Ashanti Region: America announces new Support for Public Health in Ghana

The U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan has announced a new support for Ghana’s public health system and COVID-19 response with a new U.S. funded Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) for the Ashanti Region.

The $100,000 center is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Ambassador Sullivan toured the new center in Kumasi, accompanied by Ashanti Regional Minister, Honorable Simon Osei-Mensah, and Ghana Health Service Director General, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.

This is the third U.S.-funded PHEOC launched in the past month, following commissions of new centers in Sekondi, Western Region and Tamale, Northern Region in late August.

“We stand with Ghana and Ghanaians in the fight against COVID-19.  From vaccines, to oxygen equipment and respiratory care, to long-term health infrastructure investment and coordinated health information, we are as committed as ever to our robust, decades-long public health collaboration with Ghana.  As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, a command and control center that includes relevant health system stakeholders is essential for the effective coordination of COVID-19 response strategies,” said Ambassador Sullivan during her visit.

A PHEOC serves as the central command center and brings together important stakeholders and experts for coordinated responses to public health events and threats, like COVID-19, polio, and Ebola.

It provides real-time data analyses and visualizations that promote evidence-based decision making.  Regional PHEOCs are a part of a sustainable approach to building a resilient and responsive public health infrastructure in Ghana and will link with the national PHEOC for mutual and timely sharing of critical pandemic and health emergency information.

The Ashanti, Northern and Western Region PHEOCs are the result of a collaboration between the Ghana Health Service, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the CDC.

About U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), established on July 1, 1946, is the national public health agency of the United States under the Department of Health and Human Services.

The agency’s main goal to be the protection of public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and worldwide. In Ghana, CDC supports the Ghana Health Service in the areas of HIV, Global Health Security, Influenza, Immunization, and Malaria.

Source: U.S. Embassy Ghana