President Nana Akufo-Addo has commended the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund for initiating and raising funds for the construction of an infectious disease treatment and isolation facility at the Ga East Hospital in the Greater Accra Region.

A sod-cutting ceremony took place on Friday April 17, 2020 to mark the start of the construction of the project, which is estimated to cost about 3.5 million US Dollars. It is expected to be completed within six weeks and will serve as the main treatment facility for covid-19 patients in need of critical care.

The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund expects to raise money to sponsor similar projects in at least three other regions of the country to deal not only with covid-19 but also help the nation to tackle future infectious disease epidemics.

President Akufo-Addo, who was the special guest of honour for the sod-cutting ceremony, made a virtual attendance, witnessing proceedings and delivering an address via video in observation of social distancing protocols. He commended the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund for initiating and sponsoring the project.

“I stand on behalf of the people of this country to say a big ‘ayekoo’, a big congratulations to you,” he said.

“This fund that has been created by private sector operators to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic is an excellent idea, it’s an excellent initiative, and it is a tremendous demonstration of your commitment to the welfare of our nation. This is a patriotic calling to the highest quality. And I want to thank all of you very much for this initiative.”

The president added: “It has always been my belief that the public authorities of our country cannot by themselves deal with all the problems of our country. There is a lot that the citizenry, private institutions, can do and you (the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund) have given us a first-class example of that, raising a substantial amount of money in such a short period of time [and] designing this project. This is a first of its kind and I am excited by the idea you are going to spread it across the nation.”

The Chief Executive of CH Group, Kwaku Bediako, who is one of the trustees of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, invited Ghanaians to donate to the fund in support of the battle against the Covid-19 outbreak.

“The idea that we are building this structure is very appealing to a lot of people and therefore we’ve already started receiving funds for [similar] projects outside Accra as well. We are looking at Kumasi, Tamale [and] Takoradi.” he said.

“What we are doing is going to come fully fitted, it’s going to have all the kits and will be able to help take care of 100 people at any particular time. The project in Accra is expected to cost $3.5 million and so far I can confirm that we have been able to put together more than 50% of the money and we hope to achieve the rest rather quickly, still asking for donations and requesting that anybody who can help, no matter how little, should try and do that.”

The construction of the infectious disease treatment and isolation facility at the Ga East Hospital is being spearheaded by the Corps of Engineers of the Ghana Army. The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund says it has received adequate support from the Ministry of Health and several other government agencies to enable it to bring the project to fruition.

The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative by private business people who set it up with a seed fund of One Million Ghana Cedis, while campaigning to raise at least One Hundred Million Ghana Cedis from local and international businesses as well as the general public to aid the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana. For more information on how to donate/contribute, please visit: www.ghanacovid19fund.com