Ghana launches 2021 World Food Safety Day

On 7 June 2021, Ghana joined the rest of the world in commemorating 2021 World Food Safety Day which aims to draw attention to food borne risks and encourage the practice of food safety standards to help prevent, detect and manage food borne diseases. The day was celebrated in Accra under the theme: ‘Safe Food Now for a Healthy Tomorrow’. 

Tackling surges in severe COVID-19 cases in Africa

Africa has the highest global mortality rate among critically ill COVID-19 patients despite having the world’s lowest COVID-19 infections and deaths overall, a recent study published by the Lancet found. Shortage of critical care resources and their underuse are some of the contributing factors. Dr Christian Owoo, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anaesthesia, University of Ghana Medical School and a Consultant Anaesthetist/Intensivist and Head of Intensive Care Unit at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, discusses ways to prevent severe COVID-19 illness and avert a surge in deaths.

What it means to be more vulnerable to COVID-19: 69-year-old Adwoa Afrakoma shares h...

Diabetic, Hypertensive and suffering from Ulcers, 69 years old Adwoa Afrakoma, a resident of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region reflects on an emotional journey filled with anxiety and uncertainty, from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to receiving a second dose of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine. Auntie Adwoa’s face beams with smiles and optimism as she sits for a few minutes under observation after taking her jab.

Ghana shares success story in COVID-19 vaccine rollout with Cote d’Ivoire

News on the discovery of COVID-19 vaccine brought with it, a renewed sense of hope and security as had been the expectation. Prior to that, COVID-19 response strategy had mainly been non-pharmaceutical interventions (face masks, physical distancing, hand hygiene) and the vaccines were expected to be an additional preventative measure to the pre-existing protocols. 

Ministry of Health receives ICU Equipment to support critical case management of COV...

Ghana has made steady progress in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic since recording the first case.  Over 91, 000 cases have been confirmed with 754 deaths since March 2020, giving a case fatality rate of 0.83%. Effective critical case management of the disease among others could be described as a key contributing factor to this success. To sustain the momentum in the fight, the World Health Organization has presented ICU equipment to the Ministry of Health to support in this direction.