US health deal medical records are a ‘no-go area’ – Parliament health committee
Ghana must retain control over any medical records shared with external partners under international health agreements, Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Health, Dr Mark Kurt Nawane, has said. He described medical records as a “no-go area” and said Ghana must first establish exactly what information an international partner is seeking before agreeing to any data-sharing arrangement. Dr…
Ghana's health committee chairman, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, has declared that medical records are off-limits in international health agreements, stating they belong to the nation as a "no-go area". He emphasized that Ghana must first understand what specific information an overseas partner seeks before agreeing to any data-sharing arrangement.
Dr Nawaane clarified that while Ghana commonly provides health statistics like maternal and child mortality rates to international organizations, these should not be equated to medical records. He asserted that as a sovereign state, Ghana has the final say on what information to share. Dr Nawaane further explained that the situation significantly changes when an agreement mentions specific medical records.
He stressed that medical records are, by nature, personal and thus should remain under Ghana's control, deciding what to share and what to keep private. Dr Nawaane urged Ghana to thoroughly examine the wording of any proposed agreement to clarify what is included under the term "medical records". He questioned whether such a clause could potentially extend to group-specific information, like aggregated medical records of politicians or women.
His primary concern was not about Ghana's cooperation with international health partners, but rather the scope, purpose, and control of the shared data. Dr Nawaane's remarks follow President John Mahama's rejection of a proposed US health compact. The government rejected the offer due to concerns over provisions related to pathogen information, medical records, counterpart funding, and medicine and product inspections.
The health data issue has also arisen in talks between the United States and other African countries, with Zimbabwe declining a similar agreement over data-sharing concerns. Dr Nawaane stressed that while Ghana values health cooperation, it must safeguard its authority over sensitive medical information and ensure any data-sharing agreement is clearly defined and protected by adequate safeguards.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
