By Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Accra, June 18, GNA – Community leaders and frontline health workers have expressed strong support for Ghana’s plans to manufacture vaccines locally, describing the initiative as a crucial step towards strengthening national health security and reducing reliance on imports.
The endorsement comes as the National Vaccine Institute (NVI) intensifies public engagement ahead of the anticipated rollout of locally manufactured vaccines from 2027.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Naa Korkor Sampah III, Queen Mother of Ga Odumase, acknowledged the prevailing preference among many Ghanaians for foreign medicines but stressed the need to embrace locally produced pharmaceutical products.
“Personally, when I visit the pharmacy, I usually choose foreign medicines because many people have the perception that they are better than those made in Ghana,” she said.
She noted, however, that the establishment of local vaccine manufacturing capacity offered an opportunity to change such perceptions.
“If the vaccines meet all the required health standards, I will take them and encourage my people to do the same. We cannot continue to depend on other countries for vaccines. Producing our own will improve access and may even reduce costs,” she added.
Naa Sampah expressed confidence in the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) to ensure the safety and quality of locally produced vaccines.
“I trust the FDA, they know the consequences of approving unsafe products and I believe they will do a good job,” she said.
She described vaccines as life-saving interventions that protect children against deadly diseases such as polio, measles and tuberculosis.
The Queen Mother also identified challenges such as long distances to vaccination centres, transportation difficulties and long waiting times at health facilities as barriers to vaccination uptake.
She offered to make space available at the Ga Odumase Palace for outreach vaccination services and pledged to mobilise residents to enhance awareness.
Ms Sarah Tawiah Commey, a Voluntary Community Health Assistant at the Amamorley Community Clinic, also welcomed the initiative, stating that locally manufactured medicines deserved the same trust as imported ones.
“I believe in medicines made in Ghana. If we can manufacture our own vaccines, it will greatly benefit the country,” she said.
She, however, identified vaccine hesitancy as a major challenge faced by health workers during community outreach programmes.
“Sometimes people say the vaccines are harmful or are being used for other purposes. We spend a lot of time educating them and assuring them that vaccines are safe and save lives,” she said.
Ms Commey said routine immunisation had significantly reduced cases of diseases such as polio and measles and urged the public to support the local vaccine manufacturing agenda.
She also expressed confidence in the FDA to regulate production and ensure compliance with international safety standards.
By the first quarter of 2027, Ghana is expected to produce its first locally manufactured tetanus-diphtheria vaccines.
The initiative is being spearheaded by the National Vaccine Institute, established under the National Vaccine Institute Act, 2023 (Act 1097), to coordinate vaccine research, development and manufacturing in the country.
The project is being implemented in partnership with Atlantic Life Sciences, a local pharmaceutical company, and Indonesia’s PT Bio Farma.
Beyond vaccines, Ghana has also developed a snake venom anti-serum, with commercial production already underway, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to build a resilient pharmaceutical industry.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter : Linda Naa Deide Aryeetey
Email: [email protected]