The government of Ghana has dispatched cartons of assorted local food items to China to be distributed to 151 Ghanaian students stranded in Wuhan, the epicentre of the new coronavirus disease.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey who announced this, said the items had been shipped to Ghana’s Mission in Beijing for onward delivery to the students in the locked-down Wuhan city.
Speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) yesterday (February 18), Madam Ayorkor Botchwey further disclosed that her Ministry has granted approval for the Ghana Mission in Beijing to expend an amount of $14,286 to cater for emergency needs, such as provision of nose masks, hand sanitizers and food items, especially for Ghanaians in Wuhan and its environs.
In addition to that, $50,000 and another $200, 000 have been transferred separately to the Mission in Beijing to cater for the emergency needs of the students.
She said the Mission is working with the student leadership in Wuhan to collate the names and bank details of beneficiary students.
According to the Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, the Ministry has also held meetings with the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana and has received assurances from the Ambassador that the Central and Provincial Governments of China as well as authorities of the Universities in Wuhan, will continue to step up efforts to ensure that the concerns of Ghanaian students there are addressed in an expeditious manner.
Touching on the evacuation of the students from Wuhan, Madam Botchwey said that would be undertaken only as a measure of last resort.
