Ghana’s government has refused to distribute ambulances badly needed to save lives of patients.
The government procured the first batch of ambulances numbering 96 for distribution to all 275 constituencies in fulfillment of a campaign promise.
But the ambulances have been parked at the country’s State House premises in Accra despite intense protest from the opposition, CSOs and concerned citizens.
This has sparked anger among some Ghanaians who have initiated several social media campaigns to express their disgust at government’s action.
Ambulances sit idle
Ghana’s Minister for Special Initiatives Mavis Hawa Koomson was the first appointee to incur the wrath of many when she said on radio that the government cannot be blamed for deaths associated with lack of ambulances to transport patients since people started dying a long time ago.
What seems to have stirred up the honest nest is the recent remark by Ghana’s President Nana Akufo Addo during an engagement with journalists when he announced that the ambulances will be distributed in the first week of January, 2020.
“The Minister for Special Development Initiative told me some of the ambulances were in and asked if she should distribute them and I said NO; she shouldn’t.
She should wait for the others to come in so that we can distribute all at the same time…Fortunately for us all of them will be in by the end of this month and on the 6th of January, I will commission them and the distribution will take place simultaneously and nobody will accuse me of favouritism, and so on.
There is no justification on they being parked but if I was to send it here and not here I think you know the kind of discourse that will come,” he stated.
Reactions from CSOs and Ghanaians
The President’s comments have not gone down well with many CSO’s including the Media Foundation for West Africa and the NGOs in Health have expressed their disappointment in President Akufo Addo.
Many Ghanaians have been unhappy expressing their anger on social media.
There are reports suggesting that there are more deaths from the lack of ambulances to transport patients.
The country of 29 million people only has 55 functioning ambulances serving all regions as of 2018.
The statistics indicate that 1 ambulance is shared by over 520,000 Ghanaians.
In eastern Ghana for instance 70 institutional maternal deaths were recorded at the end of September this year due to lack of ambulances.
Source: Africafeeds.com
