President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has revealed that his government recruited an additional 58,000 healthcare providers during the peak of the pandemic.
Speaking at the National Honours and Awards ceremony at the Accra International Conference Center, the president stated that, in order to ensure citizens’ safety, the government made some difficult but necessary decisions, including healthcare recruitment.
“Our priority then was the health and safety of Ghanaians and that is why we put in place a comprehensive strategy in place to deal with the virus which incidences were unknown, and we were restrained from shaking hands and hugging each other, and we had to endure stress caused by the poking of our noses and throats anytime we underwent a PCR switch.”
READ ALSO:
Delivering the keynote address before presenting the awards, the president added that “the government also found the money to recruit, on a permanent basis, 58,041 more health professionals. COVID-19 boosted our domestic manufacturing capabilities and increased our self-sufficiency. Under my direction, the pharmaceutical industry responded positively to the need for domestic production of sanitizers, disinfectants, and liquid soaps.”
The president also stated that his administration purchased GH81 million in personal protective equipment from local manufacturers to ensure Ghanaians’ safety.
READ ALSO:
“Furthermore, Ghana was able to obtain approximately GH81 million in personal protective equipment such as face masks, garments, medical scrubs, and hospital gowns from domestic garment and textile manufacturing companies for health workers and students who wrote their final exams during the period.”
READ ALSO:
“Our relative success in combating COVID-19 is a testament to the tireless work of our researchers, scientists, advisors, public health managers, frontline healthcare workers, hospital staff, contact tracers, security services, public and private sector agencies, faith-based organizations, and so many others,” the president continued.
Among those honored by the state was Minister of Health Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, who received the Order of the Volta-Companion.
