PharmaNova supports fight against Cholera, Meningitis
A local pharmaceutical manufacturing company, PharmaNova Limited, has donated pharmaceutical essentials to the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to support the fight against Cholera and meningitis outbreak.
The donation included ceftriaxone and meropenem antibiotics for meningitis treatment, 5-4-1 cholera replacement fluid, Ringer’s lactate, dextrose infusions and paracetamol tablets to support cholera patients in their recovery.
The medications amounted to a sum of GH¢200,000.
The Chief Operating Officer of PharmaNova, David Klutse, who led a team to present the items, explained that the donation was in response to the urgent healthcare needs in affected regions by these outbreaks.
“We read in the newspapers that there has been a cholera outbreak in the Greater Accra, Central and Western regions, as well as a meningitis outbreak in the Upper West Region.
As a local manufacturing company, we are here to support the health service with essential pharmaceutical commodities,” he said.
Timely intervention
Receiving the donation, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea expressed gratitude to PharmaNova for its timely intervention.
He emphasised the importance of such contributions in managing outbreaks, particularly as the country enters the peak cholera season.
“This donation will go a long way in supporting our fight against cholera and meningitis.
These are exactly the kind of antibiotics and logistics we need to manage the outbreaks.
The quantities provided will benefit a significant number of patients,” he said.
Prof. Akoriyea assured the public that the donated medicines would be distributed to affected areas and would not be diverted to the market.
He also highlighted ongoing efforts by the government, including vaccination campaigns, environmental sanitation exercises and public education on disease prevention.
“We have collaborated with the local government to spray, to undertake house cleaning and market cleaning exercises.
The regional ministers of the respective regions were also very helpful by embarking on these cleaning exercises because as we all know, when it comes to cholera, the most important thing is to have a very clean environment” he said.
Current state
Prof. Akoriyea further reassured the public that the situation was under control, with only a few confirmed cholera cases in recent days and no active hospital admissions. On meningitis, he noted that early detection and treatment had improved, thanks to support from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners.
