Hemophilia patients at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) are experiencing frustration due to an alleged shortage of medication.
The Ghana Hemophilia Society attributes this shortage to delays in import permit processing by the Food and Drugs Authority for donated drugs.
As a result, prophylaxis treatments have been suspended, and hospital supplies have been depleted, putting patients in need of surgery or urgent care in a vulnerable position.
Concerned parents of young patients have expressed their worries about the impact of this shortage to Citi News.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Medical Director of KATH, Dr. Yaw Opare Larbi clarified that while the hospital has sufficient medication for treatment, the low supply is hindering prophylaxis administration.
The hospital is rationing the available medication to prioritise patients with active bleeding, while prophylactic doses are temporarily suspended.
“The current situation is that the factors are in low supply. We have enough for treatment, but we are not doing prophylaxis. So what the parents are used to is two things, both prophylaxis and treatment. And now we are not given the prophylactic doses because we want the stock to be enough for people who come and who need treatment, who come with active bleeding.”
“So that’s the situation now. We haven’t run out of stock, but what we are doing is managing the stock so that it will last long enough for the medication that has been imported to arrive for us to now resume the prophylactic arm of their management.”