The initiative, which is currently entering its active phase in West Africa, is aimed at enhancing national strategy to respond to the pandemic.

It forms part of a €1.2 billion COVID-19 joint health initiative launched by France, through the French Development Agency (AFD), in response to the global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in developing countries.

Full commitment

In a statement, the AFD said in addition to Ghana, five other countries — including Benin, Guinea and Senegal — would benefit from the IRD support, in partnership with national actors, for a total grant of €2.2 million mobilised by AFD.

"Involved in the unprecedented global solidarity drive to face the COVID-19 health crisis in Africa, AFD is fully committed to a targeted response to the health challenges posed by this pandemic.

“Given the emergency situation, the agency is mobilising all of its teams and resources to provide just, fair and rapid responses to the needs expressed on the ground by our partners, with the priority objective of strengthening the most vulnerable systems and to support the actors involved in this fight which concerns us all,” it added.

“In all, six projects for the benefit of 16 African countries for an amount of €12 million were announced on April 21 this year by AFD, which is fully committed to the COVID-19 initiative — Health in Common; 14 other countries are expected to receive further support very soon,” the statement said.

Project components

The AFD further said: “For the next two years, the IRD will support the research-action on the pandemic and the definition of the Ghanaian response.”

It stated that the project, which will be fully funded by AFD at an estimated cost of more than €185,000, had three components.

“These activities will be carried out in partnership with the managers of the national response programmes to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will act in synergy with the other projects implemented by the national authorities and by the technical and financial partners in the country of intervention.

“In Ghana, this is based on a strong partnership with the national authorities, the NMIMR and the WACCBIP of the University of Ghana, Legon,” the statement said.