NGO pleads with President to help scrap medical cost for abused cases

The President of the New Ghana Social Justice Forum and founder of the Humanity Magazine, Yahaya Alhassan, has appealed to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to help scrap the medical cost of abused cases in the country.

At a press briefing in Accra, Mr Alhassan said Ghana was currently trending with a lot of cases of domestic violence.

He said the pain and financial difficulties of paying for the cost of medical diagnosis coupled with charges by public medical officers before issuing a report, prevented the assaulted from pursing justice.

"Victims are required to pay at least GH₵400 to have their medical forms signed as a step for the police to arrest the culprit.”

“The inability to incur such a ridiculous cost at a distressed time forced victims to leave their agony to God and this unfortunate development is very common in Ghana," he said.

The poor mostly victims

"It's worth noting that in our communities, those beaten or assaulted are mostly from poor background, hence defenceless and helpless; and therefore, to require such a traumatised person to cough such an amount was a clear denial of the patient’s rights to pursue fairness," he stressed.

Mr Alhassan said the group believed that the right of the vulnerable was a cause closer to the heart of the President, and therefore appealed to him to take action for the protection of the weak.

He also urged civil societies and stakeholders to join hands for making a cost-free process for justice to prevail.

He said recently, the New Ghana Social Justice Forum assisted in paying for the medical cost of 16-year-old Kande Firdaus Iddrisu and her six months old baby who were assaulted at Mamobi and Jennifer Accahmore who was also assaulted at Dzorwulu in Accra.

Mr Alhassan said the medical cost and arrangement for culprits arrest would have been difficult if not for the assistance of the organisation, despite the glaring injuries of the victims.

He used the opportunity to thank the list of diplomatic missions who have participated in the advocacy against domestic violence and made specific mention of the Chargé d’Affairs of Columbia Embassy, Claudia Milena Milena Vaca Murcia, Chris Carlisle, Director of international Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the US Embassy, Abel Antonio Cardenas Tuppia, Peru Ambassador to Ghana , Amer Al Alawi, Chargé d’Affairs at the UAE Embassy and Stephanie Sullivan, Former US Ambassador.