Member of Parliament for the Juabiso Constituency and Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh has expressed his disappointment over Ghana’s shortage of childhood vaccines. In an interview on Happy Morning Show with Samuel Eshun, the lawmaker stated that Ghana’s current vaccine shortage is due to lack of proper planning and forward-thinking on the part of the minister in charge of health.
According to Hon. Mintah Akandoh, Ghana’s vaccine shortage is not due to a global shortage of vaccines, as indicated earlier. He explained that the World Health Organization (WHO) in a recent statement cautioned against the neglect of other vaccines due to the focus on COVID-19 vaccines. He reiterated that other countries had slowed down in buying vaccines, creating a surplus of vaccines adding that Ghana’s challenge was one of money.
“There’s nowhere in the publication from the WHO did they indicate that there’s a shortage of vaccine in the world. So where’s that shortage of children vaccines coming from? Indeed if you read it well what they indicated was that other countries are over concentrating on covid vaccines and neglecting the other vaccines. So they cautioned countries against this situation that we faced. There were rather low up take of vaccines doesn’t mean there’s shortage of vaccines in the world,” he said.
The lawmaker also questioned the source of the shortage of children’s vaccines in Ghana. He called on the government to take responsibility and perpetually work towards providing adequate vaccines for children in the country.
Ghana has received its first consignment of vaccines after months of shortage. However, Hon. Mintah Akandoh insists neither the government, the Ministry of Health nor the Ghana Health Service deserves credit for the supply.
“We should not attempt to glorify anybody and condemn this action,” Hon. Mintah Akandoh said, adding that the shortage of vaccines is an “unpardonable mistake that can come from anyone.
