What IMF will not tell us; Case of ‘Nibima’

Opinion Apr - 10 - 2015 , 05:24

The figures for malaria are always frightening. By my last check, the Ministry of Health was estimating the total economic cost of malaria in Ghana at $772.4 million. If, like me, such abstract figures are confusing to you, your case can be helped by what economists will term the real cost. One researcher found that the total economic cost of malaria treatment in Ghana is equivalent to:

• Over twice the annual budget of the Ministry of Health

• The cost of 30,000 4X4 pickup vehicles

• The cost of 215,680 tonnes of cocoa

• The cost of around 5,546,000 barrels of oil

• Approximately 10 per cent of Ghana’s GDP growth.

All of the above can be halved if we could reduce our dependence on imported solutions, mostly WHO-recommended imported drugs. We have tried all the anti-malarials – quinine, chloroquine and now artemisinin-based combination therapies. But are we trying the locals?

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has increase