Ghana as a Hub Country for Ebola Countermeasures in West Africa

Ebola has been on the rampage in West Africa since the end of August 2014. Senegal, Nigeria and Mali, where Ebola had not widely spread compared to other countries, were eventually declared Ebola-free on Jan. 18, 2015. Whist, in the three most-affected countries, namely Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where more than 8,000 had been killed, there have been fewer than 100 new confirmed cases reported in a week for the first time since its epidemic according to a report by the World Health Organization (as of Jan. 28). Even though the spread has slowed, the acute situation continues.

Ghana is located close to the countries where Ebola cases were found, and it is taking an important role in the fight against Ebola in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. The United Nations established its head office for “the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER)” in Ghana. UNMEER is controlling Ebola countermeasures in West Africa and also handling emergency supplies delivered from Japan and other countries. Both the Japanese Embassy and JICA office in Ghana administer Japanese government’s activities in Liberia and Sierra Leone, therefore, they contribute to providing support for both countries.

In Ghana, no Ebola cases have been reported. However, it is said that its infectious risk of Ebola is the highest because the flow of people over borders is high (2). An institution has been collecting more than 100 blood samples of suspected Ebola cases all over the country. This institution is the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), University of Ghana, built 35 years ago with Japanese cooperation.