The chairman of parliament's health committee, Dr Ayew Afriyie, has disclosed that the government of Ghana dealt with seven different companies concerning the procurement of the Sputnik V vaccines.

He revealed that the price per dose for the vaccine ranged between US$12 and US$19.

 “It was made to believe that the price has been inflated for whatever gains that it is”, he said, but added: “Our understanding is that the Russian Development Investment Fund (RDIF), which sees to transactions for the acquisition of Sputnik gives it at the factory price of US$10 or US$9.90 and then you'll have to go through clearance [and] Fleet-on-Board (FOB)”.

“So, it is up to you on how you will get it to your country”, Dr Afriyie explained.

“Unlike the AstraZeneca, which is more of a government-to-government system, the Russians use more of middlemen or third parties to be able to do transactions,” he told journalists on Wednesday in Parliament.

Explaining the procedure for the procurement of the vaccines, the Effiduase Asokore constituency lawmaker further noted: “So, what ministries or governments do is to express interest or give letters of authorisation and then you go ahead and strike a deal”.

“So, as far as it is, about seven companies have letters and various prices ranging between US$12 to US$19,” he added.

He continued: “So, if the impression is created as if it is one company, if the impression is created as if it is US$19, the other question is that what happens to those who quoted US$12, those who quoted less. For some reason, none of them have been able to deliver. Nothing for now”.

An investigative report by Norwegian newspaper VG, revealed that the Ghana government bought the vaccines at $19 per dose despite global competitive prices hovering around $10.

But a statement signed by the Ministry indicated that the government rather succeeded in negotiating the price of the Sputnik V vaccine downward.

“The initial price quoted was US$25, but this was negotiated downwards to US$19.

“This is the result of the cost  build-up  to the ex-factory price US$ 10 per dose, taking into account land transportation, ship, insurance, handling and special storage charges, as explained by the seller.

“These are the factors which led us to agree the final price of US$19 per dose,” the statement noted.

According to the statement, “the MoH has, since early this year, made several efforts to procure the Sputnik V vaccine directly by engaging the Russian authorities, such as the Russian Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the CEO of Russia Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), and the CEO of Limited Liability Company ‘Human Vaccine’”.

“Meetings were also held with the Deputy Ambassador of Russia in Ghana”.

“The MoH also engaged individual Ghanaians and companies for the supply of various types of COVID-19 vaccines”.