Youth Sub-platform on SDGs backs calls for establishment of public health emergency fund towards epidemic preparedness, response

The Youth Sub-Platform of the Ghana Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Platform on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has added its voice to calls for government to take an urgent action towards the establishment of a public health emergency fund to support healthcare delivery in the country.

The platform, an authority for youth-led, youth-focused organizations serving as a mouthpiece for a majority Ghanaian youth believes it is time the country set up a public emergency fund to cater for epidemic preparedness financing and response considering the unprecedented crisis the country has experienced in the era of the Covid-19 pandemic

It downgrades the mitigation strategies the country has put in place to control the devastation instigated by COVID-19 during the outbreak in 2020.

“Though the mitigation measures contributed to controlling the spread of COVID-19 to some extent, it is worth noting that knee-jerk responses to disease outbreaks have high consequences for a country’s economy and could lead to high mortality rates”.

In a statement released and copied to the press, the platform appealed to His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and relevant stakeholders to do the needful and ensure prompt establishment of the public emergency fund to mitigate the adverse effects of disease outbreaks in the country.