Every year, during International Burns Awareness Week, which is from November 3 to 9, we are reminded of the need for safety and prevention.
For a few days, speeches are made, photos are taken, and survivors are celebrated.
But when the week comes to an end, the momentum fades, and so does the attention.
The truth is simple: a once-a-year commemoration is not enough.
We need a massive, sustained national campaign that makes burn awareness part of our everyday health education and not just a ceremonial event. Ghana has done this successfully for malaria, HIV and maternal health. Why not burn?
What happens after the celebrations are done?
Who remembers these burn victims?
What of those who are freshly admitted?
Who is left to care for the burn survivor physically, emotionally and socially?
Must we always wait till a year before talking about burns and the lifelong damage it does to people?
Burn survivor
I often ask myself this question because I have lived the answer. I am a burn survivor.
I have felt the sting of fire on my skin, the sharp smell of antiseptic in a hospital room and the deafening silence that comes after care providers leave and the night sets in.
The pain was unbearable, but even worse was the loneliness and watching people die.
What aggravates the harrowing experience is living with scars for the rest of your life, and the constant disdain, pity and derision in people’s eyes when they look at you makes emotional healing difficult.
I still remember the sharp, searing pain that ripped through my body the day I was burned.
I remember the day as if it were just yesterday: the flame, the call for help and the confusion.
The place was chaotic because the staff and onlookers did not know what to do.
The most distressing aspect is the difficulty in getting an ambulance to transport us to the hospital.
Eventually, a commercial vehicle had to move us to the hospital.
On the story of no bed syndrome, that will be another story on its own. In essence, I want to say, there is a fundamental structural issue that needs urgent attention.
My entire six months on admission were a state of melancholy. Lying in that hospital bed, wrapped in bandages, I felt isolated from the world, unsure whether my life would ever return to normal.
The saddest part was when I lost my colleague a few days before Christmas.
Based on my own experience, I believe that communicating with empathy should be a course in Ghana's health education.
Some nurses cared more about their nail extensions than about helping a patient sit on their bed.
For me, my dearest mother was always there to support me, so I didn't have to ask for help from nurses.
Feeling of isolation
For many burn victims in Ghana, that feeling of isolation is common, especially those who do not have caregivers.
Treatment often focuses on the physical wounds, while the emotional trauma, fear and anxiety rarely receive attention.
We tend to forget that recovery is not just about healing the skin, but it’s about helping to rebuild confidence, community and a sense of belonging.
Burn injuries are among the most devastating yet most preventable forms of trauma.
In Ghana, they happen every day in our homes, workplaces and schools.
From gas explosions, open-fire cooking, electrical accidents and unsafe handling of chemicals, which can end up changing countless lives in seconds.
But beyond those tragic moments comes a huge financial strain on the survivors and their respective families.
Access to reconstructive surgery
Beyond the immediate trauma of burn injuries, survivors face long and costly paths to recovery.
For many, the only way to regain functionality and appearance is through reconstructive plastic surgery, a procedure that remains exorbitantly expensive in low-income countries like Ghana.
The cost of comprehensive burn care, including reconstructive surgery, can be several times the annual income of a typical household in Ghana.
This financial burden leaves many survivors with visible scars that impact their physical appearance and mental well-being.
The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery has emphasised the urgent need for international support to bridge this gap, advocating for affordable surgical care in low-resource settings.
The lack of access to such critical care exacerbates the divide between those who can afford to receive treatment and those who cannot.
A call for global support
Addressing the global burden of burn injuries requires a collective effort from international organisations, such as the WHO, alongside non-governmental organisations.
Collaboration is essential to provide financial and technical support to healthcare systems in developing countries.
This includes subsidising the cost of reconstructive surgeries, establishing specialised burn units and training healthcare professionals.
Without international support, burn survivors in low-income countries will continue to face barriers to recovery.
Subsidising medical care, improving healthcare infrastructure and implementing public health campaigns can help reduce the devastating effects of burns on vulnerable populations.
Turning awareness into action
As we observed International Burn Awareness Week, let us remember that the fight against burns does not end after seven days.
The awareness and education must continue to prevent more figures from the numbers we already have.
By prioritising both prevention and compassionate care, we can turn the tide against the growing burden of burns in Ghana.
I therefore call on policymakers, media houses, health institutions and the public to remember to support awareness campaigns and education.
Let us not wait for next year’s event to act.
We need the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to take burn prevention and survivor rehabilitation seriously.
I am optimistic that a coordinated national strategy could save lives, reduce stigma and give survivors support that can help them heal emotionally.
Additionally, institutions mandated to monitor and enforce safety standards, such as the Ghana National Fire Service, must perform their duties diligently.
Many fire outbreaks in markets, workplaces and homes could be prevented if safety checks were consistent and enforcement were stricter.
It is not enough to respond after a disaster; we must be proactive and not reactive.
Again, public awareness is a necessity.
Too many lives are lost or permanently changed because people do not know what to do when fire strikes.
As a survivor, I know what it means to feel helpless and hopeless, but I also know what it means to rise again.
My experience led me to found the AJS Smiling Heart Foundation, which provides education, advocacy and hope for burn survivors.
We work to remind people that recovery and being resilient to stand the sands of time is possible.
In all this, one needs psychosocial support.
The writer is a PhD Candidate, Health Communication, University of Memphis
