The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, is scheduled to appear before Parliament’s Health Committee, to answer questions about the country’s shortage of childhood vaccines.

Vaccines for diseases such as measles, polio, and tuberculosis have been scarce in hospitals. Despite the Ghana Health Service’s assurances, that it will make every effort to distribute vaccines, the situation is yet to improve.

Officials from the Ghana Health Service, the Vaccine Control Programme, the Ministry of Finance, the National Health Insurance Authority, and the Global Fund are also expected to be present. After today’s appearance, the Minister, would go to Parliament on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, to brief the house on steps being taken to address the country’s shortage of vaccines.

The Northern Region and other parts of the country have been experiencing vaccine shortages for several months, with no solution in place. Analysts have warned, Ghana may have an outbreak of childhood diseases, if immediate steps are not taken to procure vaccines for immunizing children.

The Pediatric Society of Ghana for example, added to this caution on the back of reports of vaccine shortages nationwide. According to the Pediatric Society of Ghana, the reports are just the tip of the iceberg, since more facilities are recording an outbreak of measles.

120 cases of measles were recorded in the Northern Region by end of December 2022, due to the shortage of essential vaccines. The Ghana Health Service (GHS), has acknowledged the vaccine shortages and attributed the situation to the free fall of the cedi against major trading currencies, especially the dollar.

Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered.

Vaccines against polio, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT/Hep B/ Hib 1) and six infectious diseases that are particularly dangerous to babies are also among those administered

EC Chair Expected In Parliament Today Over New CI For Elections

Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), is scheduled to appear before Parliament today, Tuesday, February 28, 2023, along with Kenneth Attafuah, Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), to brief the house on the proposed Constitutional Instrument (CI), for the next general elections.

This comes after the Minority in Parliament objected to an EC briefing on Thursday, due to her absence from the chamber. The EC is attempting to use the Ghana Card as the sole document for voter registration.

A statement from the EC said Madam Jean Mensa was in Nigeria at the invitation of ECOWAS/ECONEC for a peer exchange and election observation mission. It is still unclear, as to whether other Commission officials would be permitted to provide the required briefing.

The electoral management body refuted reports that the Chairperson, Jean Mensa, disrespected Parliament by not honoring an invitation from the House.

The EC disclosed in a statement that the letter inviting the Chairperson to brief Parliament on the draft CI on the registration of voters, was received a day prior to the scheduled briefing when Jean Mensa was already out of the jurisdiction.

However, it added that the meeting would have not been postponed, if the Chairperson was well aware, before attending to business in Nigeria. Thus, the EC prioritized meetings with the House.

Already, Parliament has denied reports that a Constitutional Instrument seeking to make the Ghana Card the sole registration document for elections has been passed.