PSGH calls for 70% local production of medicines to boost health security

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has called on the government to increase local pharmaceutical manufacturing to meet at least 70% of the country’s medicine needs, warning that Ghana’s heavy reliance on imported medicines poses a growing national security risk.

The call was made during a commemorative engagement at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi as part of activities marking the Society’s 90th anniversary.

Speaking at the event, PSGH President, Pharm. Paul Owusu Donkor, said pharmaceutical care had become more than a public health issue, arguing that access to medicines should now be viewed as a matter of national security.

“Health is wealth, we have said many times. Now, pharmaceutical care needs are also a national security issue,” he said.

He said Ghana currently produces about 30% of its pharmaceutical needs locally and urged sustained investment to raise that figure to 70%.

“We want to see a Ghana that does 70% of its pharmaceutical care needs,” he said.

Pharm. Donkor warned that continued dependence on global supply chains leaves the country vulnerable to external shocks.

“If we continue to rely on global supply chain systems for our medicines, then we are compromising on our national security issues,” he cautioned.

He said achieving the target would require deliberate investment in manufacturing infrastructure, capital, land, technology and human resource development, adding that stronger local production could position Ghana as a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub for the West African sub-region.

Reflecting on the Society’s 90-year history, Pharm. Donkor said pharmacists had played a critical role in ensuring equitable access to medicines across the country while maintaining high professional standards.

“In 90 years, pharmacists have ensured that medicines are not only affordable and available, they are accessible as well,” he said.

He assured the public that patient safety would remain the profession’s foremost priority.

“At no point will pharmacists compromise on the safety and efficacy of the medicines that we dispense and deliver to Ghanaians,” he said.

The PSGH also echoed remarks by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the anniversary event. According to Pharm. Donkor, the Asantehene urged pharmacists to maintain high standards while expanding access to pharmaceutical services and called for greater government support for the profession.

“Otumfuo made some recommendations that while they expand, you must not compromise the quality of healthcare you deliver,” he said.

The Society noted that the Asantehene has been a Fellow of the PSGH since 2012 and commended his longstanding support for the profession.

Beyond local manufacturing, the Society expressed concern over the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), attributing the problem partly to the misuse of medicines and the circulation of counterfeit and substandard pharmaceutical products.

Pharm. Donkor said underserved rural and peri-urban communities remain particularly vulnerable because gaps in healthcare access are often exploited by illegal medicine vendors.

“Sometimes the underserved peri-urban and rural areas become a void that is filled by medicine peddlers, counterfeit, fake, spurious and substandard medicines,” he said.

He called on regulators, including the Pharmacy Council and the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), to intensify enforcement against the manufacture, importation and sale of falsified medicines.

“The regulator must continue to crack the whip on persons that bring these falsified medicines into our supply chain system. That is how we can uproot the menace of antimicrobial resistance,” he said.

Pharm. Donkor stressed that pharmacists remain central to antimicrobial stewardship but said the fight against AMR would require coordinated action by regulators, health institutions and government.

“If a medicine is not in the hands of a pharmacist but falls into the hands of quacks, then we would lose the fight against antimicrobial resistance,” he cautioned.

The Society also appealed to government, development partners, and the private sector to increase investment in pharmaceutical infrastructure, local manufacturing, and workforce development to strengthen Ghana’s health system and economic resilience.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, several distinguished members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana were honoured for their contributions to the profession. Among the awardees was the Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Rita Akosua Dickson.