Ghana’s Members of Parliament have called for immediate suspension of the Ebola Vaccine trials in the Volta Region.
At today’s sitting of the House, lawmakers expressed outrage over the Food and Drug Authority’s decision to authorise the trials without what some MPs called proper consultation with key stakeholders.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ekfff1iDk2Xtzk13zZCgysFaI1syy5I9″]Media frenzy over the planned vaccine trial triggered a storm of public anger, forcing the Ministry of Health to order immediate suspension of the exercise until further notice.
The Ho West MP, Emmanuel Kwesi Bedzra, who made a statement in the name of the Volta Caucus in Parliament demanded an immediate suspension of the planned human trials of the vaccine in Ghana.
“We wish to call for an immediate suspension of this trial. As representatives of the people, we owe it a duty to our constituents to ensure their safety and well being and we will stop at nothing to stop that,” the MP said.
The MP said : “We are not against our research institutions undertaking research and medical trials but we cannot accept the situation where the proposed trial is carried out without proper communication and interaction with major stakeholders in the region”
He revealed that MPs from the region have been inundated with phone calls from constituents who believe that the trial is aimed at spreading the dreaded Ebola disease in the Volta Region
“One cannot blame these constituents because there is no proper sensitisation and community engagement before the investigators started recruiting persons for the trail.”
Soon after the Ho West NDC MP’s comments, the House heard contributions from other MPs who expressed outrage over the planned vaccine tests on Ghanaians.
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana