President Mahama Unveils Five-Year Plan to Boost Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

President John Dramani Mahama says Government has adopted a five-year strategy to significantly increase local pharmaceutical manufacturing and reduce Ghana’s dependence on imported medicines.

According to him, nearly 70 percent of medicines consumed within Ghana’s health system are imported, a situation Government intends to reverse by ensuring that at least 70 percent of medicines used in the country are produced locally.

The President announced the initiative while opening the 28th Annual International Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Accra.

He described pharmaceutical production as a key pillar of Ghana’s broader agenda on African health sovereignty and resilient healthcare systems.

“We’ve come up with a five-year plan to make sure that we reverse that, and that at least 70 per cent of the medicines we consume must be produced locally in Ghana,” President Mahama stated.

He explained that health sovereignty did not mean isolation but rather the capacity of African countries to meet the health needs of their populations through competent institutions, sustainable financing and mutually beneficial partnerships.

The President said achieving the target would require investments in local manufacturing, vaccines, health technologies, reliable data systems and a skilled health workforce.

He also emphasised the importance of strong, independent and adequately resourced regulatory institutions to maintain quality standards, ethics and public confidence in locally manufactured medicines.

President Mahama urged African countries to collaborate in building resilient pharmaceutical industries capable of improving access to affordable and quality medicines across the continent

Richard Aniagyei, ISD