PRESENTATION BY DR.

GRACE AYENSU-DANQUAH, PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERT, PROFESSOR OF

GLOBAL SURGERY & MEMBER OF THE NDC COVID-10 TECHNICAL TEAM
ON
DELIVERING ROBUST INFORMATION TO FIGHT COVID-19

Ladies and gentlemen, I would at this stage address you on the importance of effective information
dissemination to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information dissemination that is accurate and delivered in a timely manner and in a tone that
engages the attention of the public is critical to the fight against the pandemic on our hands.
Experts the world over will tell you that accurate information delivered in a timely manner is critical
in managing crises.

This is not about fear mongering or heightening anxiety. Rather, it is about experts in the field and
not political actors providing accurate information for the public to understand what is happening
so they can respond to advice and measures taken by authorities.

One of the key preventive measures in combating this disease is contact tracing, and contact
tracing works better in an environment where the public has full disclosure of the movements of
infected persons. The timeliness and accuracy of information put out by government and
regulatory agencies is therefore imperative. Conflicting information breeds confusion and
mistrust, which increases the vulnerability of the public to fake news and fake cures.

Last night at about 10.00pm, it took surfing the internet to learn that the number of people who
have tested positive has risen to 27 and mortality to 2. We are just learning this morning that the
number has risen to 52.

Ladies and gentlemen, a number of questions beg for urgent answers. We need to know how
many people are on self-quarantine? We need to know how far we have come in securing test kits
and supplies. And we need to know how many Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) we have and
how far we have come in procuring more PPE.

Our research shows that some district hospital staff and local clinical staff have not been trained
on what to look for and proper use of PPE. We therefore call on government to give us accurate
information on the number of medical staff who have been trained and at what specific level.
We also ask for accurate information on how many more medical staff are left to be trained and
what specific training are they currently receiving. As part of the public tracing agencies we need
to know the role of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Also we need to know
the role of the NCCE in this fight. We need to know what specific help they have received from
government in terms of logistics and resources to help them do better and quicker public
education.

The role of NADMO as the emergency relief organization and how government is liaising with them
and resourcing them and how that assistance is manifested at the local level is also key. This also
applies to our security agencies.

In terms of quarantine centres, we need to know how many we have nationwide, where they are
located and their capacity. Also we need information on the kind of personnel we currently have
in our quarantine centres? And specific resources they have received.

Additionally, we need clear information on the number of isolation centres we have nationwide,
their location and capacity. What personnel are staffing the centres and what clinical services we
have available at those facilities.

These are but a few of the critical pieces of information that government must provide to the
nation as part of its efforts to manage the present pandemic on our hands. It is important that
government sets up a specific time to provide accurate live updates to the nation like it pertains
in countries like Italy, South Africa and several other countries.

This team is ever willing and ready to support government in this regard and we call on you the
media, civil society and Corporate Ghana to collaborate with government to intensify public
education on the pandemic.

The surest way to win the fight against the novel COVID-19 pandemic is through transparency and
aggressive public education that is based on timely and accurate information. We must all help to
achieve that.

Thank you.