World Health Organisation donates PPE in support of COVID-19 response efforts
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has donated 21,080 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the government to support the national COVID-19 response efforts.
The items, which included 1,000 gloves, 9,000 medical masks, 350 respirator masks, 750 gowns and 180 goggles, will be used by frontline health professionals in the management of the disease.
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Before a case was confirmed in Ghana, the WHO made a similar donation to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) as part of national preparedness measures.
Assurance
The WHO Country Director, Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, who made the presentation in Accra yesterday, gave an assurance that the UN would continue to support Ghana in the fight against the COVID-19 until it achieved the desired results.
She said the organisation was of the opinion that Ghana could change the course of the pandemic by continuous detection, testing, treatment, isolation and sensitisation of the public.
She said the WHO had also provided materials and technical support for preparedness, response, coordination and case management of the disease.
“The WHO supported training for rapid response teams and port health staff of five high-risk points of entry.
It is supporting the MoH and the GHS to put in place measures to identify and trace contacts and to use electronic tools for recording data of confirmed cases, among other forms of assistance,” Dr Kimambo added.
Gratitude
A Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Alexander Abban, expressed gratitude to the WHO for the gesture and for its continued support to healthcare delivery in the country.
Describing the organisation as a reliable partner, he said the global body had supported Ghana in the fight against other outbreaks and the health sector in general over the years.
He appealed to benevolent institutions and individuals to channel their donations to the MoH, as the sector ministry and central coordination point, to facilitate proper distribution of such items according to the capacity and needs of respective health facilities.
“We know that there are many people out there trying to make donations. While we appreciate that, if we are not careful about the way the distribution is being done, it may be skewed in favour of some facilities against others.
“I believe that if we have a central coordinating point where all such donations will be made, it will help. Knowing how much we have been able to put together, we will know how to effectively distribute them in relation to the capacity and demands on various facilities,” he added.
According to Mr Abban, “our medical officers on the frontline are constantly crying for more PPE to enhance their work; we, therefore, appeal to the private sector to continue to support us”.
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