It’s difficult to confirm when vaccines will arrive – Health Minister

The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has once again failed to provide exact timelines for the arrival of essential childhood vaccines.

The Minister addressing Parliament on Thursday, March 9, reiterated his promise that efforts are underway to ensure that vaccines are procured for children in the next few weeks.

“Mr Speaker, we are expecting to receive vaccines within two to three weeks. We have done all the necessary arrangements and within two to three weeks we should get vaccines. We have done everything to ensure that we get these vaccines earlier, but it will be very difficult for me to tell you exactly when the vaccines will arrive,” Aagyemang-Manu said.

Several queries from Members of Parliament to determine the exact day the vaccines will arrive failed as the Health Minister repeatedly stated that several uncontrolled factors determine when the vaccines will arrive in the country.

Several parts of the country have been hit with a shortage of vaccines in the last few months despite claims by the National Health Insurance Authority that over GH¢70 million has been released for the procurement of the vaccines.

The Minority in Parliament has described the shortage of vaccines in the country as a clear indication of the government’s ineptitude.

The group said despite the allocation of about GH¢72 million for the procurement of vaccines, the country has been hit with the outbreak of Measles since October 2022 due to the shortage of vaccines.

President Nana Akufo-Addo on Wednesday expressed concern over the shortage of childhood vaccines in the country.

Delivering the state of the Nation Address on Wednesday, the President lamented that the shortage, if prolonged, will affect negatively Ghana’s Childhood Immunisation Programme.

He assured that efforts are underway to ensure that vaccines are procured immediately for all children.

“Mr. Speaker, I must say, however, that the current shortage of some childhood vaccines in the country has concerned me greatly. This shortage, if prolonged, will affect negatively Ghana’s Childhood Immunisation Programme, which has been recognised as one of the most successful in the world. The WHO has only recently expressed worry about a steady decline in measles vaccination coverage globally, because of the concentration on the fight against COVID-19.”