The Ghana Health Service (GHS) is cautioning that if the government does not address the challenges it encounters in obtaining antiretroviral medications through the port, the circumstances of HIV patients may worsen.
According to Dr. Stephen Ayisi Addo, Programs Manager for the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the GHS, the high port taxes on pharmaceuticals make it impossible for the agency to buy them because of its limited funding.
“The cost of clearance has increased significantly. Thus, even the amount in our budget that is allotted is less than what is currently needed for the clearing,” he stated.
He clarified that policies ensuring a steady supply must be implemented since the government needs to recognize that these medications preserve human life.
“We must first acknowledge that this is a life-saving procedure. Something is being prevented by it. Since you won’t have the medication, if we truly take our foot off the gas, we will be creating a reservoir of HIV drug-resistant streams.
In an interview with JoyNews on The Pulse on February 14, Dr. Addo warned that their patients’ health might get worse as a result of the ongoing delay.
“People don’t take it. The virus multiplies, and we have mutated streams. That will be more difficult to treat, and so we don’t want a second epidemic. The country must agree that it is important, and we need to prioritize it,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the GHS is having discussions to secure a tax waiver from the Ministry of Finance to be able to secure drugs cheaply.
