Covid-19-deaths-nurse-disturbed.
At least 596 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), pushing the country’s active cases to 7,016.
The death toll has hit 1,008 after ten additional fatalities were recorded across the country, an update on the GHS COVID-19 dashboard reveals.
As of 24 August 2021, Ghana’s total confirmed cases stood at 117,636. Health official have recorded 109,612 recoveries.
One hundred and forty-eifght people are in a severe condition and 61 cases remain critical, the GHS says. The number of cases detected at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is 2,613, with 2,472 recoveries.
According to the Ghana Health Service, the month of July recorded the highest number of COVID-19 cases among international arrivals since the airport reopened on 1 September 2020.
Breakdown of regional cases
Greater Accra Region – 62,745
Ashanti Region – 19,865
Western Region – 6,705
Eastern Region – 5,738
Central Region – 4,216
Volta Region – 4,111
Bono East Region – 2,319
Bono Region – 2,034
Northern Region – 1,699
Upper East Region – 1,352
Ahafo Region – 1,022
Western North Region – 956
Oti Region – 723
Upper West Region – 530
North East Region – 236
Savannah Region – 187
Ghana receives US$1 billion from IMF to boost economic recovery
Meanwhile Ghana has received the equivalent of US$1 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the ministry of finance has said.
A statment issued by the ministry on Friday (27 August ) says the amount is Ghana’s share of the new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation to boost the post-COVID economic recovery of member countries.
On 2 August, 2021, the IMF Board of Governors approved a general allocation of SDR456.5 billion, equivalent to US$650 billion out of which about US$33.7 billion is for African countries, to boost global liquidity and economic recovery following the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on lives and livelihoods.
The new SDR allocation which became effective on 23rd August, 2021 will augment the additional financing needs of countries, especially low-income countries, caused by the impact of the pandemic on public finances.
The African Development Bank AfDB estimates that African governments require additional financing of about US$484.6 billion within the next three years to close the financing gap and to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger and more resilient.
According to the IMF, the SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the resilience and stability of the global economy. This historic SDR allocation will particularly help countries that are most vulnerable to immediately address the impact of the pandemic towards economic recovery.
This SDR allocation is in response to a global call to action, following the devastating effects of the pandemic, including an Africa-wide effort championed by Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and his colleague African Finance Ministers, the AU, UNECA, and supported by key international partners (including The IMF, The WB, The G20, The EU).
The Special Drawing Right (SDR) is an interest-bearing international reserve asset created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement member countries’ official reserves. The general allocations of SDRs are distributed across the IMF membership in proportion to their IMF quota.
Fred Dzakpata
