By Maxwell Awumah
Ho, May 13, GNA – The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) has started series of steering committee meetings to deliberate on key recommendations arising from a recent stakeholder engagement on Ghana’s clinical trials ecosystem.
The exercise forms part of efforts to finalise a nationally adapted assessment tool aimed at strengthening the country’s clinical trials ecosystem.
The initiative is under the Vax & Pharm Ghana Project, a two-year programme being implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Government of Ghana, with funding support from the European Union (EU) under the broader Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies (MAV+) in Africa.
The project seeks to assess and enhance Ghana’s clinical trial ecosystem, strengthen regulatory capacity, facilitate technology transfer, and improve the policy environment in pursuit of long-term vaccine self-sufficiency and health sovereignty.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Professor Samuel Essien-Baidoo, Acting Director of Research and Development at the NVI, said the stakeholder engagement brought together representatives from academia, regulatory bodies, the Ghana Health Service, the Ministry of Health, research institutions, the private sector, and development partners.
He said the meeting focused on sensitising national stakeholders to the project’s objectives and conducting a comprehensive gap analysis of the country’s clinical trials ecosystem.
Using a draft WHO assessment tool, participants examined key components of clinical trial preparedness, including regulatory systems, ethical oversight, infrastructure, and human resource capacity.
Prof Essien-Baidoo said the exercise identified priority areas that require strengthening to support vaccine research, development, and production in Ghana.
He noted that the upcoming steering committee meeting would review the recommendations and agree on a final version of the assessment tool tailored to Ghana’s context.
This will pave the way for a nationwide assessment expected to commence in the third quarter of 2026, he added.
The outcomes of the national assessment are expected to inform a strategic roadmap for targeted investments in training, infrastructure, and regulatory reforms aimed at building a resilient and innovation-driven clinical trials ecosystem.
The EU MAV+ Project represents a critical step in Ghana’s transition from “fill and finish” vaccine operations to full-scale antigen development and manufacturing.
With a €32 million commitment from the EU and its partners, the initiative addresses both supply and demand-side constraints in the pharmaceutical sector.
Dr Sodzi Sodzi-Tettey, Chief Executive Officer of the National Vaccine Institute, reaffirmed the Institute’s commitment to leveraging partnerships with research and development institutions to accelerate local vaccine manufacturing capacity and enhance preparedness for future public health emergencies.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Maxwell Awumah
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