Strengthening surveillance in Ghana against public health emergencies of international concern

• Published in: Tropical Medicine and Health
• Main Authors: Motoi Adachi, Kiyosu Taniguchi, Hiroki Hori, Taketoshi Mizutani, Aya Ishizaka, Koichi Ishikawa, Tetsuro Matano, David Opare, Doris Arhin, Franklin Bekoe Asiedu, William Kwabena Ampofo, Dorothy Manu Yeboah, Kwadwo Ansah Koram, Abraham Kwabena Anang, Hiroshi Kiyono
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2022
• Subjects: Surveillance; Public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC); Diarrhea pathogens; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00473-w; https://doaj.org/article/6242b6a02f8f41dea5fd418b9ef46a64

Abstract Among western African countries, the Republic of Ghana has maintained an economic growth rate of 5% since the 1980s and is now categorized as a middle-income country. However, as with other developing countries, Ghana still has challenges in the effective implementation of surveillance for infectious diseases. Facing public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), it is crucial to establish a reliable sample transportation system to the referral laboratory. Previously, surveillance capacity in Ghana was limited based on Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response, and therefore the “Surveillance and Laboratory Support for Emerging Pathogens of Public Health Importance in Ghana (SLEP)” was introduced to strengthen diarrhea surveillance. The SLEP project started with a sentinel diarrhea survey supported by SATREPS/JICA in collaboration with National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NHPRL) and Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medicine (NMIMR). The base-line survey revealed the limited capacity to detect diarrhea pathogens and to transfer samples from health centers to NHPRL. The involvement of private clinic/hospital facilities into the surveillance network is also crucial to strengthen surveillance in Ghana. The strong and interactive relationship between the two top referral laboratories, NHPRL under the Ministry of Health NMIMR and under the Ministry of Education, enables Ghana Health Services and is critical for the rapid response against PHEIC. In future, we hope that the outcome of the SLEP surveillance project could contribute to building a surveillance network with more timely investigation and transfer of samples to referral labs.