By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, Nov. 5, GNA – Professor Alexander Dodoo, former Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, has called for reforms in Ghana’s healthcare financing and delivery systems to empower pharmacists in preventive and primary healthcare.
He said the national health system should move towards a capitation model that allocates funding based on services rendered to the population rather than to individual professions.
Prof. Dodoo made the call at the Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), Ghana Chapter, held in Accra on the theme: “Advancing Specialist Pharmacy Practice to Address Emerging Health Issues: A Call to Action.”
He noted that pharmacists were well-positioned to provide community-based healthcare services, including disease prevention and chronic disease management.
The conference examined the critical role of specialist pharmacists in addressing public health challenges, from the rising burden of chronic diseases to the emerging opioid crisis.
Prof. Dodoo said pharmacists could help prevent and manage conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and smoking-related illnesses if integrated into the service delivery model.
He said that community pharmacies could operate as mini clinics providing preventive care, health screening, and patient counselling, like practices in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, where pharmacists offer immunisation, blood pressure, and blood sugar monitoring services.
Prof. Dodoo observed that, although Ghanaian pharmacists are trained for such roles, the system often prioritises short-term training for other cadres of health workers to perform tasks pharmacists are already qualified to do.
“All over the world, pharmacies offer immunisation, yet in Ghana, we train people briefly and call them vaccination officers, while our pharmacists remain underused. It is time to rethink how we deploy our health workforce,” he said.
Prof. Dodoo also called for structured remuneration for pharmacists who undertake specialist training through the Ghana College of Pharmacists, noting that the absence of a clear reward system discourages professional advancement.
Dr Hafiz Adam, Director for Technical Coordination at the Ministry of Health, said non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and mental health disorders were on the rise, and pharmacists could play a frontline role in community-based prevention, early screening, and patient management.
“The modern pharmacist is no longer just a dispenser of medicines, but a policy adviser, patient advocate, and critical actor in the healthcare value chain. We must move from participation to leadership, from contribution to accountability,” he said.
Dr Adam stressed the need to fully integrate pharmacists into the primary healthcare framework, citing the “Mahama Cares” initiative as an example of a data-driven programme that could be strengthened through pharmacy-led interventions.
He said that for Ghana to become West Africa’s pharmaceutical manufacturing hub, pharmacists must lead efforts in quality assurance, regulatory compliance, research, and development.
Dr. Adam commended pharmacists for their advocacy against opioid misuse and urged them to leverage data and artificial intelligence to enhance pharmaceutical services and patient care.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey