Promoting Public Health And Social Resilience Against COVID-19 Project Launched

The Government of Ghana represented by the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Japanese Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana, Mr Tsutomu Himeno, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Representative in Ghana, Mr. Fakhruddin Azizi, have marked the launch of the project “Promoting public health and social resilience against COVID-19 by strengthening the domestic supply chain of personal protective equipment under a circular economy approach.”

The project will be implemented by the UNIDO in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ghana to promote public health and strengthen the domestic supply chains of personal protective equipment and hygiene supplies in response to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

This project is also in response to the sixth strategic objective of revised National Strategic COVID-19 Response Plan (2020-2024) of the Ministry of Health which seeks to Increase Domestic Capacity & Self Reliance.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to influence the socio-economic stability of Ghana. The ability to supply and deliver personal protective equipment, disinfectants and hygiene products is critical die the country’s efforts to control the virus and its potential resurgence in the future.

The UNIDO project will address the country’s need to reinforce, both quantitatively and qualitatively, its domestic supply capacity of critical preventive supplies, thus assisting the Government of Ghana in its fights against the spread of high-risk infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

Besides a range of capacity-building activities, the project will strengthen the local manufacturing capability in the production o fb face masks and other personal protective equipment and employ a nature based solution with the use of plant-based chemicals in the production of hygiene supplies such as sanitizers.

The successful implementation of the project will strengthen the humanitarian-development next in Ghana and in the region, anchoring stable public health, greener environment as well as sustainable employment by underpinning the domestic production sector.