[ad_1]
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has ordered that the cost of the COVID-19 antigen test at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) be reduced from $ 150 to $ 50.
The reduction in cost is in response to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols that require member states to review and cap the cost of COVID-19 testing at $ 50 at the borders of various countries .
During the 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS held on January 23, 2021 and chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the performance of Member States in the fight against the pandemic was been reviewed.
During this review, the harmonization of cross-border movement of people and goods was approved and as part of this approval it was agreed that PCR testing for travel in the sub-region will be capped at $ 50 .
Order
Health Minister-designate Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, who revealed this on the parliamentary floor last Friday, however refrained from revealing when exactly the reduction in the cost of antigen testing would take effect.
“The president has actually given orders for us to quickly establish our modalities of implementation to see how this can best be implemented in the country and I believe that if so, it will allow the citizens of ECOWAS access to tests at the airport for $ 50. has been approved by ECOWAS, ”he said.
Concern of the MP for North Tongu
Mr. Agyeman-Manu was responding to a concern raised by North Tongu MP (MP) Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa regarding the cost of the COVID-19 test at the KIA.
The MP had informed the House that Ghana’s COVID-19 antigen test, which cost the KIA $ 150, remained one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive, airport COVID-19 antigen tests. in the world.
He described the amount as punitive and regressive because it sparked widespread unrest and incessant appeals from the general public for urgent intervention, especially from the House.
“Sir. Mr. President, hardly a day goes by without our constituents, Ghanaians in the diaspora and members of the general public contacting us about the relentless cost which they consider to be most unbearable – a view that I share and strongly identify with myself Public outrage continued to surface in many media.
“What is even more striking is the realization that the overwhelming majority of countries with the most superior antigen testing at their airports have fees that are terribly less expensive than the cost of the ANTIGEN test in Ghana. “, did he declare.
Cost of infrastructure
Explaining the rationale for the $ 150 fee to KIA, Mr. Agyeman-Manu said the infrastructure put in place at the airport to efficiently perform the antigen test is quite unmatched in the world.
“People who traveled through Europe and the Americas will testify; these things come at a cost, but we’ll take a good look at what’s on board now and I think things will start to improve a bit. “
He said Ghana was initially fighting antigen testing because the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) restricted the use of certain antigen tests, but today new antigen tests have been certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) which have been tested by the authority and would be used in Ghana.
He stressed that all public health facilities that perform such COVID-19 tests always do so for free and warned that no public testing center should charge money for the test in order to make the fight against the pandemic more efficient.
Time for local vaccine production
He informed parliament that the timing of local vaccine manufacturing was now, one reason the government had met with vaccine makers in the country for the past three days.
“We are in the process of quantifying the figures and we are looking for sources of funding to be able to do what will bring us vaccines as quickly as possible”, he assured.
Distribution of face masks
Mr Agyeman-Manu, who is an MP for Dormaa Central, acknowledged that the spread of the viral disease had worsened as the transmissibility was much higher than before following the detection of a new variance in Ghana.
He also said the severity of the disease was becoming worrisome and called on all citizens and transport unions to continue to praise the government’s efforts to stem the spread.
He further informed the House that nearly 20 million face masks had been purchased and were being distributed to various educational institutions across the country.
[ad_2]
Source link
