Coronavirus: Korean Ambassador calls for sharing of best practices

Mr Sungsoo Kim, the Korean Ambassador to Ghana, has asked countries to share best practices and policies as part of global efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said in the spirit of solidarity, nations must work together on public health to develop cures and vaccines while minimizing disruptions in trade and global supply chains as a response to the pandemic.

Mr Sungsoo said in that direction, “Korea is committed to sharing its information, best practices and lessons learned with the international community.”

He said this when he, on behalf of the Korean Government donated medical supplies to the Government of Ghana to assist in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

The items, which were received by Mr Charles Wiredu, a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, were donations from the Government of the Korea, the Korea International Development Agency (KOICA), Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), SD Biosensor and Good Neighbours, a non-governmental organization.

Mr Sungsoo, who said the global community was facing an unprecedented crisis with the spread of COVID-19, also shared Korea’s experiences and lessons learned in the fight against COVID-19, with the hope that the information would help others and minimize disruptions.

“Korea’s response to COVID-19 stands out because it flattened the epidemic curve quickly without closing businesses, issuing stay-at-home orders, or implementing many of the stricter measures adopted by other developed countries,” he said.

The Ambassador said Korea had shown early success across three phases of the epidemic preparedness and response framework which were, detection, containment, and treatment.

He noted that decision making on the pandemic in Korea had been a collaboration between the Government and scientific community.

Mr Sungsoo said, “As stated by the UN Secretary-General, we are only as strong as the weakest health system, “ adding that to beat COVID-19 and recover from the devastation it had brought, an unprecedented level of global cooperation and solidarity was needed; declaring that ” no country will be completely safe until the whole world recovers”.

He noted that the Korean Government was holding bilateral and multilateral telephone and video consultations and webinars with many countries, at various levels and sectors such as Disease Control and Prevention Agencies, to share information and formulate a coordinated response.

“We are doing our upmost to meet the demand in other countries for medical equipment and supplies by ramping up domestic production capacity,” the Ambassador said.

“Korea has already supplied test-kits to more than 40 countries and is providing other humanitarian assistance to countries with less developed healthcare systems.”

He said the Government of Korea would like to continue sharing Korea’s policies and practices with Ghana to contain and manage its COVID-19 situation.

Mr Wiredu, on behalf of the Government, expressed profound gratitude to the Government of Korea, KOICA, KOFIH, SD Biosensor and Good Neighbours for the gesture, which he described as timely and critical in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We look forward to collaborating more in the fight against this pandemic,” he stated.

The Deputy Minister said the donation was a testament to the Ministry’s efforts to mobilise international goodwill to support Ghana’s fight against the deadly virus.

“It is also a testament to the longstanding and exemplary relations between the two countries, spanning over four decades.”

He commended Mr Jeong Dongik and Mrs Kim Jeeyoung, both Councilors of the Korean Embassy, who were ending their tour of duty in Ghana on Friday, August 14 and were due to return to Korea on Tuesday, August 18.

“We thank you for your hard work in enhancing Ghana-Korea relations. We wish you both a safe journey back home and every success in your future endeavours.”