By Stanley Senya
Accra, Sept. 24, GNA – Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Vice President, says the Government is committed to strengthening local pharmaceutical manufacturing to improve Ghana’s health security and reduce dependence on imported medicines.
She said developing local pharmaceutical production was both an industrial objective and an important component of national health security, particularly in the face of vulnerabilities in global supply chains.
The Vice President said Ghana was steadily developing capacity in specialised areas of pharmaceutical production, including infusions, injectables and anaesthetics.
She said the country was also building capacity in vaccine and biological product manufacturing, describing the developments as important steps towards creating a stronger domestic pharmaceutical industry.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang said the Government had recently announced a five-year strategy to significantly expand domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The strategy, she said, was intended to reduce the country’s dependence on imported medicines and strengthen its resilience against disruptions in global pharmaceutical supply chains.
She was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 90th anniversary celebration and Annual General Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) in Accra.
The anniversary is on the theme: “Science, Impact, Legacy.”
The Vice President congratulated the PSGH on sustaining organised pharmacy practice in Ghana for 90 years and acknowledged the contribution of pharmacists to the country’s healthcare system.
She said the profession had evolved beyond the traditional dispensing of medicines to include patient care, medicine safety, regulation, public health, research and industry.
“Your 90th anniversary should certainly make you proud, but it should also make you ambitious for what comes next,” she said.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang said Ghana’s changing health needs required greater emphasis on prevention, early detection and effective management of chronic and non-communicable diseases.
She said the Government’s Free Primary Healthcare programme was designed to support that approach, with emphasis on prevention, screening and early detection, while bringing essential healthcare closer to communities.
The Vice President said the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, known as the MahamaCares initiative, was also strengthening the country’s capacity to support Ghanaians facing the financial burden associated with chronic diseases and specialist healthcare.
She said the success of those interventions would depend on the effective use of the expertise of all health professionals, including pharmacists.
Pharmacists, she said, had an important role to play as Ghana placed greater emphasis on prevention, early detection and the management of chronic diseases.
On regulation, Vice President Opoku-Agyemang said strong and credible regulatory systems remained essential to protecting the public and maintaining confidence in the pharmaceutical sector.
She identified the Pharmacy Council, Food and Drugs Authority, Health Facilities Regulatory Agency and other relevant institutions as important components of the regulatory framework.
She said the quality and efficacy of medicines, the competence of healthcare providers and standards of healthcare facilities must remain non-negotiable.
Regulation, however, must keep pace with technological developments, including artificial intelligence, digital prescribing and increasingly complex pharmaceutical supply chains.
“The task is to keep standards current, keep our institutions coordinated, and keep patient safety at the centre of all innovation,” she said.
The Vice President urged pharmacists and other stakeholders to embrace technology while maintaining professional judgement, integrity and the human relationships that underpinned healthcare delivery.
She said Ghana’s participation in the African pharmaceutical procurement mechanism would create opportunities for quality-assured pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers to compete in the wider African market.
The opportunity before Ghana’s pharmaceutical industry, she said, was therefore larger than the domestic market, but local manufacturers must maintain rigorous quality standards.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang called for stronger collaboration among the Government, industry, academia and regulators to develop the pharmaceutical sector.
She also urged the PSGH to help shape the next generation of pharmacists and strengthen the pharmaceutical value chain, from research and formulation to advanced production.
The Vice President said academia and research institutions must direct more scientific capacity towards addressing Ghana’s health challenges, while regulators maintained standards that protected the public and remained adaptable to changing technologies.
“The task is to keep standards current, keep our institutions coordinated, and keep patient safety at the centre of all innovation,” she said.
“In industry, that means companies that can compete beyond our borders. In academia and research, it means directing more of our scientific capacity towards our own health problems,” she said.
Vice President Opoku-Agyemang said pharmacists had inherited a profession built over generations through the establishment of institutions, professional standards, training and expanded healthcare delivery.
She challenged the current generation to build on that legacy by responding to contemporary healthcare and technological needs.
The Vice President congratulated the PSGH and pharmacists across the country on the 90th anniversary and expressed the hope that the next 90 years would be characterised by scientific excellence, greater impact and a strong professional legacy.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kuukua Asamoah