Millennium Promise Alliance (MPA), in partnership with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) is set to launch a real-time, electronic version of the health declaration form that is used to obtain passengers’ travel history and detect signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
The system has already been deployed at the Kotoka International Airport with the commencement of flights to the country.
MPA developed Mobile and Web Health Declaration Applications to replace the paper-based version that was used prior to the closure of the country’s borders.
The App makes it possible for passengers to conveniently fill up the form; whilst its decision support algorithms and analytics help the Port Health team to speed up decision-making and follow-up.
Travellers can access the Health Declaration App on their mobile phones, tablets, or computers through the Ghana Health Service website.
Additionally, all passengers will have their temperatures screened through the MPA Porthealth Thermocheck booths.
“COVID-19 has ushered in a lot of homegrown ideas and domesticated technological advancements of which I’m grateful to God to have been useful in such a competitive era together with my MPA team. The project has added a boost to Ghana’s preparedness to open its airports for international flights. I am very proud to leverage on our long-standing partnership with the Ghana Health Service to bring this project to life,” said Chief Nathaniel Ebo Nsarko, Executive Director of Millennium Promise Alliance.
He added that “due to COVID-19, Technology is being deployed at such a dizzying pace in recent months that it has transformed our world in ways that we least imagined. Coming up with this innovative idea started out to be difficult, if not impossible, and almost certainly up for fierce debate as we have always believed in foreigners than ourselves. Nevertheless, we gave it a shot and here we are, purely Ghanaian but of international standards; proudly Ghanaian.”
This collaboration is part of MPA’s agenda of mobilizing science and cutting-edge technology towards sustainable development and to improve the health and well-being of the population in Ghana.
The Non-Governmental Organisation seeks to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger, and preventable diseases, especially in deprived communities.
In Ghana, MPA provides technical support for school health screening, community health workers program, rural diagnostic laboratory services, and personal protective equipment for frontline health workers among others.