Ghana is exploring its diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, United States, and other countries to procure additional Covid-19 vaccines for the country.
Ghana is currently struggling to find additional vaccines to give second jabs for over 400,000 persons, after it secured a little over 350,000 dozes from the Democratic Republic of Congo under the COVAX facility for some persons due for their second jabs.
Speaking at a farewell call by the Outgoing High Commissioner of the United kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, Iain Walker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integrations, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, called on the UK to help Ghana procure more vaccines.
“We are hoping that if there are any other vaccines available within the continent that countries are not using, we will be very happy to take these vaccines, so I hope that we can engage more and see where these are from. We know that there are excess vaccines in the U.S. We are looking at how we can benefit from that too.”
President Akufo-Addo has already expressed his disappointment at what he calls Africa’s scramble for COVID-19 vaccines for its people.
The President said the inability of countries on the continent to manufacture their own vaccines and the struggle to develop diagnostic test kits when COVID-19 was first recorded in Africa, is a clear indication that more needs to be done to boost quality healthcare delivery in Africa in the face of the pandemic.
Ghana selected as a manufacturing hub
President Akufo-Addo during his 24th COVID-19 address to the nation also announced that the government has established a committee to formulate a concrete plan for vaccine development and manufacturing in Ghana.
Ghana stands tall in the selection of African countries for the possible manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines, the European Union (EU) has said.
Vice President of the EU, Valdis Dombrovskis, made the disclosure during President Akufo-Addo’s two-day working visit to Brussels in Belgium.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Jubilee House on Friday, May 21, 2021.
“At the meeting with the Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission indicated the selection of Ghana as a possible manufacturing hub for COVID-19 vaccines in Africa,” the statement added.
The expected selection of the West-African country follows initiatives already taken by the government of Ghana towards the domestic manufacturing of vaccines.
Two task force teams from the EU and Ghana will meet shortly to discuss modalities towards the realization of the initiative.
It was stated that the move if successful could get support from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
