Ebola prevention: US supports Ghana with $1.7m

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is in the process of re-programming an estimated $1.7 million to support the government of Ghana with its Ebola Preparedness and Response Planning, a statement has said.

The funding will be provided in coordination with other development partners, the statement from the US Embassy indicated.

The help is in line with a recent call by US President Barack Obama to treat Ebola as a national security priority.

“And so it is very important for us to make sure that we are treating this the same way that we would treat any other significant national security threat. And that’s why we’ve got an all-hands-on-deck approach – from DOD to public health to our development assistance, our science teams – everybody is putting in time and effort to make sure that we are addressing this as aggressively as possible.”

Already, the US has devoted over $350 million in the fight against the disease in West Africa.

The funding for Ghana will largely focus on training of health personnel across the country procurement of supplies for health facilities and support for schools through the School Health and Education Programme.

So far, the disease is yet to be recorded in Ghana though it has killed over 4,000 people.

"The US government remains committed to supporting Ghana's preparedness plan and commends Ghana for their proactive leadership and partnership in the fight against Ebola."