The Elwak COVID-19 Treatment Centre has only one week stock of Personal Protective Equipment.
The Centre is a level two makeshift Centre set up at the El-walk Sports stadium to treat persons with COVID-19.
Currently, only one person is on admission.
Speaking to a team from the Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee touring facilities in Accra, Second Officer in Charge at the facility, Lt. Col Delali Adzigbah stressed the need for the facility to be restocked with personal protective kits urgently.
“We need more PPE. We currently have just about 100 full PPE. And about 20 disposable ones.”
There have been several calls on the government to provide adequate PPE to health facilities across the country.
On Monday the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) emphasized the need for various health facilities to provide enough PPE for laboratory scientists amid an outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana.
“GAMLS reiterates that the employer and managers of our health facilities must ensure adequate provision of the required PPE in line with the Labour Act, 2003 Act 651, Article 118 (1) and 3 to enable Medical Laboratory Professionals to offer their services routinely to patients and for the management of COVID-19 cases in our various places of work.”
In response to calls for provision of PPE, the government has indicated that it will, from Tuesday, begin the local production of PPE.
President Nana Akufo-Addo said this has become necessary because of the shortage of the already procured PPE which are essential for the protection of frontline health workers risking their lives every day to battle the virus.
Addressing the nation on Sunday, President Akufo-Addo said the government has placed a high priority on the procurement of PPE.
He added that the Ministry of Health was spearheading the distribution of the PPE from the national level to the regional and district levels.
“This, notwithstanding, Government is aware that more needs to be done, especially in the face of the global shortage of PPE. It is for this reason that Government is actively engaged with local manufacturing companies to assist them in the domestic production of PPE, and I am encouraged by the response from the Ghanaian private sector. Domestic production of face masks, head covers, surgical scrubs and gowns will commence from Tuesday. For example, 3,600,000 face masks will be produced domestically, with an output of 150,000 per day.”
COVID-19 fight: ECOWAS dispatches PPE to member countries
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also distributed PPE, test kits and medication to its member countries amid the novel Coronavirus pandemic to help combat the outbreak.
As of April 5, 2020, the member states are affected by the pandemic with 1,739 confirmed cases of contamination, 55 deaths and 328 persons who have fully recovered with approximately 95% of deaths being patients with underlying conditions.
In this regard, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), ECOWAS’s specialized health institution responsible for coordinating the response at the regional level, has drawn up a Regional Strategic Plan with all member states.
Thus, to address the emergency at hand, ECOWAS has immediately made available financial support from its own resources, in addition to assistance from international partners, for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment essential for the fight against the pandemic.
“WAHO has already purchased and dispatched to the 15 Member States, 30,500 diagnostic test kits, 10,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (Coveralls, Aprons, gowns, gloves, goggles, boots) and 740,000 prescription tablets (Chloroquine and Azithromycin),” ECOWAS said in a statement.
