Launch of COVID-19 testing Program; Welcome Address Delivered by Peter Yeboah

WELCOME ADDRESS DELIVERED BY PETER YEBOAH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CHAG, AT THE LAUNCH OF CHAG COVID 19 TESTING PROGRAMME AT THE GHANA INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTRE ON TUESDAY 30^TH MARCH 2021.

SALUTATION

1. Madam Chair, Dr Martha Gyansa Luthrodt, Director Technical Coordination, MoH
2. Hon Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Minister of Health, and MP for Dormaa Central
3. The Development Director of FCDO, Mr. Philip Smith and His UKAid Team
4. Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, Chairman Parliamentary Select Committee on Health, and MP for Effiduase/Asokore
5. Dr Patrick Kumah Aboagye, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service
6. Prof William Ampofo, Head, National COVID Laboratory Network
7. Dr Philip Bannor, Registrar, HeFRA
8. Dr Maxwell Antwi, Country Director, PharmAccess Foundation
9. Dr Yaw Samuel Opoku, Registrar, Allied Health Professionals Council
10. Dr Frankline Asiedu Bekoe, Director Public Health, GHS
11. Dr Kofi Issah, Director Family Health Division, Ghana Health Service
12. Moore, the MD of Nylex Company
13. Rev Dr Cyril Fayosi, General Secretary, Christian Council of Ghana
14. Rev Fr. Larzarus Anonde, General Secretary, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference
15. CHAG Trustees
16. Management and Staff of Facilities from the six (6) testing sites
17. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
18. Members of the Media here present

OPENING STATEMENT

With deep sense of gratitude for responding to our invitation at such a short notice, we bring you prayerful greetings, blessings and best wishes of this Holy Week of Lent as we prepare for Easter Celebration.

ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF GHANA (CHAG)

• CHAG is a network organization of 346 Health Institutions owned by the Ghana Catholic Bishop Conference, Christian Council of Ghana, and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council.
• As the 2^nd largest provider of health services, apart from Government/GHS, we contribute 20% National OPD attendance and 35% of in-patient care.
• Annually, close to 9 million Ghanaians benefit from the services of CHAG.
• Located in all the 16 Regions of Ghana, we operate mainly in the rural, unreached and remote segments of the country always targeting the needy and vulnerable populations.
• This is consistent with our mission of promoting health and healing by being reliable partners in the provision of much needed healthcare services to the greatest number of people.

 Church leadership Contributions 

Church leadership have earned commendation in the fights against COVID.  Amongst others, they have used the power of the pulpit, their trusted social capital and access to social spaces to help in risk communication campaigns, fighting misinformation and disinformation, and very recently, they have been active champions and pioneers of the Government’s/MOH COVID vaccination campaign by being amongst the first exemplary recipients of the jab, and pledging to fight vaccine hesitancy.

COVID RESPONSE AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING (CRIB) PROJECT

Madam Chair, right at the start of the COVID 19 pandemic, the government emphasized the fact that defeating COVID and ensuring national health security is an “all-of-government and all-society responsibility”

Aware that partnership with government, MOH and its Agencies is critical in promoting CHAG’s vision of a healthy nation, CHAG recognized the obligation to partner the government in the fight against COVID by building capacities for essential health services provision especially in rural communities alongside an effective COVID-19 response action.

Thankfully, the UK government through its Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) formerly DFID, being our reliable development partner over the years, and intent on supporting global efforts, embraced CHAG’s quest to complement government’s efforts in containing the spread, and mitigating the effects of the pandemic in 40 districts where CHAG facilities function as district hospitals.

Consequently, the CHAG/FCDO COVID-19 Response and Institutional Capacity Building Project, christened CRIB, was born with specific objectives comprising:

1. Supporting National Response to COVID-19 in all intervention areas including risk communication campaigns, contact tracing, case management, surveillance, PPE supplies etc
2. Building institutional capacity to support the continuation of basic/routine healthcare services by giving equal or commensurate attention to maternal and child health services, malaria, Non-Communicable Diseases, amongst others
3. Monitoring and evaluating the impact of Covid-19 on health service delivery and sharing lessons learned on implementing Covid-19 response measures

 

 MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT & CONTRIBUTIONS

Starting in July 2020 in 40 districts, where CHAG Hospitals serve as the designated functional District/Municipal Hospitals, the project has made significant contributions to the national COVID-19 response in areas of risk communication, staff capacity building on infection prevention, case management, screening and triaging and contact tracing.

• Strategic and Operational Partnerships

Madam Chair, CHAG’s CRIB project benefits from, and builds on MOH/GHS prior proposals and current efforts at all levels to ensure optimal use of all resources in the fight against COVID especially at the District and sub-district levels of our health system.

Doing so, required collaborative leadership and composition of Project Steering Committee, which includes the Representative of the Office of the President and the leadership of Ghana Health Service.

So, with such health system alignment, one added value from the CRIB project is the enhanced CHAG-GHS partnership and strengthened collaboration at the District and sub-district levels, where the lives and livelihoods of most deprived and disadvantaged people could be most affected by the pandemic.

On monthly basis, there are joint meetings with the district Directors, private sector and key actors in the district on COVID interventions.

This development is novel in many ways!

Thanks to the leadership of the Hon Minister and the Director General of GHS, a new dawn in the health sector synergistic relationship is being nurtured for equitable health outcomes.

• Training

Through UKAid, the CRIB Project has trained

• 6,412 health staff from 1,453 lower-level facilities in 40 districts on IPC, screening & triaging and contact tracing. To be gender sensitive, the trained personnel includes 4,001 female health workers. Among the facilities trained are GHS and private facilities within the operational districts.
• 22 Biomedical Scientists for COVID-19 testing with PCR.

• Treatment Centres

There are about 15 COVID Treatment Centres within the 40 districts. Two hundred (200) staff from 40 hospitals have been trained on case management.

• Quality Improvement

There are 25 CHAG facilities with functional QI Teams to ensure quality of essential services provision.

 

TESTING PROGRAMME

Madam Chair, it’s genetrally acknowledged that our country Ghana has one of the highest COVID testing rates when compared to other African countries.

Despite our best efforts to date, the risk of increase in viral transmission presents a challenge for intervention. In this case, CHAG sees the need for more Test labs to be established as the current rate of testing is not commensurate with the growing demand for COVID-19 testing, both within and beyond the designated epicenters.

And indeed, to better control the spread of COVID-19, it is essential for the government to ramp up the capacity and scope of contact tracing, testing, and routine surveillance.

Madam Chair, it has  been observed that across some vulnerable generations and geography, prompt and accurate COVID test can mean the difference between life and death.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there are many known knowns, and unknown and unknowns about COVID.

For sure, we know that Good quality testing can help provide us with certainty and confidence as frontline healthcare workers provide routine services for our needy communities, in addition to fighting COVID.

In many ways, Testing is a big part of how we’re going to defeat this disease.

Certainly, access to diagnostic testing services should be part of a comprehensive COVID response actions.

So far,  there have been 3,479 COVID tests (representing 86.2% of all suspected cases) done in the 40  CRIB Project districts through referrals to national testing sites.

Madam Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, Today, under the auspices of UKAid through FCDO, CHAG seeks to upgrade our COVID response intervention with value-add PCR TESTING programme under the CRIB Project in selected CHAG facilities across the regions.

It is expected that this testing  programme  would  help in making testing  easily accessible at the district and sub-district levels.

 

Testing Sites

For strategic reasons, the CRIB Testing programme is located in 6 sites in 5 Regions of Ghana including:

1. Bawku Presbyterian Hospital in the Upper East Region
2. Wenchi Methodist Hospital in the Bono Region
3. Holy Family Hospital-Berekum in the Bono Region
4. SDA Hospital-Kwadaso in the Ashanti Region
5. Franis Xavier Hospital-Assin Fosu-in the Central Region
6. St Dominic Hospital, Akwatia in the Eastern Region

Special Initiative by Hon Minister of Health and DG

7. Dormaa Presbyterian Hospita

PROSPECTS

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the foreseeable future, CHAG will explore the feasibility and support for other CHAG Hospitals in other Regions requiring Testing Services, including Upper West, North East, Volta, Oti, Western North, and other parts of the country with legitimate needs to start testing.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Madam Chair, Hon Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, the culmination of today’s event and future quality assurance regime have been made possible with support of the following Agencies:

1. HEFRA: for rigorous accreditation processes that greenlighted all the TESTING sites
2. FDA: For validation of the PCR machines and on-site verification
3. NOGUCHI: for validation
4. Head, National COVID Laboratory Network: for quality assurance and research
5. Registrar, Allied Health Professionals Council: for credentialing of Biomedical Medical Scientists
6. MOH: For policy direction, technical coordination and other supports

 SPECIAL THANKS

FCDO/UKAid:  Has been a reliable development partner with CHAG starting with the Mental Health Project in 2013, and now, the ongoing CRIB project. for these significant, impactful and continuous support for CHAG over the years, we are grateful!!

CONCLUSION

With urgency, action, and partnership CHAG will continue to engage the MOH, GHS and other allied Agencies, and indeed all development partners, in enhancing effective and coherent COVID response actions, and continue to strengthen Ghana’s health systems to respond, recover, and eventually rebuild – together to return to normalcy, and ultimately achieve Universal Health Coverage

Once again, many thanks for responding to our call for this special event!

God bless us ALL!