Locked up medical supplies are mosquito nets, not TB and HIV drugs – MoH clarifies

The Ministry of Health has denied allegations that locked containers from the Global Fund at the Tema port contain essential drugs for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS treatment.

The response from the Health Ministry follows concerns raised by some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) regarding the government’s reluctance to clear some containers from the Global Fund recently.

The CSOs alleged that Ghana’s supply of medicines from the Global Fund was at risk if the government failed to clear the containers at the port.

READ ALSO: Health Crisis Looms As Global Fund Ceases Shipments To Ghana

Responding to the issue, the Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Health, Isaac Offei Baah, revealed that the locked-up containers primarily contain mosquito nets and not medications for TB or HIV/AIDS.

“I want to put it on record that we have mosquito nets, and we don’t have anything like HIV drugs or TB drugs [locked up at the port].

“Once it is something that has been given to the people of Ghana, we are working towards getting them out and putting them to good use,” he noted.

He added, “So for clarity sake, we don’t have any HIV drugs locked up at the port that we have not cleared. All those ones were cleared somewhere last April”.

The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage, and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria to support the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations.