By Hannah Dadzie
Ghana has been selected as one of five African partner countries for the Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme 2 (TDDAP2), the UK’s flagship regional health security initiative. The British High Commissioner, in collaboration with Ghana’s Minister of Health, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, and other key ministries and partners, officially launched the programme in Ghana.
TDDAP2, led by Palladium, will collaborate with the Government of Ghana and various stakeholders to enhance the country’s health security. The programme aims to prevent, prepare for, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks more effectively.
On February 28, British High Commissioner Harriet Thompson hosted Ghana’s Minister of Health and other distinguished guests at her residence to mark the launch of the UK’s latest health security initiative in Ghana. Speaking at the event, Mrs. Thompson emphasized that health security is a shared priority between the UK and Ghana, highlighting the importance of continued cooperation in preventing and responding to infectious disease outbreaks.
“Health security not only protects lives and livelihoods but is also essential for long-term economic growth and addressing health threats exacerbated by climate change,” she stated.
The Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme 2 (TDDAP2) is designed to enhance regional and global health security by partnering with key institutions such as WHO AFRO and Africa CDC. The programme will work closely with five African countries—Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda—to strengthen national and community health systems, ensuring they are well-equipped to prevent, detect, and respond to public health emergencies.
The initiative will support national capacity building by implementing priorities outlined in the National Action Plan for Health Security using a multisectoral, climate-informed approach that promotes gender equity and social inclusion at both national and community levels.
In Ghana, TDDAP2 will be spearheaded by Palladium and its network of expert partners across the African continent. Their work will focus on enhancing public health emergency systems, laboratory capacities, data collection, and disease surveillance while also empowering local communities to actively participate in preventing and responding to infectious disease outbreaks.
The launch event brought together a diverse group of high-level stakeholders, underscoring the need for cross-sector collaboration to address health security challenges. Among the distinguished guests were the Chief Directors of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, as well as Prof. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, and Dr. Frank Lule, WHO Representative to Ghana.
With Ghana continuously responding to outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and meningitis, TDDAP2 marks another milestone in the UK-Ghana partnership on health security. This collaboration is crucial for saving lives, promoting development, and supporting economic growth.
TDDAP2 will align with other UK-supported health security initiatives in Ghana, including partnerships with WHO and Ghana Health Service to strengthen public health preparedness, the Fleming Fund’s efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance, and the Animal Health Systems Strengthening Programme, which tackles infectious disease risks originating from animals and the environment.
The Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme 2 (TDDAP2) will run until 2028 and comprises three main components:
- Enhancing regional preparedness and response through partnerships with institutions such as WHO AFRO and Africa CDC.
- Strengthening national and community-level health security in the five partner countries through technical assistance.
- Providing an outbreak response fund to enable rapid emergency interventions.
This initiative builds on the success of the original TDDAP (2017–2023), a £102 million programme that supported WHO AFRO’s leadership in health security, provided technical support to six African countries (Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Uganda), and facilitated rapid emergency responses through a contingency fund for disease outbreaks.
