially fatal consequences of SCD according to Ms. Charlotte Owusu, the founder of the Sickle Cell Condition Advocates (SICCA).
During the introduction of a national SCD policy aimed at enhancing comprehensive and coordinated healthcare services for sufferers nationwide Ghanaians, particularly the young, were cautioned by Ms. Owusu not to minimise the condition, which causes a health, financial, and societal cost.
Some people do not check their sickle cell status before getting married, and this has been harming their marriages. Those who have children with sickle cell disease wish it had never been discovered, but it is too late.
Due to their children’s SCD, some people have lost their children, while others have experienced unsuccessful marriages.
According to statistics, one in four Ghanaians are thought to carry the sickle cell trait, which is indicated by the haemoglobin S or C gene. Sadly, some people are unaware of their status.
Also, nine out of 10 Ghanaians, according to national statistics, do not know if they have sickle cell disease (SCD). This situation is made worse by the fact that between 15,000 and 20,000 babies are born with SCD in Ghana each year, which accounts for two percent of all live births.
This is a serious matter, and a lot of education should be done to promote it in the media so that people will take it seriously enough for their own benefit.
Since one in every 50 Ghanaian children is thought to have sickle cell disease, with 50 to 90 percent of them passing away before turning five, it is therefore advantageous for young people to get screened for the condition as soon as possible.
In order to make the best choice, several religious organisations have mandated that prospective couples check their status as soon as they begin counselling. Knowing one’s status prior to marriage is preferable to being married and then having problems after having children.
It is a positive move, and The Spectator would like to encourage religious leaders to use their platforms to inform followers – especially young people – about their position.
Although there are treatments like hydroxyurea, penicillin, folic acid, and bone marrow transplants, among others, prevention of sickle cell disease is crucial, thus it is actually better to be aware of your status so that you do not marry someone who shares it.
People need to be taught to screen before falling in love and to come clean early in a relationship before it becomes too deep and challenging to end.
Editorial
Let’s vote peacefully today
Dear Editor,
Today is December 7 and Ghanaians would be required to participate heavily in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
The aim is to give a new term to whichever party triumphs in the exercise.
Parties and their representatives have been busy in the buildup to today’s exercise with the two main political parties, ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) very confident of undoing each other.
Other political parties would also be involved in the exercise.
What I am calling for ahead of the exercise is peace. It is the responsibility of every Ghana to accept the fact that we have only one Ghana and maintaining the peace and tranquility we have enjoyed remains in our own hands.
The period to determine which group of people governs the nation is the same period for us to ensure that the peace we enjoy remains intact.
The campaigns have been very intensive with a few unfortunate comments coming from over enthusiastic politicians.
There also appears to be a mistrust in the system as every decision or move by the Electoral Commission have been fiercely questioned or rejected.
The Commission that is also supposed to be the ‘referee’ has not helped in the tension diffusion with the errors with election papers from particular regions.
All these notwithstanding, I wish to urge Ghanaians to have confidence in the institutions and vote in our numbers in a peaceful manner. No one should attempt to disrupt the process. If we go about it lawfully, we’ll have another peaceful and successful election. Yes, we can!
Mark Osae,
Accra
Editorial
Let’s make peace priority as we vote on December 7
The long-awaited presidential and parliamentary elections are finally here, and the most crucial thing we require is peace during and after the elections.
It is a must for Ghanaians to uphold peace, a state of tranquility devoid of conflict or disruption in this election.
In order to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections, a number of institutions and organisations, including the Peace Council, the media, non-governmental organisations, and religious groups, have sent out messages of peace in the run-up to the polls.
The Spectator continues to spread the message of peace as we urge the electorate to make peace a priority in the electoral process to elect a President and Members of Parliament (MPs).
Every voter should be able to exercise their right to vote without any form of compulsion, as Ghanaians are members of multiple political parties and are free to select the candidate of their choice.
After all, voting is about exercising your right to vote, which should be done quietly and peacefully, not about insulting and fighting. We should therefore be mindful of the fact that Ghana belongs to all of us.
Remember your vote is secret and to prevent any confrontation after exercising your franchise go home and pray. Do not post anything on social media that will cause people to react negatively.
Ghana has long been a peaceful nation and a symbol of democracy in Africa; we must preserve this stability and peace.
We must be careful with what we say to avoid provoking anger that could turn violent.
The Spectator urges the security agencies to be tolerant and professional as they discharge their duties. In the same vein, officials of the Electoral Commission should do effective monitoring of the electoral process and swiftly provide the necessary logistics required to enable voting.
We urge all political parties and their supporters to adhere to the nation’s laws and regulations. The media should be circumspect in their reportage and provide accurate and balanced reporting.
Our prayer is that Ghana will emerge victorious at the end of the elections. To achieve this let us endeavour to uphold peace.
God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong.
