Madam Sophia Akuffo
THE COVID-19 National Trust Fund, the emergency fund set up in 2020 to mobilise resources to support government in its management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Ghana, says as at June 30, 2022, it had raised GH¢62 million.
Of the amount, it said it disbursed GH¢53 million to support COVID-19 related programmes and expenditure.
Chairperson of the fund and former Chief Justice, Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo, who made this known at the bi-weekly press conference put together by the Ministry of Information in Accra on Thursday, said the amount raised by the fund constitutes donations from individuals, corporate institutions, and professional associations.
“As of 30th June, 2022, the fund received GHȼ62,329,941.98. Particularly at the heat of matters, we had also received a whole range of in-kind donations including sanitisers, cleansers, cleansing equipment, various types of dry foods, drinks and so on. In addition, we also received a number of vehicles from donors and other noble institutions for which we allocated to institutions engaged in the combat of the pandemic,” she stressed.
She said in addition to the GH¢53,230,805.37 disbursed, personal protective equipment (PPE) for distribution to institutions were also procured to help manage the disease.
Providing more details, Madam Sophia Akuffo said in 2020, when the disease was raging, the fund disbursed a total amount of GH¢42,245,650. This, she said, included the GH¢6,801,840 the fund allocated to the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund (GCPSF) for the construction of the 100-bed National Infectious Disease Centre in Accra, and the support to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and other relevant institutions for the procurement of the needed logistics, to heighten public education and awareness of the pandemic and its prevention.
She said the fund, in 2021, disbursed an amount of GH¢4,997,765 towards the fight against the pandemic, adding in 2022, it has so far made allocation of GH¢5,617,223. She explained this includes cash allocation for the airing of documentaries to promote the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination and the GH¢2,272,762 allocated to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to undertake COVID-19 vaccine research, to establish the durability of immune responses elicited by three vaccines within the Ghanaian population.
The foregoing, Ms. Akuffo said, was in line with the fund’s promise to be transparent in the disbursement and management of money raised through the fund, to support government in its COVID-19 management. The current balance, as at June 30, 2022, stood at GH¢9,099,136.