Month: April 2023

As Ghana Health Services moves into a different strategic approach in dealing with malaria, which is malaria elimination programmes, manager of Ghana National Malaria Control programme Dr. Keziah L. Malm has emphasised the need to get the needed funds to push the elimination agenda.

According to her the strategy the nation operated on from the year 2021 in the fight against malaria is being changed into malaria elimination.

In an interview with Ghanamps.com she noted that if one looks at the strategic plan previously they did not mobilize all the resources that they needed to implement that strategic plan; they had eighteen districts which were eligible for one of their key interventions which is indoor residual spraying.

“But, we did not have the resources to do that. Now with the support from Parliament, some funds have been allocated to two districts out of the eighteen, which means that there is a lot to be done. This intervention was one that was done in the Upper West Region and has brought malaria prevalence down quite well”.

Dr. Malm further pointed out that other interventions especially around education and getting people to understand the interventions and accept them is a lot more that they need to do.

And emphasised adequate resources when Ghanamps.com enquired if that would be a game changer.

According to her, they are hoping that as they improve on their work with Parliament Select Committee on health, “they would appreciate what needs to be done better and what resources are needed to do things better; and what and how they can help us in the fight against malaria in this elimination agenda”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

The Member of Parliament for Nanton, Mohammed Hardi Tuferi is reported to have been involved in an accident ahead of a crucial vote on the government’s revenue bills currently being considered by Parliament.

It is not immediately known how the whole thing occurred. But he was spotted near the male washroom.

Later a stretcher was moved up towards the male’s washroom but the Nantom MP did not go on it rather he was held by his colleagues into an ambulance that was packed at the entrance to Parliament.

The MP who is a member of the Majority Caucus was however sent to Parliament via an ambulance to report to the leadership of the House and later sent to the hospital.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu on Friday, March 31, 2023 took some Ghanaians in Diaspora who visited Parliament through the workings of the Ghanaian Parliament most especially governance.

According to him the system of parliamentary democracy Ghana has is the unicameral legislature made up of two hundred and seventy-five (275) lawmaker where as in the United States of America they have bicameral legislature which is made up of House of Representative and Congress.

And that Ghana’s Parliament is established under Article 93 of the 1992 Republican constitution mandated and responsible for legislation despite the fact that it can do other function other than legislation.

Haruna Iddrisu noted that beyond legislation, they exercise representative role and they also play an investigative role and unfortunately this parliament has not been up and doing in that direction, rather the parliament cover things up.

Unlike their counterpart in the United States, they have that role of investigative and gave an example of tick talk investigation that went on in the US and added that they play an oversight role as a parliament.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh has said the current government under the leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo should be praised for reducing delay time of paying the National Health Insurance Scheme from twelve (12) months to five month (5).

According to him instead of the Ranking member on health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh criticizing government, government should rather be praised for adding some medical conditions which were previously not part of the health bill covered by the NHIS.

They have five months delay into the release of the fund this is at discretionary powers exercised by the minister of finance and not peculiar to this particular minister.

It was done by the former finance minister under the NDC and run through various governments; “our colleague should be fair to agree that regardless of the difficulty, you recall we have achieved some positives; childhood cancer has been added to the bill to be taken care of by NHIS, Sickle Cell and breast cancer which have not been part of it for a long time have been added; now they should be a bit considerate in their criticism”.

And further pointed out in reacting to the press conference held by the Ranking member on the Health Committee that they as Majority have taken it upon themselves that any time the formula is laid, leadership meets with them and there was a concern about ICT bill which a suggestion came from their side and the entire committee agreed to it that there should be some forensic audit for them to know what is happening as there may be a possibility of duplication of function.

“If someone reduced a delay from twelve months to five months our colleague cannot come and be using strong words like government is siphoning money; our colleague, the ranking should know better and this is the worst comment anybody can make. He tried this on the floor and the Speaker asked him to depart from that path; it’s no longer seven months delay in payment but five months”.

Again, there is regular price review of the medication; he is told more than a decade ago it’s done ones in a year, they have done these three times in their regime in a year what we should be talking about as a House is to reduce the discretionary powers of the finance minister, so that the funding which should be given to NHIA is given at the appropriate time and beyond that common fund has challenges in terms of release; we have made the necessary moves and the few months ahead of us there is going to be releases; the minority whip can bear me out this delays is not peculiar to this government, he stated.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com