Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs As of 15th June 2020, Ghana remained the second most impacted country in the West and Central African region after Nigeria, ranking third in the number of cumulative cases in the WHO Africa region, following South Africa and Nigeria. The number of people confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus in Ghana now stands at 11,964. Between 1st and 15th June, the number of confirmed cases increased by 4,083. There are currently 7,652 active cases and 54 people who have died from COVID-19.

Latest data reveals that out of 4,609 cases, which had been disaggregated according to age, 332 children (under 18 years of age) had contracted COVID-19. The youngest children confirmed with COVID-19 are a 27-day old girl and a 50-day infant boy, both of whom are from the Ashanti region. Two children are so far reported to have died: a nine-year-old boy with no documented comorbidity and a 10-year-old girl with a retroviral infection, pulmonary tuberculosis and anemia.

In his address to the nation on Sunday the 14th of June, H.E. the President of the Republic of Ghana stated that the virus continues to spread and that the increased number is as a result of Ghana's policy of enhanced testing and contact tracing, making the data captured qualitatively different and more effective in the fight against COVID-19. The President also noted that Ghana has one of the lowest death rates of the disease in Africa and the world. The President emphasized the importance of maintaining good hygiene and social distancing protocols, reminding the population that leaving homes without a face mask or face covering on is an offence. As of 15th June, Ghana's educational institutions are commencing a phased re-

opening. Final year students in tertiary colleges and universities returned on the 15th; final year senior high are expected to resume on June 22nd; and final year junior high school on June 29th. This is the final phase of Ghana’s first stage of eased coronavirus containment restrictions, which commenced on 5th June and included the re-opening of churches, mosques and other religious institutions, restaurants, conferences and weddings.

GHANA: COVID-19 Situation Report – #5 1st – 15th June 2020

Situation in Numbers

11,964 confirmed

COVID-19 cases

54 Deaths

4258 recoveries

US$ 9.6 million funding required

Map of Ghana identifying the concentration of confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease

Graph illustrating the number of people who have contracted COVID-19 in Ghana since 12 March 2020.

UNICEF’s COVID-19 response

In support of the Government of Ghana’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF coordinates with the United Nations Country Team, including the UNRCO and WHO, Development Partners, INGOs and civil society organizations, to protect children and their families from exposure to the virus, minimize mortality and support the continuity of services. A UN Response Plan was developed to identify priorities. In line with the UN Programme Criticality Assessment results, UNICEF ensures that its staff and implementing partners can safely continue delivering critical activities to respond to COVID-19, taking all precautions required.

Health

UNICEF continued to support the coordination of COVID-19 response through technical contributions at the National Technical Coordinating Committee meetings. As part of the support to strengthening infection prevention and control (IPC) in health facilities across Ghana, 400 handwashing stations have been handed over to nine regions, bringing the total number of handwashing facilities delivered to 1,000.

As part of ongoing contributions to contined routine service delivery, UNICEF hosted the National New-born Subcommittee meeting to discuss the upcoming annual national new-born stakeholders' conference, which will be held virtually from 28th - 31st July. Attendees of the meeting included the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service, the World Health Organization, USAID and the Paediatric Society of Ghana. A meeting was held with the country team of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to review preparedness towards polio activities in the context of COVID-19. On 5th June, UNICEF joined the Ghana Health Service in the Northern region to cut the sod for the construction of a Newborn Care Unit at the Tamale West Hospital. This facility will contribute to improved access to quality health care services for over 11,000 mothers and newborns in the Tamale metropolitan area.

Nutrition

Through the Scaling up Nutrition - Development Partners (Expanded SUN-DP), UNICEF continued to support the Government to coordinate nutrition partners and facilitate the development of the inter-agency nutrition response plan to COVID-19. The plan brings together the efforts of the Government and partners to respond to COVID-19 and to ensure the continuity of nutrition services. The one-year inter-agency plan aims to reach 5 million children below the age of 5 years, 3 million adolescent, school-age children, 900,000 women with routine nutrition services, and 8,000 COVID-19 patients in treatment or isolation centres with nutritional support, including the provision of fortified foods.

To assess the impact of COVID-19 on food and nutrition, UNICEF is collaborating with the Ghana Health Service, the World Food Programme and the Ministry of Food & Agriculture, to consolidate nutrition data from routine information system in preparation for the first Food and Nutrition Monitoring Bulletin. Additionally, UNICEF is in discussion with WFP to include nutrition indicators in the planned food security assessment to be undertaken later in the year.

UNICEF Supply Officer based in Tamale inspecting hand-washing facilities handed over to the Northern Regional Health Directorate in Tamale on 1 June 2020. ©UNICEF/UN622110/BUTA

UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Margaret Gwada, breaks the ground for the construction of a New-born Intensive Care Unit at the Tamale West Hospital on 5 June 2020. ©UNICEF/877001/MILLS

Adama practices complementary feeding with her son Saeed after six months of exclusive breastfeeding. ©UNICEF/UN551019/ACQUAH

UNICEF’s Social Protection, Education and Nutrition teams are working with partners, including WFP and USAID, to advocate for the Government to provide meals to schools age children. With the schools closed, options including take-home ration or cash transfers are being considered.

UNICEF is in the process of procuring essential nutrition supplies (Micronutrient Powders) and Information and Communication Materials to improve infant and young child feeding, and anthropometric equipment and therapeutic foods to detect and treat severe acute malnutrition in Greater Accra and Upper Eastern Regions.

Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH)

UNICEF is supporting the review of Ghana’s WASH Sector Response Plan to the COVID-19 pandemic as stakeholders prepare for the longer-term recovery phase. This coincides with the provision of technical assistance to further strengthen sector coordination. In the past two weeks, risk communication and Infection Prevention Control (IPC) training has been conducted for approximately 350 environment health officers, particularly in Accra and Kumasi – the two cities in Ghana with the most cases of coronavirus.

Increased inspection and technical assistance will also be provided for the proper disinfection of public toilets, transport terminals and major shopping areas. Additionally, 40 sets of personal protective equipment were provided to facilitate the activities of staff in the most affected cities. Handwashing facilities were distributed to strengthen IPC at health centres and COVID isolation centres, reaching about 77,000 people. Approximately 80,000 people, including an estimated 30,000 children, have been reached with handwashing facilities that have been constructed or provided as part of handwashing sensitization. This community outreach leverages existing sanitation and hygiene promotion, such as the construction of tippy taps under the regular UNICEF supported development programme in 7 of the 16 regions of the country.

Communication

The most recent U-Report poll focused on how young people’s lives have been affected by the pandemic. The poll also sought the opinions of young people on the response of the Government and partners to the pandemic. U-Report numbers are steadily growing – with an additional 5,248 that can be attributed to the introduction of the WhatsApp platform. Young people’s voices are also being given prominence on social media, with Patience, a U-Report champion encouraging her peers to stay optimistic and safe. Her video message reached over 1 million people across social media channels.

UNICEF has signed partnership agreements with four Civil Society Organizations. To date, 125 leaders have been oriented on how to carry out COVID-19 risk communication and community engagement activities in the 31 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Northern, North East,

A mother receives her monthly ration of micro-nutrient powder at health centre in Tolon. These help to reduce the malnutrition in children. ©UNICEF

Water and Sanitation officials being trained on risk communication and burial protocols in Accra on 10 June 2020. The training is being supported by UNICEF and partners. ©UNICEF/900211/KOKOROKO

Savanna, Oti and Bono East regions. Five Community engagement sessions have also been held with 210 community leaders made up of 52 Pastors, 65 Imams, 48Traditional leaders and 45 youth leaders from 10 districts in the Northern and North East Regions.

In addition, UNICEF and its partners reached 70 communities with preventive messages on COVID 19 through mobile van announcement sessions.

It is estimated that about 315,440 persons have been reached in these messaging sessions. A total of 60,459 calls came through the Agoo platform to listen to COVID-19 health promotion messages, from 6,999 individuals. Over 78% of these were young people between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Some made as many as 150 calls to listen to these messages within the week. 48 persons also requested live counselling from the SHE+ platform. MTN has also increased our channel from 30 calls per schedule to 120 calls per schedule, to allow more people to access COVID information. They blast promotional SMS to over 500,000 customers to popularise the Agoo platform as a source of information on COVID, especially for young people.

UNICEF continues to document the situation and the COVID-19 response across online platforms and through traditional media. Social media messages reached over 6 million people across platforms and over 270,000 people were engaged by liking, sharing and commenting. The UNICEF website received over 12,000 visitors in the past two weeks with over 5,000 focused on COVID-19 articles and updates.

Education UNICEF and the Ghana Education Service (GES) have established teams for the development of scripts for all basic education levels for the distance learning through radio programmes. The objective is to bridge the gap and ensure that all 9,177,934 learners in Ghana, especially the most disadvantaged in remote areas, are reached and given the opportunity to learn. The radio intervention is targeting estimated 30-40% (2,753,380 - 3,671,173) of learners enrolled in government pre-primary, primary, junior high school and senior high schools who are not currently accessing

existing television and on-line distance learning activities. The experience gained through the TV programme will equip the team to enrich the radio programme, generate interest and attract learners and parents, especially for the early graders.

To complement efforts at the sub-national level, districts local radio stations across all 16 regions have been identified and data collected to inform national level plans to prepare teachers in the communities to sustain this equitable learning programme. This does not only attempt to reach students during the school closure but also maximises teacher-student interactions through phone-ins.

A rapid risk assessment is ongoing and key indicators have been established for stakeholders’ contribution. When completed, the framework will be used to assess distance learning programmes and to generate evidence for future planning and support.

To create awareness on the impact of the crisis as well as encourage parents and caregivers to ensure children actively participate in the remote/distance learning initiatives, UNICEF in partnership with the Ghana Education Service (GES) used a photoshoot series to tell a story on how children are learning, as well as, highlights efforts that the MoE/GES have made in ensuring that every child learns.

Franklyn helps his daughter, Deborah to read and complete school assignments from home. She receives lessons everyday through the Ghana Learning TV programme. ©UNICEF/UN544200/ANNANKRA

Imams in Kumbungu District meet to discuss strategies to share COVID-19 messages with their communities.

UNICEF Education Officer, Timoah Kunchire monitoring recording of long-distance lessons at one of the radio stations in the Upper East Region. ©UNICEF

Child Protection During the reporting period, the Government and NGO partners across the country reached 77,179 people (16,876 girls, 14,540 boys, 24,661 women, and 21,102 men) with education on better parenting, child abuse, sexual and gender-based violence, and psychosocial support. A total of 242,757 people have been reached in 180 communities across 40 districts in 14 regions. Beneficiaries were reached through community information centres, information vans and megaphones in markets as well as home visits and small group meetings (while observing social distancing protocols and other COVID-19 preventive measures). Target audiences were engaged with contents from the child protection community facilitation tool kits and posters with standard COVID-19 prevention and mitigation messaging, approved by the GHS. To reduce the vulnerability of adolescent girls during COVID-19 to violence, exploitation, adolescent pregnancy and child marriage, UNICEF Ghana engaged over 5,800 adolescent girls on COVID-19 preventive messaging and ways to prevent and report sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This was achieved in partnership with KOICA, Global Affairs Canada, the Global Programme to Child Marriage, NORSAAC, Youth Harvest, Savana Signatures and International Needs Ghana. Further, over 8,200 adolescent girls including Kayayei girls (head porters) who have returned from the cities to their rural communities due to the pandemic were provided with dignity kits (Sanitary Pads and, in some instances, soap).

This is intended to ease the economic burden of the pandemic on vulnerable girls’ menstrual health, particularly Kayayei returnees who have lost their source of livelihood. The beneficiaries were mainly vulnerable adolescent girls enrolled in UNICEF supported programme being implemented in Volta, Central, Northern, North East and Savana regions. The Ghanaians Against Child Abuse (GACA) campaign continues to reach out to people with COVID-19 and child protection related helplines and better parenting

messages. Through GACA social media handles, a total of 155,856 people learned about COVID-19 and child protection. This is up from 119,664 during the last reporting period. The total number of people engaged through GACA social media handles has also increased from 94,000 to 102,500.

Residential Homes for Children reported having admitted 105 new children since the start of the crisis. At the same time, 81 children were discharged, with 39 of these children placed in alternative care arrangements. The other children have been reunited with their families. The Department of Social Welfare (DSW) and UNICEF conducted an online survey on the impact of COVID-19 on Residential Homes for Children (RHC). The study was conducted from 29 May to 8 June with 59 RHCs that care for over 2,000 children. The majority of the RHC come from the Greater Accra Region (34.3%), Central and Ashanti (14,9%) and Western Regions (10,4%). Encouragingly, RHCs reported that no child or staff had contracted the virus so far. Over 77% of RHC revealed that children wash their hands more than five times a day, with over 90% of RHC stating that they have running water in the facility most of the day. UNICEF and DSW are providing handwashing supplies to all residential homes in the country. To follow up on the survey, DSW and UNICEF organized a virtual meeting with 56 RHC to present Special Guidance for Child Care Facilities on how to prevent and protect children from COVID-19. It was a good opportunity to answer questions and address some of the fears and concerns around the virus and the measures taken by the government. In partnership with the Office of the Head of Local Government Service, UNICEF conducted a survey on the topic “Stocktaking on the impact of COVID-19 on social service delivery.” Directors of Department of Community/Social Welfare (DCD/SW) in 170 Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) out of the 260 responded to the survey. There appears to be a strong increase in child abuse cases and a reduction in violence prevention programming, which is worrying given the decreased access to services. Social welfare services appear to be heavily affected. Social workers have reported reductions to household and community visits (77% do less), paired with strong drops in violence prevention work, while 40% of the social workers were working the same level, 10% more hours/days, with 61% reported having has

Child Protection and GACA partners in Bibiani in the Western region educate traditional and community leaders on COVID-19 and child protection on 11 June 2020.

UNICEF Chief of Field Office in Tamale, Margaret Gwada, gives a young girl a dignity kit in Sandaafong, West Mamprusi, on 5 June 2020. ©UNICEF/481670/BUTA

fewer resources than usual. The most significant reduction of social services were reported to be in Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, the most affected regions with COVID-19. The survey also looked at the caseload of social workers since the pandemic. The results showed both increases and decreases, as this varies by MMDA. The issues that were reported to have increased most is on Child Abuse/violence. Thirteen (13) out of the 16 regions reported increases with the strongest in Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions. To respond to the survey findings, UNICEF Ghana is supporting the social welfare workforce with PPEs all across the country and will continue to support with training on the specialist guidance on case management related to COVID-19. Evidence & Social Policy With UNICEF support, the National Development Planning Commission organized a kick-off stakeholder virtual meeting on the assessment of the impact of COVID-19 on children and families. During the meeting, the consequences of COVID-19 on children and the proposed research framework (involving several partners) were discussed. The group of stakeholders having participated in the meeting is intended to function as a cross-sectoral platform to disseminate the key findings from these studies and follow up with programming and policy recommendations to respond to the current and potential future impact of COVID-19 on children.

Social Protection

UNICEF supported the Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme (LEAP) to deliver and monitor the completion of extraordinary cash transfer payments to 322,000 beneficiary households. UNICEF is currently supporting the LEAP

to begin testing innovative post-payment monitoring through U-Report and partnerships with civil society. The team is seeking feedback from frontline workers and programme participants on the delivery modifications and how the extraordinary payments are being used by households. In combination with LEAP’s regular programme monitoring, the objective is to provide more real-time feedback to help the programme make adjustments and showcase ‘good practice’ districts, in order to inform future payments cycles in the context of COVID-19.

Frontline implementers have made adjustments to safely deliver extraordinary payments and to disseminate COVID-19 health messages to ‘hard-to-reach’ communities.

In addition, UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and development partners (including World Bank, USAID, DFID, and WFP) to develop a more medium-term Social Protection COVID-19 Preparedness and Assistance Strategy.

Adaptations to ongoing UNICEF programmes

Since the first two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in Ghana on 12 March 2020, UNICEF has, in coordination with national platforms and the UN System in Ghana, accelerated its Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) to stem community transmissions and to mitigate the spread of infection. UNICEF has focused on the promotion of Infection Prevention and Control, disease surveillance, appropriate feeding, the provision of supplies and logistics, the development of learning tools in the context of remote/distance learning and the provision of financial support for the most vulnerable through advance LEAP payments, for example. UNICEF also supports the national WASH response through coordination, preparedness, prevention and rapid response and has consistently reviewed its preparedness for the resumption of polio immunization campaign in the context of COVID-19. UNICEF led at UN Country Team Programme Criticality Assessment to inform the implementation of programmes in the field and ensure duty of care. As a result, several pre-COVID-19 crisis activities have been suspended to ensure a 'do no harm' approach. To this end, Work Plans were revised in consultation with line Ministries and INGOs/NGOs and in coordination with the UN Country Team to identify and adjust activities and budgets to best support the COVID-19 response.

Beneficiaries receive LEAP payments. ©LEAP Management Secretariat (LMS2020)

Funding Overview and Partnerships

UNICEF appeals for US$ 18.2M to facilitate continued access to essential, quality and inclusive social services and the protection of children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.

Thanks to the support of development partners and private donors such as the World Bank, DFID, USAID, Japan, Standard Chartered and the Mastercard Foundation , UNICEF has raised US$ 8.6 million out of US$ 18.2 million. Several other development cooperation agencies and partner such as Global Affairs Canada, KOICA, and the China International Development and Cooperation Agency have expressed solidarity to effectively deliver results for children across the country. Expressing its sincere gratitude to all its supporters, UNICEF calls for additional funds to fill the continuing gaps in ensuring a comprehensive and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, for vulnerable children, young people and families in Ghana.

External Media

Ghana News Agency - Government tops up grants of LEAP beneficiaries (5th June 2020) https://www.gna.org.gh/1.18406235 Daily Graphic: Govt increases LEAP beneficiaries’ stipend in wake of COVID-19 (8th June https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/govt-increases-leap-beneficiaries-stipend-in-wake-of-covid-19.html JOY News: Survey to track impacts of COVID-19 on households and jobs in Ghana begins (10th June) https://www.myjoyonline.com/business/economy/survey-to-track-impacts-of-covid-19-on-households-and-jobs-in-ghana-begins/

For more information contact:

Anne-Claire Dufay UNICEF Representative, Ghana Tel: +233 55 675 1722 Email: adufay@unicef.org

Fiachra McAsey UNICEF Deputy Representative, Tel: + 233 55 255 8218 Email: fmcasey@unicef.org

Eulette Ewart UNICEF Communication Manager Tel: +233 24 433 4998 Email: eewart@unicef.org

Annex A - Summary of Programme Results – UNICEF Ghana

UNICEF and IPs Response

Sector 2020 target Total results*

Risk Communication and Community Engagement

RCCE Indicator 1: Number of people reached on COVID-19 through messaging on prevention and access to services.

8,000,000 22,814,765

RCCE Indicator 2: Number of people engaged on COVID-19 through RCCE actions.

1,800,000 1,487,928

RCCE Indicator 3: Number of people sharing their concerns and asking questions/clarifications for available support services to address their needs through established feedback mechanisms.

200,000 135,568

.WASH and IPC

IPC Indicator 1: Number of people reached with critical WASH supplies (including hygiene items) and services.

200,000 159,527

IPC Indicator 2: Number of healthcare facilities staff and community health workers provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

2,512 3040

IPC Indicator 3: Number of healthcare facility staff and community health workers trained in Infection Prevention and Control (IPC).

8800 0

Health

Continuity of Health Care Indicator 1: Number of healthcare providers trained in detecting, referral and appropriate management of COVID-19 cases among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.

10,000 200

Continuity of Health Care Indicator 2: Number of children & women receiving essential healthcare services, including immunization, prenatal, postnatal, HIV & GBV* care in UNICEF supported facilities.

403,420 423,145

Nutrition

Continuity of Health Care Indicator 3: Number of primary caregivers of children aged 0-23 months who received IYCF counselling through facilities and community platforms.

300,000 65,277

Education

Access to Continuous Education, Child Protection and GBV Services Indicator 1: Number of children supported with distance/home-based learning.

9,177,934 5,969,097

Access to Continuous Education, Child Protection and GBV Services Indicator 2: Number of schools implementing safe school protocols (COVID-19 prevention and control).

42,180 0

Child Protection and GBV

Access to Continuous Education, Child Protection and GBV Services Indicator 3: Number of children without parental or family care provided with appropriate alternative care arrangements.

200 39 (26 girls and 13 boys)

Access to Continuous Education, Child Protection and GBV Services Indicator 4: Number of children, parents and primary caregivers provided with community based mental health and psychosocial support.

260,000 242,757 (Girls-61,342, Boys-

53,381, Women-64,569,

Men- 63,465)

Access to Continuous Education, CP & GBV Services Indicator 5: Number of UNICEF personnel & partners that have completed training on GBV risk mitigation & referrals for survivors, including for PSEA*.

100 75

Social Protection

Social Protection Indicator 1: Number of households (affected by COVID-19) receiving humanitarian multi-sector cash grant for basic needs.

300,000 322000

Qualitative Indicators In the last reporting period, what are the top (up to 3) access issues/constraints due to COVID-19 and related response measures, as identified in feedback mechanisms from affected populations, for each of these service areas:

Responses:

(a) Health services access 1. Since the relaxing of lockdown

measures, there is an upsurge of

COVID-19 cases which is becoming

overwhelming for contact tracers to

cope

2. The upsurge of cases includes

COVID-19 cases affecting health

workers. This is a concern for the

health sector

3. Outreach services and

immunisation campaigns continue

to be suspended.

(b) nutrition services: (management of wasting/SAM; nutrition supplements, other services) (List up to 3 issues)

1. Reports of sub-optimal nutrition

care of children and women in

COVID-19 isolation centres

2. Girls 10 -19 years accessing Iron

Folic supplementation remains very

to school closures

3. Lack of supplies for management of

severe acute malnutrition

(c) access to food (List up to 3 issues) 1. Reports of sub-optimal nutrition

care of children and women in

COVID-19 isolation centres

2. Girls 10 -19 years accessing Iron

Folic supplementation remains very

low due to school closures

3. Lack of supplies for management of

severe acute malnutrition

(d) WASH (List up to 3 issues) 1. Coordination has been improved as

a result of recent interventions and

technical assistance; response times

of government agencies could be

further strengthened

(e) Education services including continuation of learning options (List up to 3 issues)

1. Challenges in reaching all students

remotely with the on-going distance

learning package due to location,

access to tools/facilities etc.

2. Limited engagement with

parents/teachers on their support

for the distance learning initiatives

3. Inadequate capacity of parent and

learners on digital literacy for

improved protection when learning

on-line; interventions such as using

local radio stations to educate

learners and parents are being

initiated to bridge the gap and

complement national efforts.

(f) child protection related services (List up to 3 issues) 1. Example from Volta Lake: Many

fishermen are not fishing and are

home. Those who buy and sell fish

are not really working. In the

communities, people are not scared

of the virus and reluctant to come

closer to people, especially those

from Accra. Parents are concerned

that due to the economic impact,

children will go back to the lake and

be trafficked again. There are cases

where young adults who have been

rescued are going back to the lake

for fishing because of the economic

impact on household and

communities. Parents are

concerned to let the children go

back to schools.

Annex B

Funding Status

Sector Funding

requirements Funds available Funding gap $ Gap %

Coordination, Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE)

$2,464,000 $433.000 2,031,000 82%

Infection and Prevention control (IPC) and provision of critical medical and water, sanitation and hygiene supplies

$5,100,000 $1.278.200

3,822,800 75%

Provision of continued access to essential health and nutrition services for women, children and vulnerable communities, including case management

$ 4,214,500 $1.730.600

2.483.900 59%

Access to continuous education, social protection, child protection and gender-based violence (GBV) services

$5,000,000 $4.820.000

180.000 4%

Cross-sectoral (Programme & Operations Support, including Emergency Coordination)

$1,400,000 $418.252

981.748 70%

Total 18.200.000 8.680.000 9.499.448