The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has revealed that some persons and institutions are hoarding personal protective equipment meant to be distributed to health centres that need them.
The Minister said the development was responsible for the regular claims of lack of PPE in some health facilities across the country.
Mr. Agyeman Manu, at a meeting with health workers at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Wednesday, said the ministry has begun investigations into the reports of hoarding and persons found culpable will be severely dealt with.
“The feedback we are getting is that some places still don’t get, especially the lower facilities. And on our own search we found out some people are hoarding the PPE and there are reports some are even selling it back to us… We are doing all that we can to try to stop those naughty things,” he said.
The Minister suggested that the government will be forced to deliver PPEs directly to institutions that request them to address the problem.
“The President has arranged for three key military officers to be added to the supply chain Committee, and wherever we want to send commodities to, we fly it so we are distributing to faraway places with aircraft,” he added.
Some health workers have been complaining about the lack of PPEs to work with as some have threatened to lay down their tools over the shortage.
Although the government has announced the provision of several PPEs, the complaints continue to increase especially for face masks, coveralls, and gloves.
Meanwhile, the five local companies tasked to produce 6.3 million PPEs; medical scrubs, face masks, medical gowns, gloves among others, have already started delivering the products to the government.
