The Ghana Health Service has vaccinated about 800,000 Ghanaians against COVID-19 since the rollout of the mass vaccination exercise which began across the country on March 2.
Speaking at the 2021 First Senior Managers’ meeting of the Service in Kumasi, Director General of the Service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said nearly all health workers, both public and private, have been vaccinated.
The three-day meeting brought together senior managers from all 16 regions to assess the 2020 performance and strategize for effective health delivery. Dr. Kuma-Aboagye paid tribute to the thousands of health workers for their relentless efforts and strong support provided over the past year.
He said the meeting offered an opportunity for a situation assessment and determination of priority issues in the health sector to feed into the annual planning. It also served as the basis for choosing focal issues for cooperation and dialogue between the Service and partners.
The Director-General of Health charged health workers to redouble their efforts, saying it is the only way to strengthen the foundation for a more resilient, healthier and prosperous society. Asantehene’s Hiahene, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie Adjei Woahene, who chaired the meeting, said the country is way behind in most basic indicators for sustainable healthcare delivery.
He said there is a severe imbalance in the doctor-to-patient ratio, describing the current situation of 1 to 7,500 instead of the WHO standard of 1 to 1,320 as worrying.
According to him, structural investments in healthcare delivery post-independence are not comprehensive and is contributing to the lack of access to quality healthcare by most Ghanaians, particularly the poor and rural dwellers.
