Ghana’s Central Medical Stores yet to be insured – MOH

Dr Afisah Zakariah, the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, has admitted that the burnt Central Medical Stores (CMS) located at Tema was not insured at the time.

She also said, the current CMS, which was housed in a rented facility has also not been insured and blamed this on the refusal of local insurance companies to take up the risk, saying “insurers are reluctant to do it.”

Dr Zakariah, however, said learning from the past experience, the Ministry has issued directives to all regional and district health facilities, including teaching hospitals to insure their medical stores, which they had already done.

The Acting Chief Director, together with Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the Minister of Health and other Directors of the Ministry of Health (MOH), took turns to respond to media interrogations at the Meet the Press engagement in Accra on Thursday.

She explained that the MOH was currently sourcing for funds for the construction of a new CMS, and expressed the hope that insurance companies being fully convinced of the security measures that would be put in place, would agree to provide coverage to guarantee its full safety.

A graphiconline publication on January 30, 2016, reported that arson was the cause of the fire that razed down Ghana’s medical repository, with 12 officials of the Ghana Health Service suspected to have played various roles in the fire outbreak.

Mr Agyeman-Manu later explained that the CMS fire investigation report had been submitted to the Auditor General upon his request, and upon finalising due processes to conduct a forensic audit of the incident, the required actions would be pursued to ensure transparency in the procurement of essential medicines and consumables.

Source: GNA