The Chamber of Pharmacy has assured Ghanaians that it does not intend in the short term to increase the prices of pharmaceutical products following the recent fire at the Central Medical stores in Tema.
Concerns had been raised by some sections of the public that the Chamber would, in an attempt to make profit from the fire, increase the prices of drugs.
[contextly_sidebar id=”3cokxaKJMfbaYN3IVyAe2lQcMWkDNVcX”]However, in response to these suggestions, the Chamber has stated emphatically that it has no plans to raise the cost of medicines that are being supplied to the public anytime soon.
“We are not going to take advantage of the cost of this fire outbreak to increase prices. We are all Ghanaians, we understand the challenges at the moment and we promise Ghanaians that we are not going to increase our prices as a result of this unfortunate situation,”
The Chief Executive Officer of the chamber, Anthony Ameka, told Citi News in an interview during the presentation of a roadmap to help government to rebuild the Central Medical Stores in Accra.
Although concerns were raised about the Ministry of Health’s ability to cope with the loss, they gave the assurance that there were enough drugs and medical equipment to last for the next two months.
He also revealed that the Chamber was committed to assisting the Ministry of Health as it attempts to recover from the fire which reportedly destroyed items worth GH¢ 200 million.
“For now, we will assure Ghanaians that there is not going to be any shortage of medicines in the system. that’s why we are also trying to engage the government and the Ministry to provide floor space so that they can procure and store. We are also ready to donate medication or pharmaceutical products to augment whatever the government will be able to procure,” he said.
Mr. Ameka criticised the failure of the Central Medical Stores to insure their warehouse and called for a review of the current laws on insurance by parliament.
“We back the idea for the facility to be insured. We will also plead that the legislature should also relook at the provisions of that act and make an [amendment]. We cannot continue investing into these ventures and at the end of the day it goes waste. of that act. This is public money. So we back the idea and we support that. If Kumasi regional medical has been insured, what prevented Central Medical Stores not to insure the facility,” he said.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EdKwakofi