Story: News Desk

Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu and other agency heads summoned by the Health Committee of Parliament today, Tuesday, over the shortage of vaccines in the country failed to honour the invitation.

For the past few months, the Northern Region and other parts of the country have been experiencing vaccine shortages, with no solution readily available.

Parliament’s Health Committee thus invited the Minister of Health, Ghana Health Service, Finance Minister and other agency heads to an emergency meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 over the worrying situation.

But apart from the National Health Insurance Authority, the Minister of Health and the other agency heads were unable to honour the invite.

Speaking to journalists after the blatant disregard, Chairman of the Health Committee, Nana Ayew Afriyie said “unfortunately for us this morning, the Minister of Health is not here and the Ghana Health Service is not here, the Vaccine Control Programme is not here, but we have the National Health Insurance Authority and business will however go on.”

He also disclosed that the absentee agencies have not given tangible reasons for not honouring the invitation except the Health Ministry’s Chief Director who indicated that the Ministry has written a letter to the Committee asking for an extension.

“I am not aware of the reasons why the state agencies are not here, but I have just been on the phone with the Ministry of Health’s Chief Director, and she told me that she has sent a letter to the Committee asking for a rescheduling of the date to March 7 because of the unavoidable absence of the Minister, but I am yet to see a letter to that effect.”