The Ministry of Health has indicated that it may be forced to trigger a mandatory vaccination in Ghana if the rate of vaccination does not improve.

According to the ministry, the sector minister has the power through the Public Health Act to trigger mandatory vaccination.

Speaking to Citi News, the Chief Director of the Ministry, Kwabena Boadu Oku Afari, said “the Minister for Health has the power to do that through the executive instrument and that will have the legal backing and when that happens, it can be rolled out throughout the country.”

Currently, only 2.8 million Ghanaians have been fully vaccinated, while 6.6 million people have received at least one dose.

Ghana has recorded 148,079 cases of the virus with 1,313 deaths.

A surge in cases with the last 30 days following the detection of the Omicron variant has seen Ghana’s active cases rise to 13,576.

Ghana had only 2,877 cases on December 18, 2022.

The government has declared the final month of 2021 as the month of vaccinations, amid growing concerns of vaccine hesitancy among Ghana’s population.

This has been accompanied by vaccine mandates like the directive to all persons to be vaccinated on arrival at the Kotoka International Airport before they can be permitted to enter the country.

The government had initially wanted to vaccinate 20 million Ghanaians before the end of 2021, but has shifted this target to the end of the first quarter of 2022.

There have been suggestions that vaccinations could be made compulsory prompting opposition from some Ghanaians like a Christian group, Advocates for Christ Ghana.