US Donates Lab to Armed Forces
U S DEFENSE Attaché Lt Col Keith Blakely and Deputy Office of Security Cooperation Chief, Lt Col John Van Steenburgh have cut the ribbon with Commodore Sowa, Director General- Medical of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), on a newly donated laboratory facility in Takoradi in the Western Region. The laboratory would assist the GAF in developing and implementing military-specific HIV prevention, care and treatment programmes, including, HIV testing and counselling, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections and screening for tuberculosis.
The US Department of Defence HIV/AIDS Prevention Programme (DHAPP) constructed and equipped the laboratory, valued at $85,000, for use by the GAF. This collaboration between the US Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU)-3 and the DHAPP was funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The renovation initiative started in 2010, and transformed the former building into two laboratories, one for HIV/AIDS and the other for malaria. The facility intends to reach out to the large military community in the area, including active duty and retired military personnel (Navy, Air Force and Army), civilian staff and family members living in Sekondi and Takoradi.
The US Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU)-3 has engaged in numerous infectious disease surveillance efforts in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) such as influenza surveillance, sexually transmitted disease surveillance, and acute febrile infections (AFI) surveillance, and would be initiating this AFI surveillance at the Takoradi laboratory in the upcoming year. With the laboratory established with the GAF, education and training of the support staff would pave the way for more sophisticated testing to be undertaken autonomously by the garrison. Through this project, the facility had been furnished with state of the art laboratory equipment, including a centrifuge, an analytical balance, a light microscope, hot air oven, an incubator an autoclave, and an overhead water tank with the capacity to store over 1000 gallons of water and water heaters .
The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme implemented by USAID, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Defence (DOD), the Department of State and Peace Corps have fought the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Ghana since 2007. PEPFAR, which directly funds the Government of Ghana's AIDS response supported HIV counselling and testing for more than 86,000 people in 2012 alone and is currently working with 15 laboratories across the country to attain international accreditation. PEPFAR supports people living with HIV today in Ghana, to empower them to take care of themselves, to help each other seek treatment, and to bring the message of prevention to others.