Since early 2020, the rate of COVID-19 infections has been shooting up in Ghana, too. As a result, the assignment that Dr Ivy Asantewaa Asante began in October 2019 has taken on a whole new meaning. A microbiologist specialising in virology, she did her doctoral thesis on respiratory diseases at Germany's Heinrich Pette Institute – Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology (HPI) in Hamburg. Now, as a research fellow, she is passing on her knowledge to her colleagues at the National Influenza Centre of Noguchi (NIC) at the University of Ghana.

Originally she was expected to improve laboratory standards there and to co-author research work on influenza viruses with her fellow scientists. Now though, currently heading up a 35-strong team, she is applying her expertise directly to test for suspected cases of COVID-19 among patients and medical personnel. Her rapid test results are helping save lives by enhancing the effectiveness of isolation and quarantine. Asante’s assignment is supported by the Migration & Diaspora Programme on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).