Ghana targets 70% local medicine production under five-year plan – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that Ghana is targeting at least 70 percent local production of medicines consumed in the country under a new five-year plan aimed at strengthening the nation’s health sovereignty.

The President said the initiative is intended to reverse Ghana’s current dependence on imported medicines, with about 70 percent of medicines consumed within the country’s health system currently sourced from abroad.

President Mahama made the disclosure at the 28th Annual Conference of the Association of Medical Councils of Africa (AMCOA) in Accra.

He said Ghana’s drive for health sovereignty would not mean isolation but would focus on building the capacity to meet the healthcare needs of the population through local expertise, production and mutually beneficial international partnerships.

“Health sovereignty does not mean isolation; it is the capacity to meet our people’s needs confidently, competently, and through mutually respectful partnerships,” he said.

President Mahama said the country must invest in its health workforce, mobilise sustainable financing, expand local production of medicines, vaccines and health technologies, and build reliable health data systems.

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

The President also underscored the importance of strong governance, ethics and effective regulation in achieving the objective.

He said strong, independent and adequately resourced regulatory institutions would be essential to ensuring that locally produced medicines and health technologies meet required standards and safeguard public health.

President Mahama further called on African countries to strengthen domestic health systems and production capacity while maintaining partnerships that support knowledge, technology and resource sharing.

He said greater investment in local pharmaceutical production would help Africa build more resilient health systems and improve the continent’s ability to respond to future health emergencies.