The Ghana Association of Bankers has donated Two Million Ghana Cedis to support the construction of an infectious disease isolation and treatment centre at the Ga East Hospital in Accra.

The President of the association Alhassan Andani presented a cheque for the amount to Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund at a short ceremony at the project site.

Mr. Andani, who is also the CEO of Stanbic Bank Ghana, described the facility as very important in Ghana’s battle to contain and overcome Covid-19.

“This donation is to support the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana,” he said.

The 100-bed infectious disease isolation and treatment facility is expected to be completed by the end of May, six weeks after it was launched. It will be the first infectious disease centre in the country. The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, which is funding the project, expects to build similar facilities in Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi, which will be used to treat other infectious diseases apart from Covid-19.

Mr. Andani highlighted other forms of support the Ghana Association of Bankers has provided in the campaign against Covid-19. These include the provision of food to some 5,000 families and the procurement of personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals.

“We have also provided assistance to the Noguchi Memorial Institute to increase their laboratory equipment and to facilitate testing,” he said. “We’ve also supplied most of the hospitals with hand washing machines which are standard machines which will last even after Covid-19. We are really in the middle of all this fight.”

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