The U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ghana Health Service, has marked the end of the Covid-19 critical case management training at the Ghana Infectious Disease Center (GIDC) in Ga East, Greater Accra.

USAID/Ghana’s Acting Health Office Director, Dr Stephen Dzisi, joined Ghana Health Service representatives at the ceremony. 

As a continuation of the initial training, USAID will support the Ghana government to expand the GIDC training to district health workers in select regions in the coming months.

During the event, Dr Dzisi reiterated an unwavering commitment to supporting Ghana's Covid-19 response and thanked the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service for their continued leadership.

“We look forward to our upcoming support to cascade this training to the district level in target regions, so lower levels in the health system can also benefit from this important training.”

Through the critical care training, 86 clinicians were trained on Covid-19 critical case management and oxygen therapy, using a combination of didactic methods and clinical rounds.

The training started in January 2021 and involved four cohorts of clinicians who participated in four-week intensive training sessions. 

Clinicians learned and practised mechanical ventilation, airway management, pulse oximetry, blood pressure monitoring, and chest tube insertion. Trainees used techniques learned to manage Covid-19 critically ill patients at the GIDC wards.

All clinicians received an Intensive Care Unit “starter kit,” an essential package of supplies to support their work when they return to their facilities.

USAID’s assistance also established basic critical care hubs in each regional hospital in Ghana to reduce stress on overwhelmed facilities and helped train clinicians to transfer their skills to other colleagues in their respective regions. The critical care training began during a surge in Covid-19 cases.

By improving the intensive care capacity of clinicians, the United States helps Ghana provide a better quality of care for critically ill patients.

This support enables a more robust response to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthens Ghana’s health system to better respond to future health emergencies.