Ghana reaffirms commitment to strengthening Disease Surveillance and Emergency Preparedness

The Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to strengthening disease surveillance, laboratory systems, genomic sequencing and emergency preparedness to improve the country’s ability to respond to public health emergencies.

Mr Akandoh made the statement on Tuesday in Accra when he opened a two-day annual meeting of the Regional Technical Advisory Committee (ReTAC) of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Western Africa Regional Coordinating Centre (RCC) in Ghana.

He said the meeting was timely as African countries intensify efforts to strengthen health systems, deepen regional cooperation and advance health sovereignty.

According to him, the COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks, as well as emerging threats such as mpox, Marburg and antimicrobial resistance, had demonstrated the need for stronger collaboration among African countries.

He said public health threats did not respect national borders, making stronger cross-border surveillance, effective information sharing, resilient supply chains and a well-trained public health workforce necessary for better emergency response.

He said Ghana was also promoting local production of essential medicines, vaccines and diagnostics as part of efforts to strengthen health security and reduce reliance on external sources during health emergencies.

Mr Akandoh urged ReTAC members to provide practical and scientifically sound recommendations to strengthen the Western Africa RCC and improve the region’s readiness to respond swiftly and collectively to future health emergencies.

The two-day meeting provides a platform for technical experts and stakeholders to discuss regional health security priorities, share expertise and develop recommendations to strengthen disease surveillance and emergency preparedness across West Africa.

The meeting brings together technical experts from the 15 African Member States in the West African Region, representatives of regional economic communities, health partners, Africa CDC Headquarters and the Western Africa RCC Secretariat.