Ministry Of Finance Implored To Release Funds To Contain Spread Of Bird Flu 

Parliament has asked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and other Agencies to take prompt steps to stem the spread of the avian influenza also known as bird flu in the country.

The House has implored the Ministry of Finance to release Funds to the Agriculture Ministry to help fight the outbreak. 

Since January 2015, there have been reports of increased cases of the influenza in many West African countries. 

Ghana recorded its first case of the Bird Flu in May this year on a farm in the Greater Accra region. Since then, there have been reported cases in other regions. 

Since the outbreak, as many as eleven poultry farms with a bird population of more than thirty-three thousand, have been destroyed resulting in the loss of millions of Ghana cedis. 

The MPs stated this when the Member for Shama and Chairman of the Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs Committee, Gabriel Essilfie, made a statement on the floor of Parliament to alert stakeholders on the urgent need to take action to contain the disease. 

Mr. Essilfie said the situation is serious. 


The Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Oda, William Agyapong Quaittoo, said it is unfortunate that veterinary officers are afraid to go to the farms because they do not have the needed gadgets to work with.  

The Member for Tano South and Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr. Hanna Bisiw, said most of the farms do not have bio security systems in place, adding that the Ministry has also ran out of some chemicals and needs some funds to help contain the disease.  

GBC