By Emmanuel AKOMEA
The Team Lead for DeveloPPP Ghana, GIZ, Dr. Holger Till, has indicated that Pandemic Management Projects have successfully reached over one million people, providing essential support and resources to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
Speaking at the close-out of Pandemic Management projects implemented by GIZ, he highlighted the initiatives’ key objectives and achievements.
“These projects are focused on pandemic management, leveraging strength from the private sector, government agencies and academic institutions to improve the health and well-being of employees, their families and surrounding communities,” he explained.
The two projects – ‘COVID-19: Comprehensive Pandemic Management for Employees, Families and Communities’ and ‘COVID-19 Pandemic Management in Times of COVID-19 and Beyond’ – reached 857,336 and 275,747 people respectively over their three-year duration.
Even though the devastating disease that ground down many health systems subsided and life returned to normalcy, the projects continued because their objectives were essential. Among others, the two projects sought to build business continuity and pandemic preparedness plans while ensuring the catchment communities of private partners were economically and health-resilient.
Both projects were funded through the develoPPP programme on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with nine private partners.
The private partners are Golden Exotics, Blue Skies, Appointed Time Printing, Kasapreko, Coca Cola, Golden Star Resources, Asanko Gold, Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine and Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine.
The projects have taken a comprehensive approach, addressing both communicable and non-communicable diseases. A significant focus has been on screening and early detection of conditions like hypertension, diabetes and various types of cancer.
Beyond screening, the projects have also implemented educational campaigns and interventions to promote healthy behaviours and strengthen the overall healthcare system.
Moving forward, the project team is committed to further strengthening pandemic management efforts and exploring ways to enhance youth participation.
“We will be providing a comprehensive report on our pandemic management work, which will help us identify areas for improvement and guide our future strategies,” Dr. Till said.
According to Prof Julius Fobil, Director-Africa Centre for Geo-Health, University of Ghana, the projects have seen impressive results – with participation exceeding 100 percent in some areas. He added that the projects have trained community leaders who are now equipped to continue implementing the programme at local level.
“We have built community trust, we have mobilised people. We have taught them skills; and beyond the skills we have taught them how to identify key symptoms of health threats,” Prof. Fobil said.
Moving forward, the project team plans to continue engaging with communities, health leaders, local leaders and partner organisations involved in the initiative.
“The plan is not to end here but continue engagements with the people that our partners have established, so the collaborations will continue,” he added.
