Akufo-Addo commends private sector for producing local PPE

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commended the creativity and innovation of Ghanaians in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

The President made particular mention of the fact that the private sector took up the challenge to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to meet demand, and was hopeful it would be sustained.

“There’s one thing that has been very encouraging in this crisis; the ingenuity of Ghanaians in responding to this crisis. First of all, on the part of our private sector. They’ve stood up to be counted – producing sanitisers in large quantities now and the mass PPE all coming out. And I have every hope that it will be sustained,” he said this in a meeting with the Council of State at Jubilee House on Tuesday. 

To complement the efforts he joyously commended, President Akufo-Addo added that government was using its purchasing power to stimulate this development in the economy.

Further, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Ghana Standards Authority, would soon come out with some standards for the mass production of face masks.

He acknowledged the ongoing production of same by people in the country, but, thought that for purposes of public health, some minimum requirements were set.

The President also explained that government was currently producing PPEs including face mask, but are confined to meet the demands of health workers, as they handle the case.

 However, he swiftly added that government, when the standards were out, which he expects soon, could go ahead to produce for everybody to have one, at least.

President Akufo-Addo was responding to a statement by the Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Sriboe II on the mass production of face masks to enable everyone to have access and use.

“I think the fact of the members of the Council of State adorning face masks is an indication that face masks have become a part of the regime of the combat against the virus. We have to accept that this will also mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 and as much as we appreciate the integrity and the good intentions of the trustees of the COVID trust fund, we may make a small suggestion, in effect if we could go out there to have the facemask sewn in millions so that every Ghanaian will have the privilege of donning a face mask,” he said.

Nana Otuo Sriboe II continued, “They will be for free, but others may take it and put in a token gesture of some amount as their part of the effort to prevent COVID. I think this will be a better substitute than giving food which may not be going to the intended destination and even negates the principles of social distancing, because if you have face masks and you get closer, distributing the face masks will go a long way to fight the spread.”

The President responded that, “I think the statement that has been made about the mass production of face mask is very much on point. The Ministry of Health, I am hoping, eminently from today, tomorrow, before the week is out will come out with guidelines on what should be the minimum requirements, the minimum standards for producing an acceptable [face mask].

“I know there are a lot of people as we are speaking producing face masks in their own homes etc. But I think that for public health reasons it is important that we should have some minimum standards that go into the making of these masks. And then when that comes out then the mass production and everything can be seriously advanced.

“At the moment, the domestic production that we have ramped up is being confined to satisfy the needs of the health workers. That’s been our first port of call for the face masks that are being made in the country. I think from there to the mass production where we can get to a situation where everybody can have one, we will need to have some minimum standards certified by the Ministry of Health, Ghana Standards Authority etc and then we can go ahead,” he asserted.

 

By Maxwell Ofori / www.thechronicle.com.gh

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