Support GIFTS to succeed in Ningo-Prampram

Parents in the Ningo-PrampramDistrict of the Greater Accra Region have risen against a health intervention programme meant to shore up the blood levels of girls and prevent anaemia among them so they would have good health and do well in school.

They say they are suspicious the supplements might be for birth control purposes and so have discouraged their daughters from patronising the programme.

Based on the fact that Ghanaian mothers, just like other African women, cherish having grand- and even great-grandchildren, the attitude of the Ningo-Prampramparents cannot be condemned outright as it expresses the fear of a childbirth predicament that could beset their daughters in future and deny them their wish.

Research has shown that when people have less or lack information about any health intervention, they tend to reject it.

For instance, it is on record that just before COVID-19 vaccines could be administered, there were conspiracy theories bordering on side effects, including impotence and menstrual problems.

Interestingly, it is said that people with high education (university products) topped the list of those rejecting the vaccination because they did not have enough knowledge about it, particularly with regard to side effects and other risks.

In the case of the Girls’ Iron-Folate Tablet Supplementation (GIFTS) programme, theorganisers say before its roll-out, they sensitised the target communities, including going to the schools there to explain what the World Health Organisation (WHO) intervention entailed.

If this is the case, then what it means is that parents did not get the full understanding of the programme and this is normal.

Therefore, it is better for the programme organisers to re-educate parents on its exclusivity to girls and the benefits to them.

GIFTS is forgirls only because they menstruate and are more prone toanaemiathan the boys.

Fortunately, the GIFTS, as a public health intervention, has been around since 2018, meaning that the organisers can use evidence of its implementation elsewhere that proves its harmlessness, especially because the intervention is not one-off but designed to provide once-weekly iron and folic acid in a combined tablet to in-school and out-of-school adolescent girls on a fixed day.
This is very important because some parents have visited certain schools in the area warning teachers not to administer the supplements to their daughters (pupils).

It is regrettable that most of the time, some people ‘propound conspiracy theories’ to discourage others from accepting interventions meant to contain certain diseases.

In the end some needlessly suffer from the pangs of diseases that can be managed, including even death.

To this end, as already suggested, the organisers of the GIFTS should re-engage the parents to explain the details and be prepared to answer every question even if it sounds absurd.

They should let the parents know that even though anaemia is thought of as not being a serious condition, it can be deadly at times.

The Ghanaian Times, likewise, appeals to parents in the Ningo-Prampram area to ease their entrenched position on the GIFTS and be ready to listen to the organisers and ask all the relevant questions to satisfy themselves.

They should understand that medical science has made it possible to ascertain the safety of such interventions and so they need to support GIFTS to succeed.