Health
GH¢208.7m COVID-19 projects uncompleted exceeding deadlines
In the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health embarked on the construction of isolation and treatment centres to be completed within six months.
Nine isolation and treatment centres costing GH¢208.7 million (GH¢208,719,578.7) have not been completed and further delay delays can result in variations leading to increase in the cost of the projects.
GH¢123.7m paid to contractors
Out of this amount, over GH¢123.7 million (GH¢123,744,264.16) has been paid.
These are contained in the report on the audit of the government of Ghana COVID-19 expenditure for the period march 2020 to June 2022.
Seven of the isolation and treatment centres being constructed at a cost of GH¢158 million (GH¢158,072,331.23) have not been completed at the time of the audit, 30 months after the construction had commenced in April, 2020.
GH¢28.9m centre at Zebilla in Upper East Region
At Zebilla in the Upper East Region, the refurbishment and equipping of COVID-19 treatment and holding center is taking place at a cost of GH¢28.9 million (GH¢28,925, 100) out of which GH¢14.4 million (GH¢14,497, 463.88) has been paid.
GH¢45.8m centre at Pantang in the Greater Accra Region
Refurbishment of Pantang Learning Centre as COVID-19 holding and treatment centre in the Greater Accra Region is costing GH¢45.8 million (GH¢45,827,868.26) and GH¢31.1 million (GH¢31, 121,801.78) has been paid to the contractor.
GH¢15.8m centre at Asawinso in the Western Region
The Refurbishment of Asawinso Health Centre as treatment and holding centre in the Western Region is costing GH¢15.8 million (GH¢15,881,192.97) out of which GH¢8.2 million (GH¢8,290,769.750) has been paid.
GH¢14.2m centre at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital
At Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, the refurbishment and equipping of treatment and holding centre for GH¢14.2 million (GH¢14,250, 000) is ongoing and GH¢10.9 million (GH¢10,948,491.830) has been paid.
GH¢9.2m centre at Goaso in the Ahafo Region
Refurbishment and equipping of treatment and holding centre at Goaso in the Ahafo Region is costing GH¢9.2 million (GH¢9,263, 070) and GH¢7.2 million (GH¢7,298, 316.40) paid to the contractor.
The above five projects are being funded by the World Bank.
GH¢15m centre at Takoradi in the Western Region
Proposed design, construction and equipping of treatment and holding centre at Takoradi in the Western Region GH¢15 million of which GH¢7.9 million (GH¢7,904,265.85) has been paid.
City plus limited is executing the project funded by Ghana Government. It begun in February 2021 and was expected to be completed by January 2022.
GH¢28.9m centre at Sunyani in the Bono Region
Proposed design, construction and equipping of treatment and holding centre at Sunyani in the Bono Region GH¢28.9 million (GH¢28,925,100) of which GH¢14.6 million (GH¢14,692,074.81) paid
Funded by Ghana Government, it is being executed by Budox Construction Company which started in November 2020 and expected to be completed in November 2021.
According to the report, the Director of Infrastructure attributed the delay to funding constraints and general economic challenges which contractors complain of having negative effect on their operations
GH¢15.2m finance lease
The Auditor General observed that the Ministry of Health entered into a 25-year Finance Lease Agreement with QHC Project Limited at a total lease value of GH¢15.2 million (GH¢15,265,000) in April 2020.
The underlying assets were uncompleted buildings in Adaklu in the Volta Region which were managed by QHC Project Ltd.
GH¢20.3m remodelling the building
The buildings were to be used as an isolation centre during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We noted that the Ministry could not use the facility for the intended purpose and is therefore remodelling the building at an additional cost of GH¢20.3 million (GH¢20,382,247.70) out of which GH¢13.7 million (GH¢13,726,079.86) had been paid.
Money paid without recourse to Minister of Finance
According to the Auditor General, the finance lease process indicated that the lease amount was paid to the lessor without recourse to the Minister of Finance and financial assessment by the Debt Management Unit.
The Chief Director attributed the leasing of uncompleted buildings to the emergency circumstance of the COVID-19 pandemic which necessitated the critical need to open up an Isolation Centre along the Eastern border of the Country to receive patients when the pandemic struck and positive cases were rising.
The objective of the lease was not achieved as the buildings were never ready to accommodate patients of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Auditor General recommended that the Chief Director of the Ministry of Health should refer the agreement to the Minister of Finance to have the Debt Management Unit carry out financial assessment, including the option of purchasing the facility outright at a reasonable price and thereafter, secure retroactive approval from the Minister of Finance.
The Auditor General tasked the Chief Director to negotiate the unexpired portion of the lease amount to be deducted from the purchase price when outright purchase is considered.
The Auditor General also recommended an investigation into the choice of an
uncompleted building during the peak of the pandemic to hold isolated
patients.
Management responded that a team from the Ministry of Finance
undertook on-site monitoring of the project and added that as recommended,
the process for outright purchase is ongoing and that negotiations have been
concluded and awaiting the Ministry of Finance & Attorney-Generals’ review
and advice.
GH¢15m centre at Nalerigu in North East Region abandoned
Makro Structures Limited was awarded a contract on 11 May 2020 for the design, construction and equipment of Nalerigu treatment and holding centre in North East Region, at a cost of GH¢15 million out of which an advance mobilisation of GH¢4.5 million constituting 30% of the contract had been paid by government
The construction was to be completed in October 2022 but the contractor, upon commencing construction in October, 2021 undertook civil works up to 10% and abandoned the site in December 2021, three months after possessing the site.
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The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) have received the first consignment of Measles vaccines, Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccines and Oral Polio Vaccines.
The Ministry of Information in a statement said distribution to various regions and facilities was underway.
It noted that more vaccines are expected in Ghana in the coming weeks from multiple sources.
“More vaccines expected in Ghana in the coming weeks from multiple sources,” the Information Ministry added.
It shared pictures of the GHS receiving the vaccines at the airport noting that they have already begun distributing them to various regions and facilities.
The ministry also shared photos of regional cold vans picking their consignments of the Measles, BCG and Oral Polio vaccines received and its accompanying logistics at the National Cold Room in Accra.
Ghana ran out of essential BCG and OPV vaccines as a result of the Ministry of Health’s failure to secure procurement of these vaccines since the year began.
The BCG vaccine is primarily needed to prevent the occurrence of tuberculosis in babies, while the OPV is to prevent polio infections
Other essential vaccines to prevent diseases such as measles, whooping cough, etc. are also in short supply.
Answering to parliament on the shortages, Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu said that more than $6 million has been paid to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to deliver baby vaccines.
According to him, the government expects the shortage to end in the next three weeks when all the vaccines are delivered.
Whilst urging the Legislators to approve funds needed for vaccines, he assured that shortages will not reoccur
“The assurance I will give and I can give for the first time in the Chamber is that this will not happen again and I will advise that you help me in my advocacy to get adequate funding for vaccines even the health insurance budget,” he appealed.
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The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has assured parents of children who are yet to receive their scheduled vaccines due to the vaccine shortage currently being experienced in the country that the country will take delivery of these vaccines in the next few weeks.
He gave this assurance at an emergency press briefing organised to address the raging issue which has seen many worried parents moving from facility to facility in a desperate search for the crucial vaccines.
The Minister in his address stated that the nation is currently facing a shortage of some vaccines.
He said, “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.”
Agyemang-Manu however assured that “the Ministry of Health has been making efforts to ensure we secure adequate stocks of vaccines despite this global challenge.”
He went further to state that, “we have made all necessary efforts to ensure that despite these challenges we secure adequate stocks within the next few weeks.”
He disclosed that the country has not recorded deaths caused by measles outbreak in parts of the country.
The Health Minister indicated that there had been no recorded measles-related deaths in the country in the last 20 years, even though there have been sporadic outbreaks.
He further indicated that besides the shortage of vaccines, there had been a global decline in vaccinations with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019.
He said, “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.”
Agyemang-Manu however assures the citizenry that the nation’s vaccination coverage remains robust, with immunization performance coverage being among the best in the world.
According to him, “in 2021 we recorded 95% [vaccine] coverage.”
In recent months there has been a desperate scramble among worried parents of toddlers over the apparent shortage of vaccines for the six childhood killer diseases in the nation’s pharmacies and hospitals.
This coupled with an outbreak of the measles-rubella virus has left parents worrying about the safety of their children.
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Zipline, the world’s first and only national-scale drone delivery service has delivered some 14.8 million (14,809,463) units of lifesaving medical, vaccines and blood products to health facilities in Ghana as at the end of 2022
309,000 delivery flights
These items were delivered through 309,000 separate delivery flights.
4.4m units delivered
The total units delivered amounted to 4.4 million.
8.3m doses of childhood vaccines
Childhood vaccines top the list with the delivery of 8.3 million doses.
2.05m doses of COVID-19 vaccines
It is followed by COVID-19 vaccines which recorded 2.05 million doses.
48,588 doses of malaria vaccines
The company delivered 48,588 doses of malaria vaccines during the period
10,875 pints of blood
Some 10,875 blood units were also delivered during the period.
6 Zipline distribution centers
The six Zipline distribution centers delivers lifesaving medical, vaccines and blood products to over 2,500 health facilities.
Zipline introduced in April 2019
Ghana integrated Zipline’s medical drone delivery service into its health supply chain in April 2019 with an initial support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the UPS Foundation and other partners.
Instant access to health commodities
Zipline enables instant access to hundreds of health commodities for thousands of health facilities across the country.
Autonomous drones
This marked the first time in history that autonomous drones have been used to make regular long-range deliveries into densely populated urban areas.
Zipline reaches half the population
Zipline’s current network in Ghana can reach up to half the population.
Life-saving care
All too often, people requiring life-saving care do not get the medicine they need when they need it.
Reduce medical waste
To increase access and reduce medical waste, key stock of blood products, vaccines, and life-saving medications are stored at Zipline’s base for just-in-time delivery.
Health workers place orders
Health workers place orders by text message or call and promptly receive their deliveries in 30 minutes on average.
Drones deliver the orders
The drones take off from and land at Zipline’s base, requiring no additional infrastructure or manpower at the clinics they serve.
Each drone can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo
The drones fly autonomously and can carry 1.8 kilos of cargo, cruising at 110km an hour, and have a round trip range of 160km—even in high-speed winds and rain.
How Zipline works
Each week, a single Zipline distribution centre – a combination of medical fulfilment warehouse and drone airport – is capable of the on-demand delivery of more than two tonnes of temperature-controlled medicine to any point across an almost 8,000 square mile service area.
30 to 45 minutes deliveries
Each aircraft can fly 100 miles round trip, in strong winds and rain, day or night, to make on-demand deliveries in 30 to 45 minutes on average.
Zipline’s drones have flown more than five million autonomous miles to deliver more than 1.5 million doses of vaccines, units of blood, and critical and life-saving medications to more than a thousand health facilities serving more than 25 million people across three countries.
Zipline in United States
In the United States, Zipline has partnered with a leading healthcare system, Novant Health, on the country’s first drone logistics operation by a hospital system for pandemic response.
To date, Novant Health has utilised Zipline to make contactless drone distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to frontline medical teams around Charlotte, North Carolina.
Zipline operating in Kaduna and Cross River States in Nigeria
Zipline recently commenced medical delivery services in Kaduna and Cross River States in Nigeria as its footprint grows across Africa.
Set to begin commercial operations in Côte D’Ivoire and Kenya
The company is set to begin commercial operations in Côte D’Ivoire and Kenya this week bringing to five countries in Africa to have adopted the technology.
- Misinformation undermining democracy, eroding gains in Ghana – 14 March 2023
- Dr Akoto: With right investment in agric, Ghana will not need IMF – 14 March 2023
- Police nab 6 in connection with killing of soldier in Ashaiman – 13 March 2023
Misinformation undermining democracy, eroding gains in Ghana
Dr Akoto: With right investment in agric, Ghana will not need IMF
Police nab 6 in connection with killing of soldier in Ashaiman
NIA to issue numbers to babies at 6 weeks to end age falsification
Misinformation undermining democracy, eroding gains in Ghana
Dr Akoto: With right investment in agric, Ghana will not need IMF
Police nab 6 in connection with killing of soldier in Ashaiman
NIA to issue numbers to babies at 6 weeks to end age falsification
Misinformation undermining democracy, eroding gains in Ghana
Dr Akoto: With right investment in agric, Ghana will not need IMF
Police nab 6 in connection with killing of soldier in Ashaiman
NIA to issue numbers to babies at 6 weeks to end age falsification
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