The Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines and Health Products at the World Health Organization (WHO), Mariangela Batista Galvao Simao, reports that Ghana and other countries have purchased expensive vaccines is troubling.
“We have received concerns from countries regarding other vaccines selling at a much higher price than what is being actually sold by the manufacturers. Two things to be aware off; First of all, the vast majority of manufacturers are selling only to public entities.”
She entreated the countries to deal directly with manufacturers in the purchase of the vaccines rather than middlemen.
“We have advised countries to go to the manufacturer to make sure that the intermediaries is legal.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Ghana has debunked reports that it bought the Sputnik V vaccines at an expensive price.
In a statement dated Wednesday, June 9, the Ministry of Health said the several efforts to get the vaccines from the Russian government and some individuals came to naught and it had to rather respond to an offer from the private office of one Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the supply of 3.4 million doses at a unit cost of $19.