Earlier this year, pharmacists in Ghana announced that they were going on strike. The announcement struck fear into the hearts of patients across the country.
One of the first impacts of the strike was that pharmacists would stop administering life-saving medicine and drugs to emergency services, mentally ill patients, and people with HIV/AIDS. Juanita Sallah, a reporter at CitiFM in Accra, Ghana, worked with JHR Trainer Abby Wiseman to take a closer look at what the pharmacist strike meant for people struggling with HIV.
Juanita and Abby spoke to staff at the HIV unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. After getting comments from the head of the pharmacists’ association and doctors at the hospital (the health minister declined to comment) the story went to the airwaves of CitiFM. Shortly after the broadcast, the pharmacists association announced that they guaranteed HIV/AIDS patients would receive medication during the strike. Working with JHR, Juanita produced a strong story that helped ensure that hundreds of patients would receive life-sustaining medicine.
JHR’s work in Ghana is made possible by the generous sponsorship of:
