The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Dr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku, has called for bold policy reforms and strategic investments to position Ghana as a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in West Africa.
He said strengthening local pharmaceutical production is critical to Ghana’s economic transformation, national security and healthcare resilience.
Speaking at the 2026 Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (PMAG) Day in Accra, Dr. Nsiah-Poku described the event’s theme, “Advancing Ghana’s Pharmaceutical Sovereignty Through Innovation, Requisite Skills Mix and Quality Industrial Value Chain for Economic Transformation,” as both timely and essential.
According to him, Ghana cannot claim to have achieved meaningful industrial transformation while importing more than 70 per cent of the medicines consumed locally.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the country’s vulnerability to disruptions in global supply chains, underscoring the urgent need to build a strong domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing industry.
Dr. Nsiah-Poku identified four major challenges confronting the sector, including overdependence on imported Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), excipients, packaging materials and specialised machinery.
He explained that the industry’s reliance on imported inputs, coupled with high borrowing costs and expensive utility tariffs, continues to undermine the competitiveness of locally manufactured medicines.
The AGI President also highlighted the country’s limited investment in pharmaceutical research and development, weak collaboration between academia and industry, and the shortage of specialised professionals such as industrial pharmacists, process chemists, validation engineers and regulatory experts.
He further cited unfair competition from cheap imported medicines, inconsistent government procurement policies and underutilisation of opportunities under the ECOWAS and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as additional obstacles facing the industry.
To address these challenges, Dr. Nsiah-Poku proposed a five-point industrial compact aimed at strengthening Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector.
He called on government to fast-track the establishment of a dedicated pharmaceutical industrial park equipped with subsidised utilities, shared laboratories and modern manufacturing infrastructure to encourage investment and reduce production costs.
He also advocated the creation of a Ghana Pharmaceutical Innovation Fund to finance research commercialisation through partnerships between government, industry and development partners.
The AGI President further proposed the development of a National Pharmaceutical Skills Blueprint, the establishment of a pharmaceutical manufacturing training academy and reforms to university curricula to ensure graduates acquire practical industrial experience before entering the workforce.
On quality assurance, he urged pharmaceutical manufacturers to pursue World Health Organization prequalification and international certification while calling for stricter enforcement against substandard and under-invoiced imported medicines.
Dr. Nsiah-Poku also advocated the implementation of local content policies requiring at least 60 per cent of medicines procured by government institutions, teaching hospitals and the National Health Insurance Scheme to be sourced from qualified local manufacturers.
He encouraged Ghanaian pharmaceutical companies to leverage opportunities under the AfCFTA to expand exports and establish Ghana as the preferred supplier of medicines across West Africa.
Dr. Nsiah-Poku stressed that pharmaceutical sovereignty extends beyond healthcare, describing it as a matter of national security, industrial development and job creation.
He pledged AGI’s continued support for policies that will improve financing for pharmaceutical manufacturers, including access to affordable credit through the Development Bank Ghana.
“The world will not wait for Ghana. India did not become a pharmaceutical giant by accident; it was the result of a deliberate long-term strategy,” he said.
He urged government, industry, academia and development partners to work together to build a globally competitive pharmaceutical sector capable of meeting Ghana’s healthcare needs while driving exports, creating skilled employment and accelerating economic transformation.
