The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea is leading a team of high-level senior public health and clinical officials on a working visit to four meningitis-prone regions in the northern part of the country. The regions Bono East, Northern, North East, and Upper East constitute the first phase of his tour to meningitis Prone regions. The second phase of the visit will take the Director-General and his team to the Upper West and Savannah Regions.
The purpose of the visit is to assess the level of preparedness of these regions in preventing and responding effectively to any potential meningitis outbreak. Given that these areas fall within Ghana’s meningitis belt and are particularly vulnerable during the dry season, the exercise is both timely and strategic. The assessment will focus on surveillance systems, availability of essential medicines and logistics, laboratory capacity, case management readiness, public health education efforts, and emergency response coordination mechanisms.
As part of the itinerary, Dr. Akoriyea is expected to hold meetings with Regional Health Management Teams (RHMTs) to evaluate ongoing preparedness measures, identify gaps, and provide technical guidance where necessary. He will also engage with Regional Ministers and their regional coordinating Councils, traditional leaders, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, and other key stakeholders to solicit their collaboration and support in strengthening preventive and response efforts.
The visit shows the Service’s commitment to proactive public health action, intersectoral collaboration, and the protection of lives, particularly in high-risk communities. Through these engagements, the Service aims to reinforce coordination, enhance resource mobilization, and ensure that all regions are adequately equipped to manage and contain any meningitis outbreak swiftly and effectively. One key message from the Director General to the people of these regions is entreating them to report early to the nearest health facility when they feel unwell.
He was accompanied on the visit by the Director of Public Health, Dr Franklin Asiedu Bekoe, Director of Institutional Care, Dr. Lawrence Ofori Boadu and the Ag. Director of Health Promotion, Mrs. Mabel Kissiwah Asafo.
The regional team on the tour is headed by the Regional Director, Dr. Chrysantus Kubio and other senior managers at the Regional Health Directorate.