Cash-and-Carry system violates human rights – Okudzeto

Mr. Sam Okudzeto, immediate past president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), on Thursday said the government's cash-and-carry health care system violates Ghanaians' rights under the African Charter on Human Rights.

He said a study of the charter shows that in spite of the elaborate provisions in the Ghana constitution some fundamental principles are omitted.

The charter, he said, states; "parties to the charter shall take necessary measures to protect the health of their people and to ensure that they receive medical attention when they are sick." Ghana is a signatory of the charter.

Speaking at the launch of the British Broadcasting Corporation's English for Africa series, Mr Okudzeto said the charter imposes an obligation on the state to provide medical care for the sick.

The human rights education project, part of a global programme to educate listeners about human rights, is the single largest ever funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in collaboration with the BBC.

Mr. Okudzeto called on Ghanaians to learn and know about their rights, adding, "if you do not know what your rights are, that is when they can be violated."

Mr. Greg Quinn, British High Commission's second secretary, said the project will cost 640,000 pounds sterling over a three-year period.

He said the project aims at giving listeners an idea of what is being done to advance human rights in Africa.