The Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has claimed that the vaccines Ghana received over the weekend came from Nigeria.
He stated that it was a benevolent act in light of Ghana’s current vaccine challenges, but that it will be replaced.
On Saturday, March 11, Ghana received the first shipment of Measles, BCG, and Oral Polio Vaccines to supplement the acute shortage that has plagued the country since October 2022.
Although the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, stated in Parliament last week that they had paid UNICEF to deliver the vaccines within the next three weeks, the North Tongu lawmaker urged the government to be transparent with Ghanaians.
The vaccine “consignment came in from Nigeria as a benevolent gesture that the Ghanaian government has promised to replace when it finally puts its house in order,” he said.
There is nothing wrong with saying THANK YOU to a neighbor who has superior public health policies, prioritizes better, and responds positively and quickly when you come begging”.
“Ghanaian officials should not be concealing this fact and thus appearing ungrateful within the comity of nations, even though I acknowledge that an honest and transparent narrative from government will further expose false claims made by President Akufo-Addo during his Message on the State of the Nation last week that childhood vaccine shortage was a global phenomenon,” Mr. Ablakwa wrote on Facebook. Mr. Ablakwa also blamed the shortages on the government’s incompetence and blatant disregard for a World Health Organization warning issued last year.
“Ghana’s childhood vaccine crisis could have been avoided if the Akufo-Addo government had not ineptly ignored WHO stock-out warnings since July last year.”
“We must be profoundly grateful to Nigeria for their kindness; however, I hope the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration will find a permanent solution as the Nigerian donation can only last for six weeks,” Mr. Ablakwa added.
