SEND Ghana, a subsidiary of SEND Foundation West Africa, has appealed to the government to remain committed to its word to establish a Public Health Emergency Fund (PHEF) as indicated in the 2022-2025 National Medium Term Development Framework in preparedness towards future epidemics in the country.

The Subsidiary of SEND Foundation of West Africa in a statement said the PHEF was necessary due to the multiple outbreaks of diseases including the coronavirus, Marburg and Monkeypox.

‘’Failing to plan for disease outbreaks costs more than having a preparedness plan in place. Hence, Ghana must prepare for and learn quickly about potential epidemics rather than waiting to act when outbreaks happen.”

The Foundation also urged the government to amend the existing COVID-19 Trust Fund and make revenue from the COVID-19 Recovery the primary source of funding for PHEF.

The foundation said the amendments and creation of revenue will help Ghana prepare for pandemic and epidemic outbreaks since the recent outbreaks have shown eligible countries who prepared for COVID-19.

The establishment of PHEF according to SEND Ghana would contribute to building a resilient healthcare system to cater to and support investments in health infrastructure, logistics, Human Resources, risk communication during outbreaks, local manufacturing of medicines and vaccines, and health research.

“We hope the government will take the necessary steps to establish the PHEF before the end of 2023, especially when some Ghanaian citizens are beginning to question the relevance of the COVID-19 levy.” A portion of the statement said.

Read the full statement below: