Over 62 million cedis donated to the COVID-19 National Trust Fund between 2020 and 2022 have been used up leaving only a balance of GH¢9 million in the account.
The Chairperson of the Fund, Justice Sofia Akuffo revealed this as she appealed for more donations for the fund when she addressed journalists in Accra on Thursday.
During the peak of the pandemic in 2020, a trust fund was set up to enable well-meaning Ghanaians and corporations to contribute in order to complement the government’s efforts.
Justice Akuffo gave a detailed account of what the rest of the funds were used for.
According to the former Chief Justice, over GH¢62 million was donated to the trust fund and as of June 30, 2022, about GH¢53 million of the donations have been used.
The amounts have also been used on administrative costs.
She further explained that almost GH¢10.3 million was allocated to the Ghana Health Service, while about GH¢6.8 million was given to the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund for the construction of a 100-bed facility.
The fund also distributed vehicles to various facilities helping with the COVD-19 fight.
“As time went on we realised 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.”
Justice Akuffo also noted that attention was also given to Community-based Health Planning and Service (CHPS), which she described as the frontline in the fight against COVID-19.
“When somebody had a fever or couldn’t breathe and was sent to a CHPS compound, there had to be protection there as well,” she said.
