Gov’t releases GHC7.4m to clear locked-up Global Fund drugs

The Ministry of Health has received GHC7.4 million from the government for the clearance of locked-up commodities from the Global Fund at the Tema port.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

The release comes barely 24 hours after the Minority Caucus in Parliament issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government to clear the commodities that have been at the port for more than a year.

The Global Fund for Community Foundation donated these medical supplies to Ghana free of charge, however, it has taken Ghana’s government and the Ministry of Health more than a year to clear the life-saving commodities.

Ghana government is only required to cater for the taxes, levies, and port charges for the clearance of the commodities, which were estimated at US$3.6 million.

After several months of intense pressure for the government to ensure the clearance of the commodities, the statement said: “The Ministry of Health is pleased to announce it has received funds for clearance of locked-up Global Fund commodities currently held at the port, including TB medication.”

The Ministry added that it received a total of 283 containers of “various commodities” from the Global Fund through the Tema port.

Following the financial clearance from the government, the Health Ministry says it will clear the remaining containers by the end of June 2024.

“The Ministry of Health has now received an amount of GHC7,429,694.39 from the Ministry of Finance for the payment demurrage for the clearance of all Global Fund outstanding containers at the Tema Port,” the statement said.

According to the Ministry, this amount is expected to complement the payment of third-party charges as outlined above.

“It is expected that with the funds received, all outstanding containers will be cleared by the end of June 2024,” it added.

Below is the full statement from the Health Ministry: