<<Print>>

THE COALITION of NGOs in Health is warning government that the expectancy of drug shortage following the inferno that ravaged the Tema Central Medical Stores will bleed fake drugs into the Ghanaian market. The coalition also feared that, the situation will lead to drug hoarding which will subsequently see prices of drugs become more expensive for the ordinary Ghanaian. Speaking to the DAILY HERTAGE via telephone, the vice chairman of the Coalition of NGO�s in Health, Bright Amissah-Nyarko said the districts and the various communities from their preliminary investigations will soon be empty. �...Because of the fire outbreak, we are losing a lot there, and very soon the regional stores will clear out to the districts ,and there will be shortage of drugs. And, it will also give way to fake drugs coming into the system. And the already existed good ones, they will start increasing the prizes, because they know if you go anywhere you will not get it, and people might even start hoarding their drugs and selling them for high prices.� According to him, �We were also asking government to as a matter of emergency conduct an independent forensic fire audit into the cause of the fire by constituting a committee to look at exactly what happened.� Mr. Amissah-Nyarko observed that the rate at which people are manufacturing fake will complicate issues and should care is not taken fake drugs will flood the system. �There are a lot of people manufacturing drugs here and there, and because there are shortages, they will quickly push them into the system, and start selling them cheap and this cheap ones will be affordable to people in the various districts and villages.� He told the paper that raising awareness about the propensity of fake drugs into the system is very significant, while, �we wait for the original drugs to come in.� The Vice-Chairman argued that, because the 2015 budget had already been presented to parliament and approved, the disaster alone will push government to use about 20% of such budget in dealing with this emergency needs which will create a loophole in that regard. �You will agree with me that, the 2015 budget had already been presented, and government had earmarked a certain amount for health delivery. Now, an estimate of what the fire destroyed is about 20% of that total budget. It means that, if government takes 20% of what it has already planned, and looking for funding for it, then we should also be asking for another 20% that is what we are cautioning, because, already there are a lot of issues that government is concentrating on in the country. He added, �This is an emergency issue. If government give this an emergency response it means it�s going to create another loophole in its finances elsewhere and by so doing it will start dragging its feet. The coalition is also calling on government all those on duty should be interdicted to provide all information that is needed to facilitate their investigation.