TY - JOUR T1 - Ghana’s COVID-19 response: the Black Star can do even better JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005569 VL - 6 IS - 3 SP - e005569 AU - Nana Kofi Quakyi AU - Nana Ama Agyemang Asante AU - Yvonne Ayerki Nartey AU - Yaw Bediako AU - Nadia Adjoa Sam-Agudu Y1 - 2021/03/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/3/e005569.abstract N2 - Summary boxEarly in the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana’s response was hailed as one of the best among African countries; in particular its innovative testing approach and science-driven political leadership.However, a concerning upward trend of new cases, severe presentations and deaths has been observed since late 2020, which persists.Community-level transmission appears to have significantly spiked, concurrent with lapses in contact tracing and community-level testing.Risk communication and risk perception are inadequate, fuelling misinformation and poor compliance with infection and prevention control measures.There is an urgent need for detailed, age-disaggregated reports on new and severe cases and deaths from both public and private health sectors and from communities.We make recommendations for a comprehensive, data-driven response to sustain Ghana’s COVID-19 containment measures, and practical guidance for health facilities, schools and workplaces.In the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana’s response was hailed as one of the best in Africa. The country’s ‘whole-of-government’ approach was structured around five objectives: to curtail the importation of cases; identify and contain them; care for the sick; cushion the impact of COVID-19 on Ghana’s economic and social life; and boost domestic production as a means of deepening self-reliance.1The government’s perspective on the COVID-19 response was captured by the president in March 2020: ‘We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life.’2 However, nearly a year on, Ghana is contending with gaps between rhetoric and reality.In Accra, the capital city, the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the UK now constitutes up to 88% of all infections,3 and it is driving an ongoing surge in hospitalisations and deaths. These realities merit a review of Ghana’s COVID-19 response so far, and a broader thinking about practical measures to contain … ER -