Ghana’s COVID-19 death toll crosses the 1,000 mark

At least 596 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), pushing the country’s active case count to 7,016.

The death toll has hit 1,008 after 17 additional fatalities were recorded across the country, an update on the GHS COVID-19 dashboard shows.

As of 24 August 2021, Ghana’s total confirmed cases stood at 117,636. Health officials have recorded 109,612 recoveries.

One hundred and forty-eight people are in severe condition and 61 cases remain critical, the GHS says. The number of cases detected among arrivals at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) stands at 2,613, with 2,472 recoveries.

According to the Ghana Health Service, the month of July recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases among international arrivals since the airport reopened on 1 September 2020.

Breakdown of cases by region

Greater Accra – 63,070
Ashanti – 19,911
Western – 6,720
Eastern – 5,826
Central – 4,216
Volta – 4,176
Bono East – 2,336
Bono – 2,035
Northern – 1,704
Upper East – 1,352
Ahafo – 1,022
Western North – 956
Oti – 733
Upper West – 530
North East – 249
Savannah – 187

$1 billion to boost economic recovery

Meanwhile Ghana has received the equivalent of US$1 billion from the International Monetary Fund, the Ministry of Finance has said.

A statment issued by the ministry on Friday (27 August) says the money is Ghana’s share of the new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation to boost the post-COVID economic recovery of member countries.

On 2 August 2021, the IMF board of governors approved a general allocation of SDR456.5 billion, equivalent to $650 billion, out of which about $33.7 billion is for African countries. The special allocation is intended to boost global liquidity and economic recovery following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods.

The new SDR allocation, which became effective on 23 August 2021, will augment the additional financing needs of member states, especially low-income countries, caused by the impact of the pandemic on public finances.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates that African governments require additional financing of about $484.6 billion over the next three years to close the financing gap and emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger and more resilient.

According to the IMF, the SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy. This historic SDR allocation will particularly help the countries which are most vulnerable to address the impact of the pandemic towards economic recovery immediately.

The SDR allocation is in response to a global call to action to counter the worst effects of the pandemic, including an Africa-wide effort, championed by the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and his colleague African finance ministers, together with the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and supported by leading international partners (including the IMF, World Bank, G20 and European Union).

The Special Drawing Right is an interest-bearing international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement member countries’ official reserves. General allocations of SDRs are distributed across the IMF membership in proportion to their IMF quota.

Fred Dzakpata

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