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🇬🇭 Ghana /Health & Science

Ghana Health Service launches documents to boost public health emergency response

From Ghanaian Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The Ghana Health Service (GHS) launched five strategic documents and a national roadmap to improve public health emergency preparedness.
  • These documents aim to strengthen coordination, response, and functionality of emergency operations.
  • The initiative involves multiple stakeholders and aims to move from paper preparedness to practical readiness, with an estimated cost of GH¢35.4 million.

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has unveiled five key strategic documents and a national roadmap designed to bolster the country's preparedness, coordination, and response capabilities for public health emergencies. The launch, held in Accra, marks a significant step towards enhancing national resilience against health crises.

The PHEOC would not replace the statutory mandates of other institutions but would provide a platform for coordinated public health emergency action.

— Dr. Samuel Kaba AkoriyeaDirector-General of the GHS, explaining the role of the new operations center.

The newly introduced documents include the National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) Strategic Plan 2026–2030, the National PHEOC Handbook 2026, National PHEOC Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) Volume One, the National Public Health Workforce Surge Strategy Plan 2026, and National Public Health Workforce Surge Management SOPs Volume Two. These resources aim to establish a functional system and a unified national approach to managing public health emergencies.

move “from documents to action, from structures to functionality, and from preparedness on paper to readiness in practice.”

— Dr. Samuel Kaba AkoriyeaUrging stakeholders to implement the new public health emergency plans effectively.

Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, Director-General of the GHS, emphasized that the PHEOC would serve as a platform for coordinated action without replacing the statutory roles of other institutions. He urged stakeholders to translate these plans into tangible actions, moving "from documents to action, from structures to functionality, and from preparedness on paper to readiness in practice." The initiative represents a collective national effort involving various government ministries, the GHS, and other health and non-health sector stakeholders.

The documents provided a framework for governance, operations, workforce and sustainability, connecting the national level through the regions and districts in a multi-sectoral manner.

— Dr. Lawrence LarteyHead of the National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, describing the scope of the new documents.

Dr. Lawrence Lartey, Head of the National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, explained that the strategy focuses on seven key areas, including governance, ICT, logistics, incident management, workforce capacity, sustainability, and multi-sectoral coordination. The estimated cost for implementing this five-year strategy is GH¢35.4 million. Representatives from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) were present, underscoring the collaborative nature of this preparedness enhancement.

the documents reflected lessons Ghana had learnt from public health emergencies including COVID-19, Marburg and other outbreaks.

— Dr. Danielle BarradasCountry Director of the US CDC in Ghana, commenting on the relevance of the documents.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ghanaian Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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