Ghana will soon receive 1.3 million Pfizer vaccines in addition to the 1.2 million Moderna vaccines it received from the United States of America on the 4th of September 2021.
Kamala Harris, US Vice President, assured President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday when the two held bilateral talks at the White House.
Addressing a press conference before the meeting, the US Vice President said Ghana and the US share a commitment to global health and to minimise the effects of COVID-19.
Kamala Harris said none of the two countries has been immune from the ravages of the pandemic. “We recognise our shared responsibility to collaborate, to share resources, not only to continue to address the effects of COVID-19 but also to prepare for the next pandemics.”
She said the United States was proud to be a member of COVAX and the African Union and had donated more than 1.2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine to Ghana. “I am proud to announce that, shortly, we will send 1.3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.”
Kamala Harris said the additional donation of vaccines to the country “is a reaffirmation of the strength of the relationship between the United States and Ghana, and of course, we have deep and historical ties or official bilateral relationship which began in 1957.”
The US Vice President, who commended President Akufo-Addo for the sterling performance in managing the country’s economy, said, “American companies continue to ramp-up in Ghana, understanding the significance of the work that they do there to America’s economy much less to the partnership between Ghana and the United States.”
She said American businesses in Ghana “do this also because we are confident in the Government of Ghana and the environment, Mr President, that you have created, which allows for some confidence in the respect and upholding of the rule of law and human rights. And so, with all of that, we look forward to continue to work together.”
On his part, President Akufo-Addo, who welcomed the additional vaccine donation by the US, thanked Vice President Harris for the invitation and stressed that Ghana and the United States of America share the same commitments.
“We want to develop our nation as a democracy, as a country where freedom and respect for human rights and the rule of law are paramount to our system of governance,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said the “other main preoccupation for us is the cooperation that we have to put together to defeat the Jihadist insurgency in the Sahel.”
He said it was an area that would require the support of the United States Government.
“We are looking for support for our armed forces and the intelligence agencies of our area that they can be in stronger positions,” the Ghanaian President requested.
Many of those leading the Jihadist insurrections in West Africa mainly came out of the Iraqi war.
“Many of those leading the Jihadist insurrections in West Africa are the people who came from Iraq after they were driven out from Iraq, so I think we need information here that can assist us to be able to track down and be able to deal with these people.”
President Akufo-Addo was hopeful that Ghana and the US would continue to “advance our mutual causes, and also strengthen the relations between our two countries.”
Rex Mainoo Yeboah, ISD