The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, has refuted reports that some children have died as a result of the spike in measles cases in the country.

Over 100 children in the northern part of Ghana are suspected to have contracted measles. Fewer numbers have also been recorded in other parts of the country. According to media reports, some of these victims have succumbed to the disease.

However, addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Agyeman Manu said that is far from the truth.

“It is important to correct the erroneous impression that there have been deaths from Measles in Ghana recently. For the avoidance of doubt, there have been no deaths from the recently recorded spike in Measles cases. Indeed there have been no deaths since 2003, though we have recorded cases annually,” the Health Minister assured.

He confimed though, that there is a shortage of child-related vaccines.

“It is true we have had some vaccine shortages in the country since the last quarter of 2022. The vaccines in short supply are BCG, Measles-Rubella (MR), and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). This shortage is nationwide,” Mr. Agyeman Manu conceded.

He assured that the Ministry is up to the task of resolving the prevailing shortage of vaccines.

“The recent shortage in Vaccines for measles, as regrettable as it is, is symptomatic of the steady global decline in measles vaccination since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.

Ghana’s Ministry of Health has been making efforts to ensure we secure adequate stocks of vaccines despite this global challenge.

We have made all necessary efforts to ensure that despite these challenges, we secure adequate stocks within the next few weeks,” he said.

Earlier, Mr. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu was summoned to brief Parliament on March 7, over the shortage of childhood vaccines in the country.

He was scheduled to appear in the House on Tuesday, February 28, but failed to show up.

As a result, the Minority got angry and lambasted him for his disrespect for the House.

In fact, a member of the Health Committee of Parliament, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka described the conduct of Minister as disrespectful.

The former Minority Chief-Whip asked for Mr Agyemang-Manu to be subpoenaed for not appearing before the House.

It would be recalled that Ghana Health Service (GHS) announced a shortage of the routine childhood immunisation vaccine.

According to them, the shortage is a result of the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi.

“It is three key traditional vaccines that we have run out towards the end of the year. Polio vaccine 0 (OPV), Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG0 and then the Measles-Rubella vaccines were supposed to be procured in the first quarter of the year but due to the currency depreciation, the amount that was available could not pay.”

Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered.

Vaccines against polio, Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT/Hep B/ Hib 1) and six infectious diseases that are particularly dangerous to babies are also among those administered.

Meanwhile, the Paediatric Society of Ghana says it has noted with grave concern, reports of shortages of vaccines across the country.

A statement issued by the Society dated February 22, 2023 said, “This is the tip of the iceberg as our investigations reveal that more than 90 cases have been recorded in one major facility alone. The shortage extends beyond Measles vaccine to other childhood diseases including Rotavirus, Tuberculosis, and Pneumococcal vaccines.