United States Provides Vital Support to Ghana’s Response to COVID-19

Ms. Stephanie S. Sullivan, Ambassador of the United States (United States) to Ghana, announced new support for Ghana’s response to COVID-19.

The support includes the provision of oxygen generating equipment, the provision of oxygen cylinders and pulse oximeters, as well as the training of healthcare personnel and engineers in the use and maintenance of the equipment.

They are to support intensive care patients across the country and help with the treatment of infectious diseases.

Ms Sullivan made the announcement Thursday in Accra, when she joined representatives from the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ghana Health Service (GHS) and members of the Ghana COVID-19 National Case Management Team at the Ghana Infectious Disease Center (GIDC) in Kwabenya, for the landscaping of the first of the country’s four oxygen plants.

She also announced the exterior of a $ 1.5 million negative pressure isolation system located at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital in Ridge, saying both facilities were donated through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid program, respectively.

She said oxygen support systems would enable Ghana to provide life-saving care to patients with COVID-19 and build capacity for future medical needs.

Ms. Sullivan spoke of the close partnership that existed between Ghana and the United States, saying: “The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us important lessons. No nation can act alone in the face of a pandemic. “

“It is not enough to end the pandemic; together, it is important to rebuild a better world, better prepared to prevent, detect and respond to future biological threats, and where all can live safely and healthy, ”she said.

The ambassador said that the United States was therefore donating four oxygen factories, each with the capacity to produce 250 liters of oxygen per minute, which was enough for about 25 critically ill patients per day.

In addition to the Ghana Infectious Disease Center oxygen plant, an oxygen plant has already been delivered to Cape Coast Municipal Hospital, and two additional plants will be delivered to Kumasi South Hospital and the Tamale West hospital, ”she added.

Ms. Sullivan said the pre-installation work, which included the necessary infrastructure, electrical connections and plumbing, was supported by USAID, to ensure the sites were ready to receive the plants.

USAID would further donate 28 high-flow, high-pressure oxygen concentrators to deliver vital oxygen to health facilities in Ghana’s 16 regions, with each specialized concentrator providing oxygen to three critically ill patients at both, she said.

Ms Sullivan said the donation of the negative pressure isolation system to Ridge Hospital would serve as an isolation system to provide intensive care support for up to 30 COVID-19 patients to ensure safe care that prevents the spread of the virus in a controlled climate. isolation area.

She said the facility would be vital for the current management of COVID-19 cases and that in the long term it would serve as essential equipment needed to provide good quality medical services.

Ms Sullivan said the donations followed the arrival of the US donation of more than 1.2 million Moderna vaccines to Ghana on September 4, 2021, which was the largest vaccine donation Ghana has received in this day.

She said the U.S. government has already donated 125 million vaccines to more than 80 countries, including more than 26 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and has also provided more than $ 30 million to support Ghana’s response. to COVID-19 to deal with immediate and medium problems. term of COVID-19 on the health, agriculture and education sectors, as well as on the hard-hit private sector.

Dr Anthony Ofosu, acting director general of GHS, said the supply of oxygen had been a major challenge in Ghana’s fight against COVID-19 and thanked the US government for its continued support.

Dr Joseph Oliver-Commey, Director of the Ghana Center for Infectious Diseases, and Dr Emmanuel Srofenyo, Medical Director of Greater Accra Regional Hospital, spoke about the overcrowded bed capacity of their facilities due to the increasing number of patients. COVID-19 patients with severe to critical cases.

They said the support would help meet the health care needs of the facilities and also help keep costs down.