The Ghana Association of Public Health Technical Officers (GAPHTO), has donated GHC50,000 worth of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to the Ministry of Health (MoH).
The donation was made on Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
The items donated include 40 non-contact thermometers, 42 sets of Assorted PPEs and 32 gallons of hand sanitisers.
GAPHTO is an association of frontline Public Health Workers in Disease Control and Surveillance, Nutrition and Health Information Systems Management.
In a statement signed by its National President, Mavis Fuseini Oswald Dachaga, GAPHTO, described the donation as its “widow’s mite as the nation continue to mobilise resources for the fight against COVID-19.”
“We wish to reiterate the continuous dedication and commitment of our members as forebearers and implementers of the national response effort as we lead critical activities such as contact tracing, sample collection and transportation, public education and data management which are critical in the National efforts towards dealing with COVID-19,” it says.
It applauded the President Akufo-Addo, Government of Ghana, the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service for their swift action to ensure the Health Care System is adequately resourced for the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The decision to give financial clearance and permanently employ 3,797 Allied Health Professionals who were still awaiting appointment into the Ghana Health Service and other agencies under the Ministry of Health to help existing Allied Health Professionals in their efforts towards containing the pandemic and other health care interventions,” it says.
The Provision of Insurance cover for Health Staff, it added, the waiver of taxes on emoluments and the additional payment of 50% of basic salary for frontline Health Staff for the months of March, April, May and June 2020.
“The provision of logistics needed across the country for health staff as we fight COVOID-19 though inadequate such as icepacks for maintaining recommended temperature of samples as they transported to diagnostic centres and the imposition of the various restrictions on movement in and out of Ghana in order to limit the spread of COVID-19, though undesirable but unavoidable.”
Background
The Ghana Association of Public Health Technical Officers (GAPHTO) is an association which is an Amalgam of Field Technicians, Health Records Assistants, and Technical officers (Nutrition, Disease Control, Community Health, and Health Information) are the foremost group of frontline Public Health Workers in Disease Control and Surveillance, Nutrition and Health Information Systems Management sacrificing their lives across Districts and Health Facilities to ensure the Country contains the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
