Ghana has unveiled a new pharmaceutical manufacturing policy aimed at reversing the country’s deepening dependence on imported medicines, with the government setting an ambitious target to raise local production from 30% to 60% within five years.
The Ghana Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Policy, approved by Cabinet in July 2026, was launched in Accra on Wednesday by Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare . It seeks to attract investment, expand domestic production capacity and position Ghana as a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub for West Africa.
A Decade of Rising Dependence
The policy responds to a stark reality: Ghana’s pharmaceutical import bill has more than tripled over the past decade. Dr. Lucia Addae, Executive Secretary of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Ghana (GPMA), noted that imports stood at about $250 million a decade ago but now exceed $750 million annually .
“The figure has stayed the same over the years—70% imported, 30% locally manufactured,” Dr. Addae said at the launch. “But the value has grown dramatically” .
Local manufacturers currently produce tablets, capsules and syrups, but rely almost entirely on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). The policy aims to extend production beyond formulation into APIs, excipients and vaccines .
Government Purchasing Power as Leverage
Minister Ofosu-Adjare said the government, as the largest purchaser of medicines through public procurement and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), would use its buying power to create guaranteed market access for local manufacturers meeting quality standards .
“Medicines are not ordinary goods—their availability is a matter of health security and economic survival,” she said. “What has been missing is a coordinated framework that attracts investment and guarantees market access—that is exactly what this policy provides” .
The policy is built around six pillars: quality assurance to meet international standards, market access through public procurement, affordable long-term financing, expansion into pharmaceutical inputs and vaccines, skills development and research, and regional export growth through ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area .
Development Bank Ghana, Ghana EXIM Bank and the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre are expected to provide long-term financing and support factory upgrades .
Financing Gap Remains Critical
Despite the policy’s ambitions, industry leaders cautioned that access to affordable capital remains the sector’s biggest obstacle. Dr. Addae called for long-term financing at single-digit interest rates, describing it as “fundamental for the kind of investment needed to expand production and move from consumers to producers” .
Ghana’s pharmaceutical sector is the second-largest in West Africa after Nigeria, with 40 registered manufacturers employing more than 10,000 people directly as of 2020 . But local producers struggle to compete with imports from India and other global hubs due to higher operating costs and sub-scale operations .
Regional Hub Ambitions and International Backing
Germany’s Ambassador to Ghana, Frederik Landshöft, endorsed the policy, recalling how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of countries dependent on concentrated global supply chains for essential medicines and vaccines .
The European Union and Germany supported the policy’s development through the PharmaVax Ghana programme, with Team Europe committing up to €40 million to strengthen local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacities across Africa .
The policy also envisions the Legon Pharmaceutical Innovation Park, a 2,000-acre site east of Accra, with a first phase covering 40 hectares of manufacturing platforms. The government projects more than 3,000 direct jobs in the first phase alone .
Implementation Challenges Ahead
The policy’s success will hinge on execution. A monitoring committee comprising the Ministries of Trade, Health and Finance, alongside the Food and Drugs Authority, National Vaccine Institute and National Health Insurance Authority, will submit monthly progress reports .
Dr. Bernice Makafui Brempong, Presidential Coordinator for the Ghana Pharmaceutical Hub, noted that the policy had taken six years to reach the launch stage, describing it as a milestone that would address infrastructure, skills, market access and industrial park development .
For an industry that has watched its import bill swell from $250 million to $750 million in a decade, the pressure to deliver is immense. As Minister Ofosu-Adjare put it: “A country that cannot produce its own essential medicines leaves its health, economy and sovereignty vulnerable” .
