On March 7, the Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman-Manu is expected to address Parliament regarding the measures being taken to solve the country's scarcity of paediatric vaccines.This information was disclosed by the Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin while presenting the House's business statement for the week ending March 10.

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On Tuesday, February, 28, 2023, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu and other agency heads failed to honor an invitation from parliament to respond to issues regarding the shortage of vaccines for children.Chairman of the Health Committee, Nana Ayew Afriyie, who was addressing the House disclosed that the Health Ministry's Chief Director, had written to the Committee to request an extension.

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“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.

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

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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,” he added.For some time now, some vaccines needed for the routine immunization of infants from 12 to at least 18 months have been scarce without a readily available solution.

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According to Ghana Health Service (GHS), the vaccines that are unavailable are the measles-rubella immunization, the BCG vaccination, and the poliovirus vaccination.The acquisition of the vaccines, according to the service, was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2023.The Director General of GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, has blamed the shortage of vaccines to the depreciation of the Ghana cedi.

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However, he noted that these vaccines will be procured soon.

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