Professor Joseph Osafo, Director of the Centre for Ageing Studies at the University of Ghana has expressed disappointment in the Ministry of Health (MoH) over the government's inability to clear some locked up medical supplies at the port.
The supplies which were doled out to Ghana by Global Fund to treat various diseases remained at the port since December last year until this Friday, April 12, 2024 when the Health Ministry cleared 14 out of the 182 containers following public agitations.
The 14 containers comprised malaria and tuberculosis drugs and the 168 at the port which, according to the Public Relations Officer of the MoH will be cleared this week Friday, contain mosquito nets.
But Prof. Osafo cannot fathom why the drugs took so long at the port.
To him, the red tape at the port needs to be addressed immediately to avoid issues like this in the future.
"Actions and inactions come with consequences...How we handle some things in the country doesn't augur well. These two things, I think they are special services, special items, so just as Kotoka has done to accelerate the process, Ghana Port and Harbor up your game and do same," he said on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo" in reply to the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, the Global Fund is said to have threatened not to supply Ghana with essential medicines any longer but the MoH PRO says it is not true.
"A 12-member delegation from the Global Fund paid a working visit to this country to follow up on the locked-up commodities. In spite of all their efforts, they did not make any headway, and the commodities still remain uncleared at the ports.
"They have, therefore, indicated that Ghana risks losing all Global Fund support if the government fails to act on the matter. To start with, they have already suspended all commodity shipments to the country until the ones at the ports are cleared. This development has dire consequences for the hundreds of thousands of our compatriots on free medications donated by the Global Fund," the Executive Director of ACHPR&A, Dr. Thomas Anaba said in an interview on Citi FM.
"As we speak, there are a lot of meetings with Global Fund even within this week. Global Fund even gave us medicines last week and they will give us drugs somewhere early next month. So, it is untrue that the Global Fund has issued a statement to government that they will not give us drugs again. This is a grant to Africa of which Ghana is part," the MoH PRO debunked the claims.
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