The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, says Ghana is fully prepared to contain any Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks in the country.

According to him, the country has strengthened its preparedness systems following rising Ebola cases in parts of Central and Eastern Africa.

Dr Kaba Akoriyea made the remarks on Monday, May 25, during an inspection tour of selected health facilities and points of entry in Accra to assess the country’s readiness for a potential outbreak.

The tour included visits to the Ghana Infectious Disease Centre, Nyaho Medical Centre, the Kotoka International Airport and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Dr Kaba Akoriyea said Ghana has adequate experience and systems in place to manage infectious disease outbreaks, having dealt with both COVID-19 and previous Ebola preparedness exercises.

“So when it comes to preparedness, we are ready, we are prepared. And when it comes to all the phases of preparedness, sample transportation, case detection, treatment of cases and risk communication, we are very ready because we have personnel with experience managing Ebola and COVID,” he stated.

He added that Ghana’s preparedness efforts did not begin recently, explaining that health authorities had already intensified preparations during concerns over possible outbreaks of other viral diseases, including Hantavirus.

“We actually started this preparation way before, during the outbreak of Hantavirus. We took people through diagnosis, treatment and all preparedness protocols. So this is just a continuum of preparation towards Ebola,” he said.

The inspection exercise focused on key areas considered critical in outbreak control, including laboratory capacity, case management systems, communication structures and surveillance at points of entry.

Officials say the visits are intended to ensure that all emergency response systems remain functional and capable of responding swiftly in the event of a confirmed case in Ghana.