Only GH¢9m out of GH¢62m left in COVID-19 Trust Fund – Sophia Akuffo

GH¢10.3 million allocated to the Ghana Health Service

CHPS receives funding from COVID-19 Trust Fund

Chairperson of the COVID-19 National Trust Fund, Justice Sophia Akuffo, has disclosed that out of the GH¢62 million received by the fund, only GH¢9 million is left.

The fund was set up by the government when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020.

This was to enable Ghanaians to donate to support the fight against the pandemic.

However, speaking to journalists on July 21, 2022, Justice Sophia Akuffo explained that GH¢62 million was donated to the fund, and as of June 30, 2022, GH¢53 million of the donations have been used.

She further detailed that while some of the monies were used for administrative purposes, almost GH¢10.3 million was allocated to the Ghana Health Service, and GH¢6.8 million was given to the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund for the construction of a 100-bed Infectious Disease facility.

Some of the monies, according to the Chairperson, were also used to purchase and distribute vehicles to various facilities as part of the fight against COVD-19.

“As time went on, we realized that, yes, these health centres are there, but there are other health facilities that needed help, so we needed to also make donations to such places so that right from the start, you are protecting the medical staff, and you are also protecting the users of the hospitals, clinics and so forth.”

The former Chief Justice stated that Community-based Health Planning and Service (CHPS) also received funding from the fund.

“When somebody had a fever or couldn’t breathe and was sent to a CHPS compound, there had to be protected there as well,” she said.

SSD/MA