Govt entreated to honour co-financing obligation to procure vaccines

The government has been entreated to meet its co-financing obligation in the procurement of vaccines to protect children from diseases. 

The government is yet to fulfil its co-financing obligation with Gavi this year, a vaccine alliance entity which supports the vaccination of more than half the world’s children against deadly and debilitating infectious diseases.

The estimated vaccine cost for this year is $47.2 million. Gavi has pledged to support with $25.2 million, while the government is expected to pay $16.3 million.

Event

Speaking at a media sensitisation workshop on Financing Immunisation Advocacy Response (FAIR) project in Accra, the Executive Director of Hope For Future Generations (HFFG), a CSO, Cecilia Senoo, said vaccine sovereignty was important.

“If we don't prevent diseases, we will not have any future for this country,” she said, adding that other development partners, including Global Farm, had been supporting them.

The event was aimed at sensitising the media on their activities following the successful organisation of a similar programme.  

Mrs Senoo said “our partnership with the media spans over 20 years now. We look forward to continuing with the partnership to ensure that we secure a better future for our children; that is the purpose of this programme”.

“What we want to really do through this is to strengthen our partnership with the media because immunisation financing is very important,” she added. 

Resources

Mrs Senoo further said: “Resources are no more there, everybody and all partners are calling for domestic resources, country ownership, among other issues, but we cannot wait for our children to die through preventable diseases.”

She said what the organisation had done was to remind the government of its obligation to the co-financing arrangements, “I know they are already doing something”.

Mrs Senoo further entreated the Ministry of Finance, the National Health Insurance Authority, the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service to ensure that the country met its co-financing obligation to Gavi to secure the future of its children.

Budget

The Country Coordinator of Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), Stephen Atasiage, said Ghana was expected to pay an additional $5.7 million for vaccines not supported by Gavi.

He explained that the main domestic source of vaccines was the National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL).

However, the approved budget for the NHIA was GH¢10.7 billion ($1 billion per the current exchange rate), while the estimated 10 per cent for health was GH¢ 1.07 billion.

Mr Atasiage said the estimated allocation for vaccines was GH¢ 224.7 million.

Ghana is expected to exit Gavi by 2030.