The African Development Bank (AfDB) has donated $50 million to help in the fight against the Ebola disease in the West African sub-region.
This was disclosed by Ghana’s Deputy Health Minister, Dr Victor Bampoe on Thursday after a conference of Health Ministers from ECOWAS member states.
He also mentioned that West African nations have agreed to share resources beyond money to fight the disease which has claimed thousands of lives.
West African leaders and their Health Ministers met in Accra to further evaluate efforts being made to combat the deadly disease and also to proffer more effective solutions. A communiqué is to be released on recommendations made during the meeting.
The deadly Ebola virus has killed about 1,400 people and despite efforts being made to contain the disease, the World Health Organization has warned that 20,000 people are likely to get infected before the disease is brought under control.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, Dr. Bampoe indicated that notable among the recommendations to be outlined in the communiqué are; human resource support in affected countries and nations that are not affected and the strengthening of surveillance systems.
According to him, the government of Ghana is taking the nation’s preparedness level “very, very seriously” adding that government is due to receive 10, 000 personal protective equipment.
The Deputy Health Minister said different member states are “doing their best to make sure that they provide resources to fight this disease and not to forget other development partners.”
He remarked that Ghanaians “can comfortably accept that the fact that there is a lot of that going on right now” regarding public education about the disease.
Dr. Bampoe gave the assurance that Ghana Health Service (GHS) has efficient surveillance systems that will pick up suspected cases to prevent a possible outbreak of the disease in Ghana.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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