The Executive Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Importers and Wholesalers Association, Mr. Joseph Yamoah, has called on the government to remove value-added tax (VAT) from essential medications for kidney patients.
Speaking on Plan B FM’s late afternoon show ‘Ebaanosen’, hosted by Ohene Kinnah, Mr. Yamoah said, the tax relief would greatly benefit kidney patients by reducing the financial burden associated with their treatment.
“If all the taxes on the imports are been added to the drugs, no patient can buy the drug for their treatment”
He further stated that a complete elimination of duty costs would demonstrate the government’s commitment to supporting individuals affected by kidney disease.
He said, “With the duty cost and VAT and all that, we are importing about 40–50% of the cost of some of these medications. So that is why we are asking if there could even be a reduction. First of all, the VAT removal.
“We initially pushed for some medication to have this, to enjoy some of these VAT exemptions, which are captured in L.I. 22/55, but then we are still asking that more medication, more prescription medication be pushed there so that if the total duty cannot even be reduced, the VAT component at least can be taken off for some of these patients to have some breathing space.”
The Executive Secretary highlighted the significant impact of VAT and import duties on pharmaceutical importers and wholesaler associations, rendering them unable to implement price reductions for consumers.
According to statistics, nearly 1,300 Ghanaians are on dialysis, and a renal patient requires about 12 sessions of dialysis a month. With the cost of GH₵380 per dialysis increased to GHS491, a patient will need nearly GHS6,000 a month for the full session.
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