The Minority in Parliaments is deeply outraged by the deceitful approach Vice President Bawumia has chosen to address challenges facing the health sector with specific reference to the current dialysis treatment crisis.
The current announcement by the NHIA to use part of its CSR allocation to support dialysis patients below the age of 18 and above the age of 60 is a populist NPP government intervention which only seeks to create the ruse of addressing the financial burden of dialysis care on patients.
First and foremost, majority of dialysis patients (more than 80%) are outside the target bracket of the new relief announced by the NHIA through Dr Bawumia leaving patients to continue to suffer the high cost of dialysis care caused by the reckless and irresponsible management of the economy.
Secondly, this ad-hoc policy is set to last for 6 months meaning that even for the small number of patients covered by this relief effort they have no assurance or guarantee beyond 2024.
Government’s handling of the dialysis crisis has been nothing less than disastrous and its effect was felt last year when Ghana lost 19 dialysis patients due to the non-availability of dialysis services at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
It was in response to this disastrous and deadly handling of the dialysis crisis that Parliament in March this year insisted that the NHIA should include some allocation to support dialysis treatment to facilitate the smooth adoption of the formula. Sequel to which GHs2million allocation was included.
After several attempts from the Minority in Parliament both at committee and plenary meetings to get the Akufo-Addo government to address the dialysis crisis, it was expected that Vice President Bawumia would announced on behalf of government a comprehensive plan to address the two major challenges facing the delivery of dialysis services in Ghana which are affordability for patients and sustainability for service providers. He rather quickly opts to take credit for an ad-hoc decision made by the NHIA to use part of its CSR to help a small minority of end-stage kidney patients. This is highly unacceptable and unfortunate.
Vice President Bawumia must be reminded of the fact that he is not in opposition to complain. His lackadaisical and whimsical attitude of complaining and clamoring to the works of others will not pass muster in 2024.
The least he can do as Vice President before the end of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia tenure is to proffer credible solutions instead of constantly promising at every turn and taking credit for projects and programmes he knows nothing about.
Ghanaians deserve better than the lies that Bawumia keeps telling.
Thank you.
