Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, Director?General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), has warned that Port Health officials found engaging in illicit activities at the country’s entry points will be sanctioned and prosecuted without exception.
He said the conduct of some personnel who illegally take money, sell forged health documents or facilitate the movement of travellers and goods without due procedures continued to pose serious risks to national health security, especially during disease outbreaks.
Addressing staff at the Port Health Annual General Meeting in Accra, Dr Akoriyea cautioned that irregular practices that compromise the country’s disease surveillance systems must stop immediately.
He noted that epidemics and pandemics did not discriminate based on nationality, colour, political affiliation or geography, and lapses at entry points endangered all Ghanaians, including the officials who permitted such breaches.
“Whenever we run into epidemics or pandemics – our regular meningitis, cholera or COVID?19, the disease will not ask where you come from or which party you belong to. It is you who decides whether the disease will cross the border by allowing the person in or not,” he said.
Dr Akoriyea recounted an incident at the airport in which a Port Health officer attempted to sell him a yellow fever vaccination certificate and backdate it, unaware of his identity. He added: “What I have learnt is that such is the practice and it is unacceptable.”
“I sit in my office, and I get reports of staff being called to EOCO and NIB because they facilitated some kind of trafficking. If I get any of those things anymore, you are on your own. We will allow the security services to deal with you, and we will apply our code of conduct as well,” he warned.
Dr Akoriyea also cautioned against irregularities in the handling of human remains and the clearance of expired goods, saying such misconduct tarnished the reputation of the GHS and the professional groups represented in Port Health operations.
He said too many officials were signing documents at various Points of Entry (PoEs), a practice that must end.
“We are going to put the regulations right. We will identify who is qualified to sign what, and we will ensure people do not crisscross into roles they do not belong to,” he said.
Dr Akoriyea called for unity and commitment across the Service to restore discipline, strengthen systems and prevent the recurrence of longstanding challenges.
Port Health operations under the GHS, previously a unit and later a department, are now headed by Dr Alphonsus Nindow, the newly appointed Deputy Director.
The mandate of Port Health is to prevent, detect, notify, respond to and contain diseases, conditions and events of public health concern, and to improve environmental health services at Points of Entry through collaboration.
Statistics from Port Health authorities indicate that Ghana has 51 approved and gazetted Points of Entry, including Kotoka International Airport, Paga PoE, and the Tema and Takoradi Ports.
An additional 61 unapproved PoEs are manned by security officials.
Source: GNA
The post GHS cautions Port Health officials against illicit activities at entry points appeared first on Ghana Business News.
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