Philip Smith handing over the medical scrubs to Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye
The United Kingdom (UK) Mission in Ghana has handed over 5,000 sets of locally produced medical scrubs to the Ministry of Health (MoH) to support hospitals in treating Covid-19 cases.
The donation of the personal protective equipment (PPE) is the UK’s latest support to the Ghanaian governmentin its Covid-19 fight.
The Development Director at the UK Mission, Philip Smith, commended the Ghanaian government for its proactive measures and response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I want to recognise Ghana and the Ministry of Health for its response to Covid-19 which has resulted in low active cases,” he said.
Mr. Smith, however, noted that Covid-19 continues to have a significant impact on people, health systems and economies around the world.
He said when countries were faced with shortage of PPE, the governments of Ghana, UK, USA and that of Germany were able to work closely with their apparel sector to produce locally manufactured PPE for their citizens.
He added that the UK government through its apparel firm has over the past few months worked with local companies (Alfie Designs and KAD Manufacturing Limited) to enhance their production.
“Together, we have achieved a great deal; the firms we worked with have produced over 45,000 medical scrubs for both domestic and international markets,” he indicated.
He was hopeful that the UK government and the MoH would initiate discussions to include the apparel businesses in their procurement of locally produced medical scrubs.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye, who received the items on behalf of the government, said the local garment industry continues to play a critical role in the containment of Covid-19 infection.
He noted that the early engagement of local manufacturers in the production of PPE helped many Ghanaians to access one of the essential tools for protecting themselves against Covid-19.
Dr. Okoe Boye, therefore, thanked the UK government for the gesture, adding that so far as the country is recording active Covid-19 cases, there was the need to keep frontline health workers protected and the public safe.
“Covid-19 is like a bushfire; until the last flame is quenched, we cannot say it is over because that little flame can be reignited,” he said.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri