Once again, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Minister of Health, has failed to provide precise timelines for the delivery of essential vaccines for children.
In his address to Parliament on Thursday, March 9, the Minister reaffirmed his commitment to procure vaccines for children within the next few weeks.
“Mr. Speaker, we anticipate receiving vaccinations in two to three weeks. We have done every one of the fundamental game plans and inside a little while we ought to get immunizations. Aagyemang-Manu stated, “It will be very difficult for me to tell you exactly when the vaccines will arrive. We have done everything to ensure that we receive these vaccines earlier.”
The Health Minister repeatedly stated that a number of uncontrollable factors determine when the vaccines will arrive in the country, so several inquiries from Members of Parliament seeking to determine the exact day the vaccines will arrive were unsuccessful.
Despite claims by the National Health Insurance Authority that more than GH70 million has been made available for the purchase of vaccines, there has been a shortage of vaccines in a number of areas of the country over the past few months.
The country’s lack of vaccines is a clear indication of the government’s incompetence, according to the Minority in Parliament.
According to the group, the country has been experiencing an outbreak of measles since October 2022 due to a lack of vaccines, despite the allocation of approximately GH72 million for the purchase of vaccines.
On Wednesday, President Nana Akufo-Addo voiced concern regarding the nation’s lack of vaccines for children.
In his State of the Nation Address on Wednesday, the President lamented that Ghana’s Childhood Immunization Program would suffer if the shortage continued.
He promised that efforts are being made to acquire vaccines immediately for all children.
“Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I am extremely concerned about the country’s current vaccine shortage for children. Ghana’s Childhood Immunization Program, which has been acknowledged as one of the most successful programs in the world, will be negatively impacted if this shortage persists. Due to the focus on the fight against COVID-19, the WHO has only recently expressed concern about a steady decline in global coverage of the measles vaccination.
