Nhyiaeso MP likens Ghana’s economy to a Sickle Cell Child
Dr Stephen Amoah retracts Sickle Cell Child comment
Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, Dr. Stephen Amoah has rendered an apology for a recent comment in which he likened the state of Ghana’s economy to a child with the Sickle Cell Disease.
Following the comment made by the MP on the Saturday, March 26, 2022, edition of Newsfile on Joynews, two advocacy groups wrote to Dr. Amoah demanding a retraction and an apology for his statement.
In a joint letter to the MP, Sickle Life and Sickle Cell Awareness Initiative, two groups advocating for persons living with Sickle Cell, said the MP fell short of his mantle when he rather used the platform to make a statement that is not only reckless, but insensitive as well.
In a response letter, Dr. Stephen Amoah acknowledged his fault while noting that his statement was without malicious intent.
“I deem this incident unfortunate and take full responsibility for the comments although I had no ‘malicious intention. I retract and sincerely apologize to all stakeholders i.e. NGOs, PAGs and all persons living with the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) as well as their family, friends and caregivers.
“I must say that I had no cognizance of the damaging effect of my comments to your noble ‘organizations. I will never deliberately heap scorn, antagonize or stigmatize anyone with Sickle Cell Disease,” the MP stated.
Expressing hope that his retraction and apology will be accepted by those affected by his comment, the Nhyiaeso MP noted that he has been enlightened following the incident.
“I greatly appreciate your prudent gesture of drawing my attention to the unfortunate incident and for educating me.
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“I would like to once again render my sincere and profound apology to all stakeholders working tirelessly to create awareness, educate, advocate, research and support SCD persons across the country and beyond,” he added.
Sickle Life and Sickle Cell Awareness Initiative have welcomed the response of the MP.
According to the advocacy groups, there is the need for members of the public to be more circumspect in their utterances.
“We are happy to receive and accept this apology and retraction from Hon. Amoah. We have had private engagements with him on this very sensitive topic and had an opportunity to further articulate our position. This is the outcome we intended to arrive at, and appreciate his stance to that end.
“We would like to once again, thank all stakeholders who have shown immense support in this endeavour. Let us all remember to be circumspect in our utterances and make it our utmost priority to learn more about sickle cell disease and its related issues,” they said.
