ACADEMIA Letters Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19 Aikins Aglago Introduction Corona Virus Disease, which is also known as COVID-19, is a disease that became a global pandemic as declared by the World Health Organization on the 11th of March, 2020. As of 11th March, 2021, a total of 117,160,237 cases of COVID-19 and including 2,598,892 deaths (in accordance with the applied case definitions and testing strategies in the affected countries) have been recorded[1]. According to WHO, COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by a virus that has been newly discovered. The organization identified the aged and people with medical problems as the most vulnerable group to this disease. The disease is usually transmitted when one comes into close contact with an infected person; be it through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose of an infected person who coughs or sneezes. As a result of the deadly nature of the disease, the WHO, in collaboration with other stakeholders all over the world, has put in several preventive measures to stop the disease from spreading further. Some of these measures are wearing face masks, practicing safe handwashing, practicing social distancing, and avoiding touching one’s face, among others. Ghana was not spared by the COVID-19. Just a day after the WHO declared the disease as a pandemic, Ghana recorded her first two cases; one of the infected persons came into the country from Norway while the other came from Turkey. This has given sleepless nights to the government, religious-based organizations, corporate organizations, researchers, and all citizens ever since those first two cases have been confirmed. This has also caused the government and all those other stakeholders to come up with several measures to combat Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 1 Figure 1: Distribution of COVID-19 cases worldwide, as of week 9 2021 Source: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2021 this canker. According to the Ghana Health Service (GHS), the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases of Ghana as of 5th March 2021 stood at 86, 737, with a total of 81, 299 recoveries and 656 deaths. The total active case as of that day was 4, 782[2]. Below is the regional breakdown of the COVID-19 situation in Ghana as reported by GHS. Source: Ghana Health Service, 2021 Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 2 How the Ghanaian Government Addresses the Corona Virus Disease Having known that the country’s healthcare system isn’t that solid to deal with this pandemic, the government of Ghana has adopted several directives and responses toward curbing COVID-19. These directives have won the hearts of many people and institutions all over the world including WHO. With being one of the early adopters of the pool testing method, the country’s responses became a yardstick for many other countries, especially on the continent. Discussed below are some of the several measures adopted by Ghana in her response to containing the virus and also to mitigate its impact on her economic development process. Tracing, Testing, and Treatment This was one of the early responses by the Ghanaian government in its quest to contain the pandemic. It was the nation’s primary response wherein the case whereby a case has been confirmed, intensive contact tracing is done to, first of all, identify all the people that the infected person came into contact with. And after the contacts have been found, a test is carried out on each person and persons who are found positive to the virus and isolated and treated for some time. Many experts lauded this response mechanism and even tagged it as the bedrock behind why the country was able to control the first wave of the pandemic. Vaccination Vaccination is the most recent strategy adopted by Ghana towards containing COVID-19. Regardless of the numerous dislikes of the COVID-19 vaccine by some presidents, the government of Ghana saw it very vital to acquire some of those vaccines to contain the pandemic. As a result, on the 24th of February, 2021, Ghana in history became the first country in the entire world to receive her first batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via the COVAX Facility. This vaccine is freely given to ‘poor” countries to help them fight the pandemic. A total of 600 000 doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine licensed to Serum Institute of India have arrived in the capital city of Ghana, Accra[3]. After the vaccine arrived, a brief meeting was organized by the president where he urged all Ghanaians to ignore the conspiracy theories associated with the vaccine. He categorically said “taking the vaccine will not alter your DNA, it will not embed a tracking device in your body, and neither will it cause infertility in women or men[4].” And to prove to Ghanaians that the vaccine was safe, he and the wife became the first two Ghanaians to receive a dose of the vaccine, this he did publicly. Vaccination started Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 3 after the president received his dose and the group of people who are prioritized for this first batch of vaccines is health workers, senior government officials, and adults over 60 years of age with underlying health conditions. Restricted Movements and Gatherings (Lockdowns) This was another bold decision made by the government regardless of its impact on economic activities. Restrictions were placed in several forms. First of all, the government announced social distancing measures after which they placed an embargo on foreign nationals from entering the country; all modes of transportation, sea, land, and air, were closed and he instructed a 14-day obligatory quarantine and testing for all travelers from countries that have confirmed more than 200 COVID-19 cases. The president on the 15th of March, 2020 closed down all churches, schools, mosques and as well banned people from attending social gatherings. A week later, he declared a partial lockdown on some cities that were identified as epicenters. Financial Measures and Stimulus Packages The government made sure funds were available to achieve its target of eliminating the pandemic. To achieve this, the government first and foremost set up a fund called “Ghana COVID19 National Trust Fund.” This scheme was set up to solicit for the fund to complement the government’s effort in the fight against the pandemic. The fund has attracted donations from both organizations and individuals. The president and his vice were among the first people to donate their 3-month salary (April to June 2020) to the fund. Other individuals and organizations such as Ghanaians in the diaspora, political parties, parliamentarians, religious bodies, and other private entities contributed to this course in cash and or kind. To incentivize the citizens, the government announced a waiver on the water bill for all citizens from April to December 2020 and a 50% waiver on electricity from April to June 2020. Having realized that most cities are on lockdown and heads of families became unproductive, the government in collaboration with other entities distributed food and other provisions to the disadvantaged. Also, the government increased the salary of all front-line health workers in the country by 50% and as well a Life Insurance Cover. Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 4 Public Education and Sensitization The government of Ghana has done massive education and sensitization on COVID-19 ever since the country first two have been confirmed. This the government did by partnering with stakeholders such as civil society organizations, public transport owners, sellers at the markets, and leaders of various groups and associations. The government also through ministers and other health workers and with the help of media houses offer public education on the virus. Celebrities and other social media influencers were employed to sensitize the public more. The government through holding public education and stakeholder engagement meetings also encouraged local production of Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) and other supplies that can be used to combat the pandemic. Fumigation and Disinfection A disinfection exercise spearheaded by the government was put in place. Public domains such as lorry stations, markets, and drains were cleaned and disinfected. Also, the government has realized that schools were on lockdown, arranged for schools to be fumigated and disinfected before reopening. Other individuals and private organizations also helped in disinfecting other various public places at their own cost. Among such philanthropies was a renowned Ghanaian pilot by name the name of Eric Acquah. Eric owns a drone company which he used to do the disinfection with the aid of donations from other donors. Presidential Address to the Nation This particular response is the most effective response that keeps almost all Ghanaian up to date with issues surrounding the pandemic. The presidential address is a regular talk that the president of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, gives to Ghanaians. This address usually tells Ghanaians the measures taken by the government thus far to contain the pandemic and the successes that those measures have chalked. The address also notifies Ghanaian about the reported coronavirus cases. This he does on Sundays at 8 pm and being telecast on major news networks. Conclusion The pandemic has impacted the world; ranging from countries recording no or negative economic growth to the death of many people. One would say that the pandemic has been able to Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 5 Photo credit: NAkufoAddo expose the weak health systems of many countries. Nonetheless, it awakened my countries, especially developing countries, from their slumber as many of them were sleeping on their health systems and were in no way prepared for any emergency of the sort. This I think should be a very big lesson to all countries especially the developing ones like Ghana. But in all, the government of Ghana has done extremely well to contain this pandemic and all, including the last person in the country, were involved. As a result of that, the numerous successes chalked against this deadly virus are evident and worldly commended. Regardless, there are still some challenges that these response mechanisms face. One such challenge is the fact that many citizens still do not believe in the existence of the virus and for that matter, they do not observe all the protocols implemented by the government. Recommendation The government of Ghana has put in measures that have been able to control the pandemic to a greater extent. Nonetheless, her processes of responding to the pandemic still face some challenges which she must identify and solve as soon as possible; engaging all stakeholders Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 6 will be of more help in this situation. Below are a few recommendations that the government of Ghana can consider to improve her response towards the addressing of the COVID-19 pandemic: 1. The legislation passed for observing all COVID-19 protocols should be intensified. 2. The government should increase tracing and testing ability. 3. Public education and stakeholder engagement should be strengthened. 4. There should be an improvement in the distribution of resources, such as PPEs and information for weak populations. 5. Health workers should be protected to the highest degree. References 1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 11 Mar 2021. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution2019-ncov-cases (11 March 2021). 2. Ghana Health Service. COVID-19; Ghana’s outbreak response management updates, as of 5 Mar 2021. https://ghanahealthservice.org/covid19/latest.php (11 March 2021). 3. Jiaqi Zhang, Justice Nonvignon, and Wenhui Mao. How well is Ghana—with one of the best testing capacities in Africa—responding to COVID-19? 28 July 2020. https:// www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2020/07/28/how-well-is-ghana-with-oneof-the-best-testing-capacities-in-africa-responding-to-covid-19/ (13 March 2021). 4. Reuters. Taking the COVID-19 vaccine will not alter your DNA, the Ghana president says, 1 March 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-ghana-president/ taking-covid-19-vaccine-will-not-alter-your-dna-ghana-president-says-idUSKCN2AT1L3. (13 March 2021). 5. World Health Organization. COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped by the COVAX Facility head to Ghana, marking the beginning of global rollout, 24 February 2021. 13 March 2021. Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 7 [1] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 21 July 2020. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution2019-ncov-cases (11 March 2021). [2] Ghana Health Service. COVID-19; Ghana’s outbreak response management updates, as of 5 Mar 2021. https://ghanahealthservice.org/covid19/latest.php (11 March 2021). [3] World Health Organization. COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped by the COVAX Facility head to Ghana, marking the beginning of global rollout, 24 February 2021. (13 March 2021). [4] Reuters. Taking the COVID-19 vaccine will not alter your DNA, the Ghana president says, 1 March 2021. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-ghana-president/ taking-covid-19-vaccine-will-not-alter-your-dna-ghana-president-says-idUSKCN2AT1L3. (13 March 2021). Academia Letters, July 2021 ©2021 by the author — Open Access — Distributed under CC BY 4.0 Corresponding Author: Aikins Aglago, aikinsaglago@gmail.com Citation: Aglago, A. (2021). Measures taken by the government of Ghana to combat COVID-19. Academia Letters, Article 2038. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL2038. 8