President Akufo-Addo has expressed satisfaction with the measures government put in place to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the management of the disease in the country has been one of the best in the world.

He said despite the unpreparedness of the state for the pandemic, the threat of the coronavirus could not break the economy due to government’s decisive measures which have been recognised globally.

Delivering the 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr Akufo-Addo touted the achievements of his administration in the fight against the pandemic.

“We could not have been prepared for the catastrophe that hit us. Even the richest economies with the most sophisticated structures were unprepared. Maybe some of us have forgotten what the experts were predicting at the time. Our health and medical infrastructure were woefully inadequate and we would not be able to cope, there were going to be piles of dead bodies strewn across the streets of Africa.

“We’ve had our fair share of the Covid denials and conspiracy theories, but it is fair to say, Mr Speaker, that our management of the Covid-19 outbreak has been exemplary. It has been so acclaimed by the world. With the great mercies of the Almighty, we have saved lives,” he said.

He explained that “there was a general consensus that we should spend all our energy on resources on protecting lives. I remember the discussion on PPEs two years ago; nobody was asking or was interested in how much they cost.”

“I took the decision [that] we would prioritise the saving of lives and then we’d get together to rebuild our economy. Nobody imagined the devastation would be so widespread and last so long.”

“We had to learn some very hard lessons, and our belief in the need to be self-sufficient was reinforced when vaccine nationalism was played out blatantly by the rich and powerful countries,” he added.