2021 New Year School To Focus On Effects Of COVID-19 On Ghana’s Transformation
The New Year School and Conference, (ANYSC) the 72nd in the series will be held on January 19-20, 2021 at the University of Ghana, Legon.
The event which was launched in Accra by the Minister of Health, Hon Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has as its theme, “Building Ghana in the face of Global Health Crisis.”
Mr Agyemang-Manu said the pandemic had helped the country to build the necessary alliances and partnership in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDG’s) alluding to benefits of the roadmap to Universal Health Coverage of leaving no one behind.
He added that government would continue to trace and quarantine contacts, stressing that the country’s policies would be driven by data and science.
“Government would continue to strengthen the capacity of health systems and public health to identify cases, isolate and treat them.” He said.
The Minister explained that Health is not expenditure, but an investment that yields dividends, especially, when the population becomes healthy and productive,
Hon Agyemang-Manu, gave the assurance that the ministry would adhere to its mandate of championing the course of a healthy population to contribute to the socio-economic growth of the country.
He recalled that since the outbreak of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020, government has rolled out pragmatic measures to respond to the pandemic including the closure of boarders, effective contact tracing, and imposition of restrictions in parts of the country and intra-city movements.
The Minister said government established the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to support Micro, Small and Medium-size businesses to minimize job losses and expand industrial output for domestic consumption and exports.
According to him The Ministries of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Local Government and the Rural Development as well as other stakeholders were made to provide food to individuals and homes in the affected areas of restrictions.
He explained that a soft loan scheme of GH¢ 600 million with a one year moratorium and two year repayment period for Micro, Small and Medium Scale businesses to mitigate the impact of the harsh economic effects on some business owners was also rolled out.
The Annual New Year School and Conference is organized by School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana under the directorship of Dr. John Boateng.
The ANYSC was introduced in 1948.