Ghana has intensified surveillance at its points of entry and health facilities amid concerns over the spread of Ebola in parts of Africa, Health Minister Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has said.

Akandoh said the country had activated its surveillance systems at airports and other points of entry, as well as at health facilities, to ensure that any imported case is detected and contained promptly.

He said the heightened preparedness followed reports of an increase in Ebola cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising concerns about the potential for cross-border transmission.

“As a country, we put the necessary steps in place, right from the airport to our surveillance centres. We have activated our systems to prevent it in the first place, and as and when we also have it, we are ready to combat it,” he said.

The Minister said Ghana was working with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to strengthen its testing and response capacity, including through the procurement of necessary reagents and equipment.

He said the country remained hopeful that no Ebola case would be recorded but stressed that systems were in place to identify suspected infections at entry points and contain them before they could spread.

Akandoh also called for stronger regional cooperation among African countries to prevent outbreaks from spreading across borders.

He said countries needed to share information, expertise and technology and strengthen their collective preparedness rather than wait for outbreaks before mobilising resources.

“We do not have to wait until there’s an outbreak before we start putting things together,” he said.

The Minister also advocated greater local production of essential health commodities and the development of a coordinated regional response system to improve Africa’s ability to respond to health emergencies.

He commended the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) for its coordination efforts but called for deeper collaboration among countries, particularly across the sub-region.

Mr Akandoh said experiences from previous health emergencies, including COVID-19, Marburg and Mpox, demonstrated the importance of early detection, rapid containment and sustained preparedness.