Catholic Health Professionals In Ghana To Mark World Day Of The Sick

As the universal Church gears up to mark the 28th World Day of the Sick on February 11, the Catholic Health Professionals Guild in the Accra Archdiocese in Ghana has put together a well-tailored programme to commemorate the day with anticipation of “putting together activities geared towards the promotion of human dignity and life.”

“We are reminded that in our work, we have to always strive to promote the dignity and life of each person, and reject any compromise in the direction of euthanasia, assisted suicide or suppression of life, even in the case of terminal illness,” said Edward Ayem, a Radiologist at Korle-Bu, Ghana’s largest Teaching Hospital in an interview.

“We are therefore encouraging all Catholic Health Professionals to join us as we commemorate the day because our professionalism, sustained by Christian charity, will be the best service we can offer for the safeguarding of the truest human right, the right to life,” he said in an interview on February 2, adding that “When we can no longer provide a cure, we will still be able to provide care and healing, through gestures and procedures that give comfort and relief to the sick.”

Dilating on how the day will be marked in Accra, Mr. Ayem said a Mass for all Catholic Health Professionals will be celebrated by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp.

The Mass at the St. Kizito Parish at Nima, a suburb of Accra, on February 11, 2020, is expected to be attended by over 200 Catholic Health Professionals working in hospitals, Polyclinics, Clinics within the Archdiocese as well as the Ministry of Health and Health Training Institutions.

According to Edward Ayem, “This is the first activity to kick-start the celebration of the 5th anniversary of the inauguration of the Catholic Health Professionals Guild by Archbishop Charles Palmer Buckle, the then Archbishop of Accra.”

“The Health Professionals in Accra are putting together other activities like health screenings in several Parishes in the Archdiocese, an Anniversary Public Lecture a dinner to appreciate the work of caregivers in the Archdiocese,” he said.

February 11 is World Day of the Sick, an observation started by St. Pope John Paul II as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. The day coincides with the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes.

St. Pope John Paul II initiated the day in 1992 to encourage people to pray for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers. The Pope himself had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a year before, in 1991, and it is considered that his own illness was impetus for his designation of the day.

People around the world take the time to pray for the sick and for those who work very hard to alleviate the sufferings of the sick on this day. Faith organizations mark this day especially to provide the sick with medicines, food, and spiritual guidance.

For Edward Ayem, who is the Organising Secretary of the Health Professionals and Co-ordinator of the Catholic Professionals Guilds in Accra which include the Health Professional Guilds, said “Health Workers in Ghana have a mandate to serve the sick in a generous manner as form of evangelization.”

He noted that with the universal theme for this year’s celebration: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28), the Catholic Church, he stated “had been partnering government to provide healthcare, hence the celebration of the World Day of the Sick calls our attention to consciously raise, discuss and find solutions to challenges and opportunities in the world of the sick and suffering – both patient and care giver.”

With the slogan “In God Our Health is assured,” Ayem stressed that “As healthcare professionals, it is a time to introspect and remember that diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic treatments, research, care and rehabilitation are always in the service of the sick person.”

Meanwhile, prior to the celebration of the Day, the National Catholic Health Service will be officially opening the St. Pauline Clinic during the national launch of the World Day of the Sick at the National Catholic Secretariat in Accra on February 7, 2020.

Expected at the launch will be the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Tove Dengbol and Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, Episcopal Chairman for Health of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

The National Catholic Health Service has a vision of being the best in meeting patient needs and expectations and a mission to provide high-quality healthcare in the most effective/efficient and innovative manner, specific to the needs of the communities we serve and at all times acknowledging the dignity of the patient.

It has a goal to strengthen and improve the National Catholic Health Service in its ability to provide and sustain health care services for the poor, neglected and marginalized segments of the society.

The services will seek to empower the people it serves to take ownership of their own individual and collective health needs.