The Private Health Association of Ghana has said some private health facilities intend folding up their activities due to the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Association, some facilities are shutting down their operations due to the fear that their staff might contract the disease.
The government announced on Wednesday, the allocation of 1.2 million PPE to health facilities in the country.
However, in an interview with Citi News, President of the Private Health Association, Samuel Donkor said they are yet to receive PPE from the government.
“We are just struggling all over. We are not being paid to fight COVID-19. We are not being paid to buy PPE and fight COVID-19. There is no support from the government,” he said
“Thousands of PPE have been supplied and we do not even know where they are. Some of us are folding up our activities due to the fear of contracting the disease and spreading it.
Globally the deficit of PPE amid the novel coronavirus pandemic has been a major point of concern and Ghana has not been an exception.
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has also reiterated its concerns over the distribution of PPE to health facilities after the confirmation that 13 members of the group who are medical doctors, tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The government says it has enabled significant domestic production and supply of protective equipment to health workers.
President Nana Akufo-Addo recently noted that 905,031 nose masks, 31,630 medical scrubs, 31,472 gowns, 46,870 headcovers, and 83,500 N-95 face masks have been available.
Giving some advice on the distribution on face masks, the Africa Centre for Health Policy urged a more equitable approach.
“You look at densely populated areas and areas that are recording more cases of COVID-19 compared with areas that are not recording more cases so that you can direct more of the face masks to areas that are densely populated and areas that are hotspots,” the Executive Director of the Centre, Ahmed Farhan, said.
