JICA gives to Health, Immigration Services
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has donated operational items worth over GH¢ 3.65 million to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The items include equipment and consumables, prefab containers, open sheds with furniture, among other operational items.
Advertisement
The donation — which formed part of JICA’s Project for Strengthening Border Public Health Capacity of Points of Entry in Ghana — was to help furnish and provide protection for officers of the two institutions at various points of entry in the discharge of their duties.
The Chief Representative of the JICA Country Office, Yasumichi Araki, presented the items which were jointly received by the Comptroller-General of the GIS, Kwame Asuah Takyi, and the Director of Public Health of the GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe.
The beneficiary land borders are Nyive, Honuta, Batume Junction, Shia and Leklebi Dafor.
Others are Menuso, Tinjase, Tatale, Saboba, Bunkpurugu, Pulimakom and Oseikojokrom.
The rest are Nkrankwanta (Frimpongkrom), Sampa, Bole-Chache and Tumu.
Handover
At a ceremony to hand over the items to the GIS and GHS respectively in Accra yesterday, the chief representative of the JICA Country Office, explained that the donation was based on a needs assessment conducted on selected points of entry in the Northern, Bono and Volta regions, to have an understanding on the needs as far as COVID-19 issues and the general operations of the border posts were concerned.
He said border management was critical to securing the frontiers and safeguarding every nation from the risks involved in the movement of goods and people from one country to other neighbouring countries and vice versa.
“The movement of goods and people is essential for every country in the interest of its economy, and within the current COVID-19 pandemic, developing capacity to respond to infectious diseases in the context of border management has become very crucial,” he said.
He noted that aside from the donation, JICA had also built the capacity of officers along the borders.
He further urged the beneficiary institutions to use and maintain the items for the benefit of Ghanaians and travellers.
Gratitude
Mr Asuah Takyi said with the dynamics of border control it was important to have the tools and logistics to make work more effective and efficient and thus expressed gratitude to JICA for its continuous support to the service.
He gave an assurance that the items donated would be utilised effectively to achieve the outcome of the project.