Understanding Public Health Emergencies: How Ghana Responds
When an outbreak strikes whether it is Mpox, cholera, or a novel influenza strain Ghana no longer responds reactively. Over the past five years, the country has systematically transformed its public health emergency architecture from a fragmented, crisis-driven model into a coordinated, science-driven system. This article explains how Ghana prepares for, detects, and responds to health threats, drawing on the nation's own strategic frameworks and international partnerships.
The National Framework: International Health Regulations and NAPHS
Ghana's health security strategy is anchored by the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005, a legally binding global framework adopted by 196 countries. The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has demonstrated uncommon commitment by implementing all four components of the WHO's IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework—State Party Annual Reporting, Joint External Evaluation (JEE), After Action Reviews, and Simulation Exercises even though only one is mandatory [citation:2].
The country's second Joint External Evaluation, completed in February 2025, replaced the inaugural 2017 assessment. Its findings directly informed the first National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), implemented from 2019 to 2023, and are now shaping the next planning cycle beginning January 2026 [citation:2]. As GHS Director-General Dr. Samuel Akoriyea Kaba stated, this process "reflects the country's determination to continuously improve its health security architecture" [citation:2].
Command and Control: The Emergency Operations Centre Network
At the apex of Ghana's response infrastructure stands the newly refurbished National Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) at Pantang. Handed over by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in November 2025, this upgraded facility serves as the country's "nerve centre" for public health emergencies integrating real-time data, expert analysis, and coordinated decision-making [citation:5].
The national centre is complemented by four regional PHEOCs in the Northern, Ashanti, Western, and Volta regions, supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with plans to extend coverage to all 16 regions [citation:4][citation:2]. These hubs are staffed by Ghanaian public health leaders trained through programmes like the CDC's Public Health Emergency Management Fellowship, who have already managed national and regional responses to cholera, meningitis, and Mpox [citation:4].
The Africa CDC's Western Africa Regional Director, Dr. Kokou Nouwame Ahinon, emphasized that Ghana's upgraded centre will help the continent meet its "7-1-7" target: detecting health threats within seven days, notifying authorities within one day, and initiating response within seven days [citation:1][citation:5].
Surveillance: The Eyes and Ears of the System
Dr. Fiona Braka, WHO Country Representative, describes strong surveillance as "the eyes and ears of health systems" [citation:8]. Ghana has operationalized this through a dual approach:
- Indicator-based surveillance: Routine reporting from health facilities. CDC support has established influenza sentinel surveillance in all 16 regions across 36 health facilities [citation:4].
- Event-based surveillance (EBS): Community-level detection of unusual health events. This was scaled nationwide under the first NAPHS and recently strengthened through IOM-GHS partnerships in Western Region border communities, where volunteers and community health workers now report anomalies directly [citation:7].
An innovative frontier is wastewater surveillance. The WaSPP (Waste-water Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention) project, a collaboration between KNUST and GHS, is leveraging Ghana's polio surveillance infrastructure to detect multiple high-risk viruses at the human-animal-environment interface. Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Owusu notes that this "actionable data" will strengthen early warning systems for pathogens with pandemic potential [citation:9].
Laboratory Networks: Quality and Decentralization
A public health emergency is only as strong as the laboratory system backing it. Ghana has achieved:
- ISO 15189:2012 accreditation for the National Public Health and Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) and ISO 9001:2015 for three zonal public health laboratories [citation:4].
- Molecular testing laboratories established in Northern and Western regions [citation:4].
- Genomic sequencing laboratories at NPHRL and the Genomic and Infectious Disease Laboratory, operational during SARS-CoV-2, cholera, and Mpox responses [citation:4].
- An integrated specimen referral system piloted in Northern and Greater Accra regions that reduced turnaround time for test results by 50 percent [citation:4].
Workforce Development: The Field Epidemiology Legacy
One Health and Border Security: Responding to Mobility
A flagship intervention is Population Mobility Mapping (PMM), led by IOM Ghana and the Port Health Department. This analytical tool tracks how human movement influences disease spread, identifying critical points such as borders, transit hubs, and gathering sites. Following PMM training, a field mission in Elubo identified key mobility routes that now inform targeted surveillance [citation:10]. Between August and November 2025, this approach reached over 30,000 people in Western Region border communities which account for 44 percent of Ghana's suspected Mpox cases with awareness messaging, training, and early warning systems [citation:7].
Financing Preparedness: The Pandemic Fund Investment
Ghana is one of only six African countries awarded a grant under the Pandemic Fund's second call for proposals. The US$16.3 million project (with an additional US$7.85 million in co-financing and co-investment) is implemented jointly by the Ministry of Health, National Disaster Management Organization, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Gender, and international partners including WHO, FAO, and CDC [citation:6].
Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, inaugurating the Pandemic Fund National Steering Committee in June 2025, framed the investment as an "instrument for change" enabling Ghana to "invest in early monitoring systems, health infrastructure, workforce readiness and community engagement." His directive was unequivocal: "This is not business as usual. A greater proportion of funds must go into laboratories and surveillance systems—not workshops and meetings" [citation:8].
Lessons from COVID-19 and the Road Ahead
The COVID-19 pandemic was, in the Minister's words, a "wake-up call and a powerful opportunity" to "rebuild a smarter and stronger system" [citation:8]. The five-year Mass Vaccination Plan for Vaccine-Preventable Disease Outbreaks, launched in October 2024, directly applies lessons from the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, emphasizing equity, community engagement, and minimal disruption to routine immunization [citation:3].
Yet challenges persist. Dr. Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, Director of Public Health at GHS, identifies critical gaps: ring-fenced funding for health security, improved laboratory sample transportation, well-equipped points of entry, and capacity for chemical and nuclear events [citation:2]. Health security, he stresses, "remains a continuous process rather than a final destination" [citation:2].
Conclusion: A System That Anticipates Rather Than Chases
The test of any system, however, is not its design documents but its execution during an actual threat. The current Mpox outbreak, with cases now nearing 1,000 and a vaccination campaign underway, is precisely such a test. As we have documented in our ongoing Mpox coverage, the systems described here are not theoretical—they are actively being deployed to protect lives. Whether Ghana can translate these investments into sustained health security will depend on the continued commitment of its institutions and the vigilance of its citizens.
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Sources & Verified Information
- Ghana Health Service / Ghanaian Times: NAPHS Workshop and IHR 2005 Implementation (Jan 2026)
- GBC Ghana Online / Africa CDC: Upgraded Emergency Operations Centre Handover (Nov 2025)
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: CDC in Ghana – Country Fact Sheet (2025)
- The Pandemic Fund / World Bank: Ghana PPR Project Profile (2024-2026)
- IOM Ghana: Mpox Border Response Campaign (Dec 2025)
- Graphic Online: Pandemic Fund Steering Committee Inauguration (Jun 2025)
- KCCR / KNUST: Wastewater Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention (WaSPP) Project (Aug 2025)
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About the Writer
Zakaria Abdul-Rafiu is a writer and Forest Resource Technology student at KNUST with a focus on health security, environmental health interfaces, and science communication. His reporting on Ghana's Mpox outbreak and public health systems prioritizes verified data from primary sources. He is a contributor to VoltFeed's ongoing coverage of national resilience and development.
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