One Million PPEs for Frontline Health Workers
Country: Ghana
Chief Nathaniel Ebo Nsarko is the Executive Director of the Millennium Promise Alliance, an international NGO with a mission to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals across sub-Saharan Africa, including ending extreme poverty.
In Ghana, where Chief Nat is based, the national government's early COVID-19 response efforts were in many ways effective, but resource limitations posed important challenges. Without access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to keep themselves safe, many health workers contracted the virus themselves. As a leader of the community health network in Ghana, Chief Nat was keenly aware of the strain being placed on these dedicated people and felt compelled to intervene. Partnering with the Ghana Health Service, the Millennium Promise Alliance launched the One Million PPE campaign, aiming to raise $1.6 million USD to supply PPE to one million frontline health workers across six countries by December 2021. The campaign launched in Ghana in September 2020, and by the end of October, it had procured and distributed 100,000 items of PPE, including masks, gloves, face shields, gowns, and goggles.
The campaign engaged famous musicians, who collaborated to perform an original song and music video in support of the effort. This work, called Heroes of our Time, calls attention to the heroism of community health workers and amplifies the public awareness and fundraising campaign.