Accra, 26 July, 2020 / 12:10 pm (ACI Africa).
A government official in Ghana has, at a presentation in parliament, acknowledged with appreciation the role of faith-based organizations saying they have “kept the country going.”
“The diverse support from religious groups in the fight against the viral disease is what has kept the country going,” Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said July 23 during his 2020 mid-year budget review in Parliament.
He explained, “Mr. Speaker, the Church of Pentecost, as a humanitarian gesture, and in keeping with recent social partnership arrangements, offered the Pentecost Convention Centre at Gomoa Fetteh as an isolation center for infected persons. Similarly, the Catholic Church released a host of its facilities located across the country to house and treat infected persons,” Mr. Ofori-Atta said.
“Faith-Based Organizations over the years have reinforced Government’s belief in their impartial mechanisms for delivering social services and interventions to the disadvantaged,” he further said.
Following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the West African nation, President Nana Akufo-Addo instituted a COVID-19 National Trust Fund to support Ghanaians impacted negatively by the virus, particularly the frontline workers. Individuals, religious groups and private institutions have continued to contribute to contribute to the fund. ing to it.
